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Hi, I`ve fitted pickguards made from red swirl tortoloid on my last five builds. I`m very happy with the appearance and workability of the material but it is rather expensive. Has anyone used Stewmac acoustic pickguard material and how does it compare to tortoloid?
Thanks

Roy

I have and it’s typical. The torttloid looks better. You can save money by just making your own totiloid-like pickgaurd. It’s just epoxy with tints swirled in. You tube has demos.

This is one I made.

+1 on make your own. Todd Cambio of Frauini guitars makes them, and this one is kind of cool, The outline is slightly routed out, the pearl is glued down in the recess, and the material is poured around it - instant inlayed pickguard.

Axiom Inc has actual 0.028" cellulose nitrate guard material in a vintage brown, firestripe, and amber speck patterns. Axiom sells pieces in 8" x 9", 12" x 13-1/2", 13-1/2" x 24", 24" x 27", and full sheet (24" x 54") sizes, as well as pre-cut teardrop pattern guards. A full sheet is about $175, and makes 40-45 teardrops with careful layout, so cost per guard is very reasonable, give it is the real thing.

A $33 HAZMAT charge applies for the sheet stock, so worth bundling all your celluloid purchases together...we usually pick up 3-4 full sheets of guard material and as much tortoid, ivoroid, and white & black celluloid material as we can reasonably anticipate using...makes the fee a little less painful. Attachment with 3M 468MP transfer film.

I would like to see Axiom sell a nice, darker brown/russet guard pattern closer to the darkened vintage stuff we see on some older Martins, but given we go through 1-2 sheets of the vintage brown material every year on replacement guards for repair and new builds, what is available is not bad.

http://www.axinc.net/028_Vintage_Brown_Pickguard_Material_p/tbv028.htm

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Glen, your pickguard is very impressive (and compliments on the guitar, it`s beautiful).
Do you cast the pickguard in a shaped mould or do you make a sheet? What is the thickness and which epoxy and tints do you use?

Ed, I`ll keep that in mind for the future but I must admit that the thought of accurately routing such a recess in a top is scary.

Woodie, thanks, I`ve looked at the Axiom cellulose nitrate. The use of " the real thing " would be ideal; however I`m an amateur and only build about three guitars a year so I cannot justify buying in bulk. As I`m in the UK there are also import duties and 20 percent VAT to pay.

Roy

Roy, I used system three epoxy and poured it on a piece of glass covered in shrink plastic. Search you tube, you’ll find the tutorials I followed. And thanks for the compliments.

Hey Glen-

Would you mind sharing the links for the YouTube vids please? I can't find anything on making acoustic resin pickguards.


Thanks-

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

John, you’re right. I couldn’t find them either. Back when I first made mine probably 5 or 6 years ago there were multiple vids. Well, take a piece of normal window pane glass and tape some of that shrink plastic over one side and shrink it with a hair dryer. Mix up your epoxy as normally do and stir in some transtint for the background. Pour it out and then drop in your forecolor like brown. Move the brown around to a pattern you like. Lightly blow a heat guns/ hair dryer on it to remove air bubbles. Let dry and cut to shape.

"The use of " the real thing " would be ideal"

Using the real thing in the U.S. would be illegal. Celluloid is no more real than any of the other substitutes, and less stabile than the newer plastics.

Here is a good tut on making your own:

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/epic-knob ... 62/page-26

The actual tutorial starts at post #517.

Seems like a lot of work to me, but I suppose if you wanted something super custom like inlays this is the way to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

That is true, but for many vintage guitar enthusiasts, it is the only one that looks right.

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John

I have made several pick guards by mixing color tone stains in epoxy. I start out by cutting the pick guard shape out of clear thin plastic, the kind that is used with overhead projectors, any thin clear plastic sheet will work. I have a piece of wood cut out to the same shape only about a 1/16 inch smaller so that the clear plastic hangs over the edge about a 1/16 . Glue the plastic down with just a few small drops of white glue to prevent it from moving. I use a bullseye type level to make sure it is level. It has to be level in all directions ! Start out by mixing in yellow color tone stain into the liquid epoxy and pour it directly onto the plastic, it flows out right to the edge but not over the edge. You will have to spread the epoxy out to the edges until you have it completed covered. Now put just a drop of tobacco brown stain here and there into the yellow base color and swirl it around with a wooden stick. Maybe add just a touch of red, you just have to play with it to get the look you want. I take a straw and blow air directly onto the liquid epoxy, it just flows out and then flows back to level, this really adds random swirls into the mix. If you want some clear looking areas, just drop some tinted epoxy right into the mix. The epoxy flows right to the edge but not over, this gives the outer perimeter of the pick guard a rounded edge. Once you are satisfied with the look, put a clean, dust free shoe box over it and leave it alone till it cures. Using this method, you don't have to cut out a pick guard shape from flat stock then try to round the edges and buff back to a shine. They come out great looking with a natural polished looking edge.