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I am finishing up a relatively traditional triple 0 and am looking for your valued opinions/recommendations on tortoise teardrop pickguard suppliers and installation.

My favorite are the tortois from LMI. They aren’t cheap but they sure do look great. Adds a great finishing touch to a build. I use the transfer tape and they stay stuck.

The Stew Mac Tortoloid Pickguard Material—Antique Tortoise— is pretty nice stuff. Always cut your own if you've up for it.
https://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Pickguard_Materials/Tortoloid_Pickguard_Material.html


Holter Pickguards makes stunning celluloid pickguards that are very true to classic Martin Delmar. Beautiful work.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/holterpickguards/about/

Or, cast your own from epoxy.



For installation I've had great luck with the 3M adhesive sheets. Line it up, make a masking tape hinge, then remove the protective backing and lay it down.
https://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Pickguard_Materials/3M_Pickguard_Adhesive_Sheet.html

We buy the vintage brown and fire stripe material from Axiom, make up a template from 1/2" MDF, rout with a flush cutter, bevel and blend the edges with scraper, sand and buff, then mount with 3M 467M (available on Ebay at reasonable price in a variety of sizes) using the wet technique. For darker material, check Holter Guards...he seems to have a lovely pattern which matches the darker Martin guards.

https://www.facebook.com/holterpickguards/

We have used both the Tortoloid material from Mario Proulx (available through StewMac) and the Tortis material (available from LMII) - very similar dyed/colored epoxy - we thin to .025"-.028" with wet/dry, as the stock material is closer to 0.035" and can look a bit bulky.

For patterns, we have a box of them collected over the years and marked with instrument and date...for the recent BRW/adi 12 fret 000-42 and the two D-42 12 fretters we completed, the patterns were roughed using the vintage 12 fret 28-style patterns for 000 and D, and tweaked using shots from the VintageMartin site's collection of photographs of 40-series instruments.

http://vintagemartin.com/pickguards.html

On peel and stick material...we've used both the 3M single ply (as sold by Stewmac) and the two ply with scrim...the 3M 467MP two ply material is much easier to use and is not noticeably thicker after application. The only downside is that the material must be accurately trimmed to avoid having any portion of the scrim visible after application. Trimming with a fresh, quality single-edge razor blade using the 'ride the bevel' technique gives a very close, accurate trim.

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Daniel, what epoxy do you use or does it matter? I'm thinking of trying it with z-poxy. Because I have some on hand.

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Bill James at: axiom.net

Dave, I'm far from confident in my approach, still very much in discovery phase. I've tried a more flexible Resin Research Epoxy 2000, but don't yet have the color bleed control that I'd like.
If you've got some Z-poxy it would definitely be worth a try.

Keep it about as thin as you can.

I made one with Z-Poxy for a giveaway for my friend's kid. It turned out pretty well and looks good three years on but if I was doing it on one for sale I'd use something harder. The Z-Poxy cured a little soft/rubbery for my taste.

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.

Are there directions somewhere on pouring your own? One classy maker I know of routs a spot on the top, glues in a pearl inlay, and pours right over. End result is an inlaid pick guard with an inlay. Love to try that.

Any body have a sequence or a must-do or must-not-do list?

thanks

Ed

"End result is an inlaid pick guard with an inlay. Love to try that."

I had an SS Stewart /Martin A style mandolin with an inlaid pickguard. It has a nice flush appearance, but requires thinning an already thin top. Replacing it is also a bit more difficult.
I bought some thin tortoise colored celluloid sheet from ebay and I cut pickguards from it. It is thinner than most standard pickguards but still protects the top from pick scratches.
A few years back I made a pickguard from epoxy and thin pieces of mammoth tusk dentin. It was an interesting experiment with some otherwise unusable material.

[quote="Any body have a sequence or a must-do or must-not-do list?[/quote]

No tips for an inlayed pick guard but one thing you'll want to do if pouring your own is to make sure you get all the bubbles out. I used a little acetone in a preval sprayer to mist the surface a couple of times. This breaks the surface tension and gets rid of nearly all bubbles. If there are any left, they'll probably be few enough that you can pop them individually.

Well, If you want a traditional look, these guys have a pretty good history with that. They sent me three for a 00 and I could not find the "surface defects" in any of them! Give them a call directly as they were very accommodating and helpful.

Raymond,
Okay I am happy to say I was able to find several dozen of the 00-tortoise pickguard for a 42 style rosette. I have beveled versions for $12.50 each or flat ones for $3.75. They are peel and stick. Again these are second quality pickguards and do have some surface defects. If you’re interested in ordering one, give me a call at my number listed below. Thanks!


Angela Mitchell
C.F. Martin & Co., Inc.
Guitarmaker’s Connection
484-291-6620 (Direct Line)
Extension 2243

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

Woody, regarding clear pickguard material, you write that in addition to the material available from Stew-Mac you use "the two ply with scrim...the 3M 467MP two ply material is much easier to use and is not noticeably thicker after application." I'd like to know more about the two ply material you are referring to. When I google 467MP all I see is a 3M adhesive tape. Can you tell me any more about what you're using?

Thanks! : )

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

So how about clear pickguards? I've had OK luck with the SM clear material with the adhesive back, but it's tough to get a clean edge without pealing a little bit of the backing off.

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Tony Thatcher
Bozeman, Montana

Lately I've been using celluloid pickguard material from Rothko & Frost in England. They have more celluloid options available than Axiom and shipping to the USA is surprisingly cheap and fast, and there is no hazmat fee.

https://www.rothkoandfrost.com/material ... luloid-t46

Woodie- How about a little more info on floating on clear pick guards? I've never been clear on the soap and water combo. Sometimes I end up putting them on dry because I'm just unsure if all that water is going to come out, but the wet method allows for a more precise locating of the pick guard. Thanks, Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso