Method of providing protection to the pole piece of a magnetic head during its manufacture with use of a selectively etchable material

A method of making a magnetic head involves providing a partially constructed magnetic head which has a top surface formed by a front P 2 pole tip, a back gap P 2 pedestal, and insulator materials disposed between the front P 2 pole tip and the back gap P 2 pedestal; forming a layer of selectively etchable materials over the top surface of the partially constructed magnetic head, the layer having a front edge that is recessed away from an air bearing surface (ABS); forming additional insulator materials over the selectively etchable material layer and over a front portion of the front P 2 pole tip; performing a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) to form a substantially coplanar top surface with the selectively etchable material layer and the additional insulator materials; etching to remove the selectively etchable material layer; and depositing yoke layer materials over the resulting structure.