Interesting headstock logo ideas

[Brett Zeppelin]

@Hopkins and @devo_stevo both show some pretty slick ideas with the laser-engraved 3D metal. I think that's pretty cool and would look great on the right headstock (like theirs do).

To the baseball bat idea, I'm kind of a "bat guy," so I'm somewhat familiar with this topic — not for guitars necessarily, but just the concept in general. You could also do something along the lines of a laser engraving directly into the wood (as mentioned), or even a branding type of thing. Even in dark wood, you can still get contrast by dying the brand/engraving. It'll take a little work, but certainly doable. Here's a classic finish:

 

[HaMMerHeD]

I had these made.

They are laser cut from stainless steel.

I think I paid about $60 for 8 of them.

 

[flameworker]

They would look even better imo if you polished them on a buffing wheel with some white than red rouge, shiny and round corners.

Sure will save me a lot of time cutting with a jewellers saw (coping saw with .30 round abrasive blade) headed to sheet metal place tomorrow and see if they can do it to sterling.

 

[devo_stevo]

They would look even better imo if you polished them on a buffing wheel with some white than red rouge, shiny and round corners.

Sure will save me a lot of time cutting with a jewellers saw (coping saw with .30 round abrasive blade) headed to sheet metal place tomorrow and see if they can do it to sterling.

They might look better, that's true, but I actually rather like the rough quasi industrial feel and look to the raw stainless steel. That's just me though. Post pics of whatever you end up doing. I like seeing what others are doing with this. I first saw the metal badge on Oscar Pratt's basses and thought that it looked cool.

 

[Hopkins]

They might look better, that's true, but I actually rather like the rough quasi industrial feel and look to the raw stainless steel. That's just me though. Post pics of whatever you end up doing. I like seeing what others are doing with this. I first saw the metal badge on Oscar Pratt's basses and thought that it looked cool.

Mine are made of aluminum, It doesn't show up very well in the picture, but I polished it out to a mirror shine. I also got the idea from Mr. Pratt

 

[HaMMerHeD]

They would look even better imo if you polished them on a buffing wheel with some white than red rouge, shiny and round corners.

Sure will save me a lot of time cutting with a jewellers saw (coping saw with .30 round abrasive blade) headed to sheet metal place tomorrow and see if they can do it to sterling.

The first photo was raw cut, but the one I put on the bass was rubbed with some 800-grit sandpaper to knock the oxide off and give it a sort-of "brushed" look. I can polish them, but I generally prefer more subdued tones.

However, I am going to refinish that bass soon and give it a high-gloss lacquer coat. So I might polish the logo badge up then.

Incidentally, I use stainless steel tuner screws to attach them. I used to buy them from Stewmac, but they discontinued them. They are available from McMaster-Carr still though.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#92470a054/=tai03j

 

[Hopkins]

The first photo was raw cut, but the one I put on the bass was rubbed with some 800-grit sandpaper to knock the oxide off and give it a sort-of "brushed" look. I can polish them, but I generally prefer more subdued tones.

However, I am going to refinish that bass soon and give it a high-gloss lacquer coat. So I might polish the logo badge up then.

Incidentally, I use stainless steel tuner screws to attach them. I used to buy them from Stewmac, but they discontinued them. They are available from McMaster-Carr still though.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#92470a054/=tai03j

Next time I order new badges I am going to redesign then a bit thicker to accommodate tuner screws. I have to buy an eye glasses repair kit to find screws small enough for my current ones.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Next time I order new badges I am going to redesign then a bit thicker to accommodate tuner screws. I have to buy an eye glasses repair kit to find screws small enough for my current ones.

Nice. I've been working on a couple of alternate designs. One is 25mm diameter without screw holes or flanges, to be inlaid into a 1" (25.4mm) hole and filled with recon stone or dyed epoxy. The other is this:

That one's too big for headstock's though (about 2" wide), so if I ever make one, it'll have to be made of something else inlaid at the 12th fret I think.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

I had these made.

They are laser cut from stainless steel.

Was this a local shop or someone online?

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Was this a local shop or someone online?

I got them from Pololu.

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[dalkowski]

Absolutely love these.

 

[Jay Jillard]

those metal logos look great, I'm just not a fan of having a logo that can be so easily removed from something i've built.

I've seen it before where an engraved piece of metal has been inlayed into the headstock, but so that it is still raised from the surface. looked pretty cool.

or get your logo etched into a disk that is the same size as a forstner bit, that would it would be very easy to inlay.

 

[Hopkins]

those metal logos look great, I'm just not a fan of having a logo that can be so easily removed from something i've built.

I've seen it before where an engraved piece of metal has been inlayed into the headstock, but so that it is still raised from the surface. looked pretty cool.

or get your logo etched into a disk that is the same size as a forstner bit, that would it would be very easy to inlay.

I have inlaid those logos as well. I am just not very good at inlaying, so I only do it on dark woods.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

I got them from Pololu.

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What's the thickness of the steel you used for these?

I'm thinking of attaching them with an adhesive vs screws.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

What's the thickness of the steel you used for these?

I'm thinking of attaching them with an adhesive vs screws.

They are 0.06" thick, which is about 1.5mm.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

They are 0.06" thick, which is about 1.5mm.

Is that thick enough to not be really "bendy?" I assume so...

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Yeah, they're not bendable without considerable effort, and perhaps tools.

 

[BTL]

The "chrome" logos buried under clear are "electroformed" by companies like DT Metronic.

They have an office outside Chicago.

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There are also a number of Chinese vendors who do this on Alibaba.

 

[buldog5151bass]

You can't stop counterfeiting - but the more difficult you make it, the less there will be, and the easier it will be to spot the counterfeits.

 

[Dan Bass]

I did something similar

That headstock looks like the Ibanez BTB headstock, here's the BTB 1405E.