sixstring Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 I was thinking of perhaps having a pickguard made of wood on my project. Perhaps something like spruce or another tonewood. I was just toying with the idea. It would also possibly help when I paint it. What do you guys think, good idea or bad idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I was thinking of perhaps having a pickguard made of wood on my project. Perhaps something like spruce or another tonewood. I was just toying with the idea. It would also possibly help when I paint it. What do you guys think, good idea or bad idea I think its a cool idea. I've seen a few guitars that have with a wood pickguard. I think it looks good but I guess it also depends on the overall theme of the guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 They can be hard to make without splitting. Similar to making wooden pickup rings. Its doable but i personally perfer no pickguard (sorry mickguard) so you get to see all the real wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerb Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 (edited) While the things a bassist finds attractive and the things a guitarist finds attractive are two totally different things, I absolutely love them. I made one not long ago as a test for the basses I'm currently building. While I didn't have problems with splitting, warpage was a problem. I found that making it from 2 pieces with opposite grain orientation helped a lot. I also have to ask, why would you make a guard from wood and then paint it? Edited February 25, 2006 by Cerb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I bought one made out of wenge for my telecaster....looks great, but you have to be really careful around the screw holes (i.e., don't screw it down too hard). But because it's wood, it's twice as thick as a normal pickguard, and it just doesn't fit well --my pick kept hitting the guard and became too annoying to play. This might not be a problem for you, depending on your picking style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 you could route out a place for the pickguard, so say you make it 5mm thick only 2mm would show. just a thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I certainly wouldn't make one out of spruce. The idea of a pickguard is to protect the fragile guitar top from scratches/dings from your pic. Protecting it with a wood as soft as spruce makes no sense at all! It's like making a crash helmet out of human hair... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 But because it's wood, it's twice as thick as a normal pickguard, and it just doesn't fit well --my pick kept hitting the guard and became too annoying to play. As Nitefly suggests, you could route out a place for the pickguard, so say you make it 5mm thick only 2mm would show.. Heck you could flush fit it too as seen on the Super Avianti. P.S. Lovely avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 I made this one a long time ago out of about 7 pieces of oak flooring scrap. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v398/soa...akguard3061.jpg I didn't use a template, because I didn't have one. I didn't even have a real strat guard to work off of, I just looked at photos and "winged it". But it's actually a reject because the neck single coil is a little too far to either the treble or bass side (can't remember which). But it was on a guitar for several years. Next one I make will probably be out of pine, fir or redwood. If those woods are good enough for an acoustic top, they're surely good enough for a replaceable part of an electric guitar (I don't really use my pick as a shovel to dig holes in the guitar anyway). I'll also probably use wax for the finish, if I finish at all. I used watco oil on that oak one, and think it really dulls any wood tone it would otherwise have, especially being under 1/8' thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 I've seen some very nice examples of regular old plastic pickguards covered with veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 There used to be a guy who sold flame maple pickguards (he's since gone out of business). I purchased one of his strat guards and I was pretty happy with it. It was thicker than a regular pickguard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungehead Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 I've seen some very nice examples of regular old plastic pickguards covered with veneer. how is that done? what kind of glue is used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 A polyurathane based glue would glue dissimilar objects together well. I wouldn't recommend using Gorilla glue since it expands. Also, a vacuum pump would be great for gluing the pickguard to the veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 I never know why this forum produces year+ old threads from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungehead Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 I never know why this forum produces year+ old threads from time to time. because i'm here i really dont like bumping things up from the dead but i'm making a flame maple pickguard and i had to ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 I never know why this forum produces year+ old threads from time to time. Probably strange for some guys. " Hey, I was still married to my 4th wife when I wrote that !" I get a kick out of seeing old posts that show I'm a hack about most things. Oh wait, that ain't just the old posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko_Lps Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 I made some wooden pickguard for me and friends. There are real wood leafs? how can i say that that their thickness is about 0.45 to 0.6mm you can do a 5 ply one with these mine is 5-ply flammed maple and wenge maple/wenge/maple/wenge/maple and it looks really unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 I never know why this forum produces year+ old threads from time to time. Hey man, don't knock it....it means people are actually using the Search function! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 Indeed! When I wrote that, I honestly believed some sort of bug was causing old threads to end up on the "new posts" list, and then people would reply to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/zyo...ld/100_0365.jpg I made one out of spalted burch for this Spalted top guitar. Being that a guard is thin you'll want to hardcoat it to keep it from warping. I had one made fo ebony and it folded its self into a tube shape. I just shot this one with a little flat nitro and it turned out killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 I imagine you could use wood hardener (such as the one made my Minwax) if you're using soft woods. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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