Where do I find oversized veneers for an archtop headplate?

[Philip Secrist]

I am building an Arch top using a Benedetto plan which has an approx 4-1/2" x 9" wide headstock design. In his video, he uses a black fiber veneer (.128" thick I think) for the front of the headstock and a maple veneer of similar size for the back, but I cannot find these veneers in that thickness or width anywhere! Can anyone tell me where to look?

[Mark Swanson]

Hello and welcome to the MIMForum. Please remember that we require the use of full names first and last here, so please let us know your name and we'll change that for you, and thanks!

[Philip Secrist]

Hi Mark. This is Philip Secrist. I have been a member on the MIMF before but lost my username and password, so I re-registered. Thanks!

[Nelson Palen]

Philip, one solution is to bookmatch a piece of material to get the desired width leaving the seam down the center of the headstock.
Another would be to splice small pieces along the outside edges of your veneer. Ebony is very forgiving as it blends very well.
A good glue joint is key when bookmatching or splicing and make sure the wood is dry so it doesn't shrink later and produce a gap.
Nelson

[Dave Stewart]

Yes, there are many avenues open. Most tonewood places (including LMI & Stewmac) have headplate material available. Or you can bandsaw & smooth your own, bookmatch as Nelson says, laminate from thinner veneers (eg 040Blk/ 020White/ 040Blk for an unbound head) etc etc

[Clay Schaeffer]

Another way to go, is to glue up sequence matched veneer with epoxy. With darker veneers and good clamping pressure the glue lines "disappear" under finish.

[Philip Secrist]

Thanks for the comments all! It will be a bound headstock, so the veneer thickness doesn't have to be much. It appears from the Benedetto drawings that the veneers are approximately 0.060" front and back, but I am not sure. He says in his video that he buys black fiber veneer for the top and maple veneer for the back, but I can't seem to find the veneers in the larger width anywhere (about 4.5 " wide). I am not confident in my ability to piece them together and have them look seamless. I can get veneers 4" wide from the parts houses like Stewmac or LMII, so I may just have to re-size the headstock to be a little narrower (4 inches or less).

[Nelson Palen]

Will you be applying binding and purflin to your headstock? If so, that reduces the width requirement for the veneer.

[Michael Lewis]

Headstocks work better when the strings don't diverge too much, so a little narrower can be a good thing.