Where to get a custom pickguard?

Sweetloaf

Sweetloaf

Sweetloaf

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I'm looking for a tortoiseshell or red Abalone pickguard for my SG, there has never been one commercially available as far as I know, does anyone know a place that will make one for me?

Cheers :)

Something like the tortoiseshell 3 ply on this page would do.

http://www.axesrus.com/axeplates.htm
 
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I've just gone and bought the sheet I posted in the opening post, I'm gonna give it a shot myself :)

Thanks anyway and I'll give you a shout if (when) I screw it up :D

Any advice to offer?
 
cut wide and use a drum sanding bit (i'm asuming you have a dremel) to get closer.

if there are round bits (like the inside corners of pickup routes) then use a drill for those bits.

get used to saying "**** ive messed that bit up, oh well its not that bad" a lot :p
 
SidewinderINC said:
cut wide and use a drum sanding bit (i'm asuming you have a dremel) to get closer.
Click to expand...

ermmm....I have one on the way now, this cheap pickguard is gonna cost a fortune :D

SidewinderINC said:
if there are round bits (like the inside corners of pickup routes) then use a drill for those bits.

get used to saying "**** ive messed that bit up, oh well its not that bad" a lot :p
Click to expand...


Cheers, that sounds about right for me :)
 
right, if you're new to using a dremel then practise on some other stuff before you let loose on the tiny bit of plastic you get for the £10 :p

its one of the reasons i use 3mm acrylic for plates, it costs £15 for a 50cm x 100cm sheet.

you should get some wafer thin cutting discs with it that are a brown colour - use them on a high speed but dont cut on your cutting line as it melts the plastic slightly.


you'll get great satisfaction from doing it yourself - i know i do :D
 
Ta, the sheet is bigger than I need so I'm going to do the outline on it, then do a couple of bigger outlines around that one, this will give me a bit of a practice with the material I'll actually be using.

Where do you get your sheets from? do they do a variety of colours?

I'm not sure what each layer is like on the sheet I'm getting, hopefully it will give a nice edge once I've shaped the sides.

I sense an embarrasing set of update photos in the not too distant future, possibly with a mini SG pickguard appearing on an auction site at the end of it :D
 
i get my sheets from a place called "The Design & Making Center" its part of cornwall county council.. i dont live anywhere near cornall though :p


3mm is a little on the thick side really, 2mm would be ideal as thats closer to the proper thickness.

my 1st scratchplate was pants and i threw it away heh, only just finished the 2nd and its a little better though by no means perfect!

its all because i have found nowhere with templates to go by so i'm enlarging pictures to the right scale and using those.

scratchplate003zb9.jpg



i know it looks slightly pink but i can honestly say its purple :p

its pretty shoddy in fairness but i'm gonna buy an £8 plate and use that as a template - this guitar doesnt have a standard pickup organisation as you can see.
 
It doesn't look that bad (bit too pink for my liking though) :p

What's the guitar? shouldn't the bridge pick up hole be angled? -edit, ignore, just read in full.

It's probably a damn sight neater than the one I'm attempting :D

Fortunately I have the old pickguard to use as a template.

In an attempt to save money I went for a £12 dremellesque type thing, it says it comes with 10 cutting discs, the only thing that there are 10 of look like little black sanding discs, the edges of these are about 1mm wide, are these the cutting discs? I expected something a little more blade like.

The tool itself seems decent enough but the manual is a bit crap.
 
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yeah, they'll be the cutting discs :)
you dont really need a 'blade' unless you're cutting wood.

you shouldnt need more than 1 to get round the entire outline, and i only replace them when they break or wear down to nothing.

you'll also find that you can use official dremel bits on it when you need or want replacements :)
 
I'm going to make a start on this at the weekend, a friend of mine has recommended masking tape on top of the material I'm cutting to aid in making a visible outline to cut around and help prevent splitting, what do you think? What do you use to mark out the shape? would a fine marker pen not be adequate?
 
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