dpm99 Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 If I've missed a tutorial somewhere, please forgive me and point me in the right direction. I've been working on making some wooden pickup rings, and I keep making mistakes. I'll get it on my own soon enough, but I know several here have made their own pickup rings. How did you go about it? What steps did you follow? Thanks in advance, -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I made some, although I never ended up using them. I started with a single templates - for the inside. I grabbed an oversized (length and width wise) block of wood that was about the thickness I needed for the final ring. Make sure the grain is running the long direction on the ring. I used a drill press and a sharp brad point bit to drill the four corners of the pickup hole at the appropriate radius. Grabbed a coping saw and rough cut out the remainder of the hole. On the router table, used a bearing guided bit and the inner template to get the inner hole perfected. Sanded it to thickness at this point. I suppose you could do that first. Then I took it over to the bandsaw and carefully cut the outside dimensions. Used a disc sander on the sanding station to carefully round the corners. Mine felt kind of fragile, so I let CA glue soak into it in an effort to sturdy the wood. I'm not sure if that actually did anything. Never got around to spraying it or drilling holes as I decided I didn't like the look. I think the really only big trick with these is to the outside edges after you do the inside hole - otherwise it's real easy to accidently blow out some of the thinner pieces of the construct. I think the bandsaw is really the ideal way to make those outside cuts, too - ( a zero clearance insert helps, too) it's pulling down as it cuts, against the table, rather than across, or up and down, like if you were cutting by hand or with a jigsaw or something, so it doesn't put a lot of stress on the narrow bits of wood. You mention mistakes - what kind of mistakes are you making? The big problems I foresee are snapping the thin bits of wood, but are you having a different difficulty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotYou Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Creepy. I was struggling with this exact thing today and was about to start a thread asking the same thing. I did one by hand, no templates, but the hole came out a little too large. I've been able to make straight lines like that before by hand, but it usually isn't worth the headache. I'm trying it with a router template tomorrow, I think. I was thinking of drilling the corners, kind of like j. pierce mentioned, then removing the inside somehow. After I get it close I might take to the router. That way, the router should be a little less likely to tear the thin sides out. If there is a tutorial, or if someone has some tips, it'd be greatly appreciated. Edited February 13, 2009 by NotYou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Well, I started by making these pickup covers: They turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. After that, I thought the pickup rings would be easy. The first one I tried to make was with really thin Brazilian rosewood scrap. I cut out the inside just like you did, but didn't do a template. I kept breaking it and gluing it back together. Finally, I moved to some cocobolo that was lying around. This time I just cut off all the edges with the intention of gluing them back together. But I goofed up, and one of the sides was too short. It's not a hard fix, but these have proven to be a little more difficult than I anticipated. I think I'm gonna go with your method, except I'll probably route with a Dremel. Incidentally, I've been using a coping saw for most of the work. As long as you're patient, it seems to be a pretty decent tool for the job. Thanks for the replies. NotYou, make sure you let me know how it goes. I'll do the same. -Dave Edited February 13, 2009 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 If you're using a coping saw, when cutting thin stock that's prone to cracking, I suggest using a backing block that's notched or slotted - basically a board with a hole or a slot in it that the saw blade passes through, that helps reinforce the material from behind as you draw the saw through it. Like the base of a bandsaw, but for your handsaw, same concept as when cutting pearl. Helps a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 If you're using a coping saw, when cutting thin stock that's prone to cracking, I suggest using a backing block that's notched or slotted - basically a board with a hole or a slot in it that the saw blade passes through, that helps reinforce the material from behind as you draw the saw through it. Like the base of a bandsaw, but for your handsaw, same concept as when cutting pearl. Helps a lot. I was actually fine through the cutting process. They kept breaking during sanding. I could have remedied that by reinforcing both sides with a supporting piece of wood, but I didn't. Live and learn. I'm really thinking that I want to make an mdf template, rough cut inside and out with the coping saw, and route to shape with the dremel. If I don't like that, I think I have another way to do it. I'm leaving the BRW aside until I get my technique down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotYou Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I'm really thinking that I want to make an mdf template, rough cut inside and out with the coping saw, and route to shape with the dremel. I'm actually thinking of using an existing plastic pickup ring as a template, then routing with a flush-trim bit. As long as my corners are pre-cut, I don't see why it wouldn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I'm really thinking that I want to make an mdf template, rough cut inside and out with the coping saw, and route to shape with the dremel. I'm actually thinking of using an existing plastic pickup ring as a template, then routing with a flush-trim bit. As long as my corners are pre-cut, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I think a plastic ring will be too flexible, get a metal pickup ring instead... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalhead28 Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I recently made some out of zebrawood that seemed extra brittle. I tried making them a couple of different ways without luck, but I discovered this idea and it will be my preferred method from here on out. What I did was use an oversized block that was about an inch and a half thick and couple inches larger than the finished ring in both directions. I made a simple MDF template for the inside opening, routed that about an inch deep, then I took the block to the table saw, sawed the outside dimensions pretty close to the final size, and then I used the table saw again, turned it on its side and sawed off two slices of that block, the thickness of my pickup rings. I was afraid that cutting slices like that might fracture the rings, but it worked perfectly. After that I just took them to the sander to smooth the saw cuts out some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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