Official Luthiers Forum!

I’ve thought of making Pickguards in the past but I guess for whatever reason just never have. Any of you guys or girls making custom guards if so show them off! I’ve always been curious how they get the designs in them like the hummingbirds & SJ’s.

I have never done the designs before. I am building some 45-style OM's now but I think we decided not to do the desings. None the less I had to give it some thought. I wonder if they just rout and inlay? Not sure.

But I always make my pick guards. Simple ones. These are prewar OM designs.

I cut mine out of sheet stock but don’t actually pour the plastic.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Same here, make a wooden router template, double stick tape the sheet stock to it, rough cut on the band saw and finish with the router. Polish out with micro mesh and the buffing wheel.

LMI used to have downloadable full sized templates for various designs on their website as I recall.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

If your thinking of doing a 45 style inlay in a pickgaurd you could place the inlay in the mold and then pour over it. I haven't done it but it should work out.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Gosh I never thought of actually making them from scratch

I just buy the celluloid sheets and trace the pattern out and cut it with sharp scissors then sand the bevel in the edge.

Excellent Pickguards and beautiful guitar. What’s the finish?

I make my own. Used to buy the Greven ones from LMI but selection dropped and I didn’t like the choices. It is really quite easy to do. A couple ounces of Epoxy and the stewmac tint. Here’s one on number 25.

Looks nice! What epoxy are you using? How thick are you pouring them? Any tips?

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Hi Brian, I use system three finishing resin. I pour it out, drip in some tint, swirl it a bit, and blow the bubbles with a hot air gun which also spreads it out thinner. Do it in a clean area without an ac vent blowing or you’ll get a bit too much dust. It’s really a simple process. You will probably have to experiment with it but it works. There are several videos on YouTube showing the set up with glass and heat shrink film.

Mario was making them some years back, don't know if he still is but his were the best that I have ever seen and I would be interested in those for sure if I was still building.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Wow! That's really nice. So do you build a mold for the shape or just let it run thin and then cut it out with scissors or something?


French polish shellac.

Hi JF, I don’t use a mold, just a sheet of window pane glass covered with shrink film (epoxy won’t stick to it at all). I put a paper cutout of my guard shape on the back to make sure I like what I’m getting. I mix up about 1 to 1 1/2 ounce epoxy with raw umber and maybe a touch of yellow. I pour that as my background and blow it with a hot air gun. Then I mix dark brown or tobacco brown in another batch and drip/swirl it in some semi-pattern. I sometime tilt the glass and have the colors mix that way. Blow with hot air again to rid of bubbles and let it dry. I always loved the Greven guards and try to replicate the look: haven’t got there yet but trying.
Yea cut with scissors and bevel the edge with a razor blade. Buff on the buffer.

Nice looking pick guard material. Where did you find the celluloid sheets?

I made an OM pickguard from a D pickguard before... At first I tried cutting it by hand as best as I can do it... but it wasn't good enough (anyone could tell that it looked like a kid did it), so I used my laser and a pattern I found online. Then it looks perfect.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com