Shaping the headstock
Because the Telecaster headstock shape is a trademark of Fender Musical Instruments Corp. (FMIC) then all modern kits come with a blank or "paddle" headstock from which you can cut your own design. Any similarity to a Fender Telecaster headstock on this page is purely coincidental!
The first job is to decide on your headstock shape. I made a paper template and used this to draw the shape on the back of the headstock. Don't use black pen as I did - pencil will do. I used a pen to show up in the photograph.
Cut out the shape of the headstock roughly with an electric jigsaw or coping saw. You can use a router if you have one.
The final shaping of the headstock is done using coarse sandpaper before finishing off with finer sandpaper to give a smooth surface for the lacquer.
Finishing the neck
As our chosen kit has a rosewood fretboard, it is important to mask it off to avoid unwanted overspray. If you have a maple fretboard then don't mask as you'll be lacquering that too.
Hold the neck and spray a couple of thin coats of lacquer onto the face of the headstock. You should spray the sides of the headstock too.
Lay the neck on a flat surface and spray a few thin coats of lacquer. Once the lacquer is touch dry you can spray a few more coats but be very careful not to spray too thickly or the lacquer will run. I have used a slightly tinted lacquer to give a vintage colour to the neck.
Once the lacquer on the neck has hardened (we left ours 3 days) you can polish using a proprietary rubbing compound before polishing to a shine.
