Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi All

Below is a picture of a peg head I am working on. I wanted a thin white outline about 3/32" in from the edge. I routed the groove and epoxied in a black/white/black plastic purfling. It seems to work okay but I am interested in different methods. If you do something like this, how do you do it? Thanks - Mike

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guitarsbygiltzow.com

I usually bind them, and add a purfling line, more or less as I would bind a guitar body. It is easier to do if the top edges of the peghead aren't rounded over, like yours. Getting ebony to bend like that can be very difficult. That one looks nice, but filling a grove with a colored material often ends up looking a bit more uneven than a purfling line. Another method, that I use on intricate mandolin peghead shapes, is to bind the overlay first, then glue that to an oversize peghead, and finally trim it to the bound overlay. If the sides of the peghead are also angled (think Gibson F5), that is about the only way to end up with an even binding width.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Thanks Arnt, I appreciate your help - Mike

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guitarsbygiltzow.com

Michael, I pretty much do it like you do. But I do tend to use w/b/w purfling in an ebony head plate

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

That's a nice look!

Joe - So you get a double white line with an ebony head plate. Sounds like a great idea. How do you route the groove? I use a dremel with a Bishop Cochran base and guide. Thanks - Mike

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guitarsbygiltzow.com

I use a dremel also with the stew Mac attachment. Since I use wood I just miter the corners. I do like the rounded corners you use. Looks sharp !!!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust