Is an HPL headstock hollow?

Kaelrie

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I got an Enya ukulele and I love it, but the headstock is soooo thick tuners barely fit on it. I'd like to take a half inch off the thickness at the very end where tuners sit.

But... I don't know about HPL construction. Is it solid? If so, it'd be easy to cut and then paint the underside. But if it's hollow, then it's all just a very bad idea and I should probably leave it alone.
 
just my opinion but I believe the neck and headstock are solid and it's only the
body that is HPL.
 
Not sure which one exactly you're looking at. My Enya X1 Soprano has a solid headstock (looks like mahogany + a koa-ish top plate), but it's only 7/16" thick. Shaving a half inch off would be difficult ;)

Enya's specs say the neck is mahogany. It looks like the concert and tenor have slotted headstocks instead of the solid one on my soprano. Those would be a touch thicker to support the rotated tuning machines. You could probably shave down the end above the slots, but I'd go with gochugoi's suggestion of getting a different tuner.
 
It's a slotted headstock, and it's 13/16ths thick. The tuner that came with it has to be opened to max width and even then it sits a little funny, not quite flat. I do like the suggestion of the soundhole tuner, though. I didn't know those existed.
 
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While I am not a luthier, and there are quite a few of them that contribute to these forums, the one drawback to a slotted headstock is that they do have to be thicker to provide the structural support for the string tension. If they were thinner, you have the very strong potential of the wood giving into the pressure and snapping or warping.

So, I wouldn't mess with the thickness of any slotted headstock...or any other headstock for that matter.

There are plenty of tuners that will fit on that headstock; you might want to take your ukulele with you to a local music store and try a few. The local store should happy to help you, and while there is a slight upcharge when you buy from a local store, it isn't much considering the service you should be able to get.
 
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