Making the truss rod cover and headstock plate

Whereas I had an aluminum pickguard and a neckplate from the store, I did not have a suitable (curved) truss rod cover and customized headstock plate, so I needed to make them from aluminum sheet metal.

I first printed the shapes onto a piece of paper, cut them out and glued them on to the metal (there's a thin layer of protective plastic foil on top of the metal to prevent scratches).

I then took a saw, first did a rough cut around so that I wouldn't have to work with the entire sheet, then cut both shapes.

I marked the position for the holes with a sharp pointer, then evened out any sharp edges with a file and continued smoothing the edges with fine grained (600) wet sandpaper.

This is the result once I was done with the sanding:

I then took a hammer and carefully shaped the truss rod cover to match the curve of the headstock.
This is how the plates look now:

I have already called the guy who is supposed to do the laser engraving to check for dimensions and any limitations as well as for required file formats for the designs.

If I find the time tomorrow, I will take the parts to his shop and discuss the details.