Stewart MacDonald 5297, Assembly Instruction Manual

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You can round the upper corners of the peghead, design
your own shape, or leave them squared in the vintage style .
Shape the bottom later, when you work on rounding the
neck .
Using a 3/8" rat tail file, file the string ramps into the slotted
peghead . See peghead string ramp detail on the blueprint .
Start in the middle of the ramp and as you reach the depth,
move sideways to enlarge them to just reach the edges of
the peghead slots . The “look” should be a clean extension
of the slots which taper out short of the string nut .
Shape the peghead
Align the nut end of the fretboard with the break angle,
where the peghead begins . Pencil a mark on the peghead
face 3/16" from the nut line . Align the peghead overlay with
this mark . This will leave some extra overlay wood to be
trimmed away when the nut is fitted later .
Using Titebond, glue and clamp the rosewood overlay ve-
neer, grain running lengthwise, to the face of the peghead
aligning it with the pencil mark . Use at least four C-clamps
with protective wooden cauls, and prepare a V-shaped caul
to fit around the “diamond” contour below the nut area
(pictured) . Unclamp when dry, and trim the overlay flush
to the sides of the peghead with a knife and file .
To trim the peghead slots, start by drilling a couple of small
(1/4"-3/8") holes through the overlay, backing it up with a
backing board . File smooth .
Peghead shaping and drilling
Peghead overlay
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