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Fun with templates - reshaping a MIK Standard headstock


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So, just for shits and giggles--and because I found a nice scrap of 1/4" Lexan in my home shop and hadn't made a routing template in years--I decided to make a '90s-era Standard headstock template and attempt to reshape the goofy-assed-looking headstock on my rarely-played MIK Standard. Since I'd really like to do some repair/refurb out of my home shop once I retire (a smaller scale version of Jeff R's The Fret Shack), practicing on inexpensive guitars and junk parts is fundamental to the curriculum.

Overall, it worked well. Still have a touch of filler to apply before final sanding, staining, and clear, but it already looks a damn sight better.  Sorry for my typical crappy cell phone pics. 

 

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26 minutes ago, kizanski said:

Silly question, but if you were going to go through the trouble, why not change it to a 4 Digit shape?

Nope, it's a logical question. I started down that path and quickly discerned that the overall geometry and the length of the nose on the 4 Digit profile wouldn't work with the factory MIK headstock without cutting the tip off and grafting on a bit of wood and then doweling/redrilling the tuner holes. That's another task I need to attempt, but I wanted something easier to do within a couple of Saturday afternoons. The '90s shape fit neatly within the geometry of the MIK pattern and simply required some mild trimming with a pattern bit.  It's been so long since I've done any pattern routing that it felt good to get out the tools and give it a go.

Now that it's trimmed down, I simply shake my head at how the contract manufacturer did an OK job mimicking the basic design of a real-deal Standard, but chose to get lazy on the headstock shape. It's not like Hamer was expecting them to hand carve a top or heel joint.  It's simply making a template...like the one I made in roughly an hour.

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4 minutes ago, Biz Prof said:

I started down that path and quickly discerned that the overall geometry and the length of the nose on the 4 Digit profile wouldn't work with the factory MIK headstock without cutting the tip off and grafting on a bit of wood and the doweling/redrilling the tuner holes.

Yeah, no. F-that.

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Just now, RobB said:

Nice job. Maybe you can sub-contract for Lita Ford. 

Lol, good point...but I don't think I want to be associated with that graft-fest.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Biz Prof said:

Now that it's trimmed down, I simply shake my head at how the contract manufacturer did an OK job mimicking the basic design of a real-deal Standard, but chose to get lazy on the headstock shape. It's not like Hamer was expecting them to hand carve a top or heel joint.  It's simply making a template...like the one I made in roughly an hour.

The Asian factory made what was requested.  That headstock shape would have been approved by someone within Hamer/Kaman.  If they wanted an exact copy, it could have been programmed into a CNC machine. 

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3 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

The Asian factory made what was requested.  That headstock shape would have been approved by someone within Hamer/Kaman.  If they wanted an exact copy, it could have been programmed into a CNC machine. 

Yeah.  I suspect the intention was to keep it a little different in an attempt to make USA ones more recognizable, like clipping the edges on Epiphone headstocks and whatnot.

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Let me know if you need a smaller logo to put at the end of the headstock...

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18 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

The Asian factory made what was requested.  That headstock shape would have been approved by someone within Hamer/Kaman.  If they wanted an exact copy, it could have been programmed into a CNC machine. 

Fair and logical point, although my experience with Asian manufacturers has been mixed. At least 50% of the time, the initial shipments of the finished product did not meet our specs nor did they match the factory proofs. It's almost as if they went out of their way to deviate from our specs.  If it was purely cosmetic and didn't ape another company's product, we typically accepted the shipments and demanded a reasonable credit on the order.  They never once admitted to screwing up on the production run vs. the proof. 

 

15 hours ago, sixesandsevens said:

Yeah.  I suspect the intention was to keep it a little different in an attempt to make USA ones more recognizable, like clipping the edges on Epiphone headstocks and whatnot.

Certainly. There were two--maybe three--different Standard headstock profiles in the Slammer Series line that Cort made for Hamer. To my eyes, the earliest Cort-built Standard headstock looks similar to the USA version, but it still deviates enough that a side-by-side comparison makes the differences pop out. The later MIK versions like mine have zero resemblance; in fact, they look more like Gumby than a USA Standard headstock.  If Hamer USA wanted it to be different, they sure as shit accomplished that goal. Of course, the entire MIK line was about moving and selling products, not achieving fidelity in design. 😎

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9 hours ago, Biz Prof said:

Of course, the entire MIK line was about moving and selling products

"Look.  Our business is simple.  We make shit, we move shit, we sell shit"  

-CFO of a Fortune 500 company I once had the pleasure of presenting to.

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