![]() ![]() Due to the constant force of the pulling strings, this area will always be under stress and can relatively easily be broken. When sloping down the headstock though, there is a part where the grain (still in the same direction) is cut off at both ends and in fact, becomes very short. ![]() When using a single peace of wood and simply carving out the desired shape, the grain will run along the grain for the majority of the neck and will indeed be very strong. Any piece of wood will be significantly stronger and flexible along the grain, whereas across the grain will be weaker and brittle. The strength of wood comes from its grain and the grain direction. Why are one-piece tilted headstocks weaker? There are two common methods to achieve this and they involve cutting the headstock part at the desired angle, flipping it, and re-gluing in an angle. The scarf joint is a method of connecting a separate piece to create the tilted headstock in a way that eliminates the point of weakness that is created when building it from a single piece of lumber. The one major downside of a tilted headstock is its vulnerability to breakage and many Luthiers would agree that the best method to remedy that is the Scarf Joint. The strings need to have a break angle at the nut and it makes total sense to tilt the headstock backwards. Until Leo Fender came up with the flat headstock, pretty much all the guitars (and most other stringed instruments) had an angled neck.
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