MrMuckle

I haven't pursued making my own pickguards any further, but I stumbled upon this last night, and thought you guys might be interested. Go to the bottom of the page to see the beginning of the tutorial. Check out the whole thread, too. It's a good one!

http://www.tdpri.com/threads/epic-knobs-for-andy-brainy.655962/page-26

Sorry, man. I pretty much gave up. I might have another go at it this summer when I have more time, for it seems there's a bit of fair bit of experimentation involved. For example, a straight pour of the epoxy alone would level out to about .125". I'm not certain how to stay at that thickness including the 3-ply black/white/black. Unless the Spitfire guy wants to divulge his secrets, but I'm not holding my breath.

Thanks, guys. I will try to get a hold of some Alumilite before I try another epoxy. I scrapped the other pieces I previously poured, but I will definitely post pics of the next experiment. If anyone wants to join in and pool our shared knowledge this is what I have used so far: Art Resin brand epoxy and fluid acrylics by Golden. Here's a video of a guy using TransTint dyes. I might give those a go next time around:

And here is the Dan Erlewine video I mentioned where you can see how flexible the material is at that given thickness (roughly .100"):

So, I bought some epoxy from Art Resin to make my own tortoise shell pickguards and the sheet I poured did not come out at all like I had hoped. It's not the colors, they came out great, but instead it was that, at just under .125", it's incredibly flexible. Watching the Erlewine video on the Tor-Tis pickguards, which is the same thing (pigment swirled in epoxy resin), I see those are very flexible, too. That's fine for acoustics since it's going to be glued to the guitar top, but for a Strat-style pickguard, with pickups mounted to the pickguard proper, this ain't gonna fly.

Should I be using a polyester or acrylic resin instead? Will these cure harder at such a small thickness? Perhaps it's the Art Resin brand. I chose it because of the no VOC's (read: No Respirator), but maybe that is its weakness. Maybe I should a more expensive brand like West System?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Chris, could you tell us a little more about that neck joint? Isn't it a little weak because of the smaller gluing surface? And don't you need more mass around that area? I thought that's why Fenders have that little rectangular part that stick out of the body.

Me hates plastic. Guess I will be the guinea pig......

I'd like to make a 4-ply wooden pickguard - .060 wood on top with BWB fiber veneer(.010 each layer) underneath. I've read that some of you glue the wood to plastic to keep it from warping, but I was wondering if gluing this all up with epoxy would help the fiber veneer, though much weaker than plastic, stay flat and rigid. Any thoughts on this?

So, RAD, you wouldn't even use a thinner 1/32" fiber veneer in a scarf joint?.

At what thickness do you begin to compromise strength and stabiity in a laminate neck when using fiber veneer? Is 1/16" pushing it?

Thanks for the replies. How often do you oil it? Given that it's not as oily as rosewood, I'd imagine that you'd have to oil it frequently so that it doesn't dry out.

Given that mesquite isn't oily like ebony nor rosewood, though its hardness lies somewhere in between the two, how would you go about finishing this wood when used as a fretboard? Just a little bit of oil or should I spray a thin coat of lacquer like a maple fretboard? Please advise.

Thank you, Prostheta.

You guys who use software to design your templates, do you offset to compensate for glue, finish, etc. when you have two templates that will "mate" such as a neck template and a neck pocket template or pickup cover template and a pickguard template? If so, how much? A 64th off each? Less?

Thanks for the interest and the replies, everyone, though I think we're getting a little off track. What I wanted to do with this is have a list of posts that people could go to that are thorough in their documentation of a particular build. I'm looking for the most informative posts, not the coolest guitars. If a GOTM qualifies for this, however, by all means post a link to it.

As mattamatta said, "I actually feel like I've picked up more seeing various guitars built than from reading the couple books I purchased". I couldn't agree with this more. I think if we compile a list of links we could really help out new and future members of P.G.

So, instead of just listing names, how about a post from that particular person that you feel is the most informative? I've already listed one, but like I said, I've only gone in about 10 pages. 222, now 223 pages, is a daunting task!

** Yes, RAD. A new forum might be a good idea!

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=43812&st=75

This was one of my favourites, but I've only gone in maybe 10 pages.

For those of you who have been here a long time, how 'bout listing what you think are the best posts in regards to the building process. I'm not talking about which guitars are prettiest, but which of these posts best document a build from start to finish. Perhaps we can compile them into a big list/sticky. I know those who are new to the forum would love to have a best of list before perusing all 222 pages.

I've done a little more research on this since my initial post, have you used Super-Soft 2? http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Super-Soft-2-Veneer-Softener-Conditioner.html

Can most wood binding be bent at 1/8" thick on one of those bending machines? 1/16" seems to be the normal size, but I'm wondering if this is for aesthetics as opposed to to how easily the wood bends at that size.

These guys who are in the business of selling highly figured, bookmatched tonewoods, are they doing anything differently than your amateur guitar builder when it comes to seasoning? I can't see them taking much risk in a crap-shoot when there's $$$ at stake.

Thanks guys. The reason I was asking is because I was given some green, figured 16/4 mahogany (flatsawn) that I want to bookmatch at 1.5" (I'll be putting a 1/4" veneer on top of it). Instead of waiting 4 years for the 4" thick piece to air dry I cut it into two 2" pieces to cut the drying time in half. But now I've exposed my bookmatched facings. In the event they don't dry properly and the boards warp, cup or bow, I'm worried I'll lose a nice bookmatch if I have to plan off too much in order to get the boards straight again. Would I have been better off keeping the piece at 16/4 and waiting for it to dry completely before opening it up?

What's the most material you've removed between two pieces of wood and have still kept a nice bookmatch? What was the species?

Looks great! What size roundover bit did you use on the top?

Mpeg2, seems as though you have your personal messaging disable, so I'll ask here if you're still around. How did that spar varnish work out for you? Is the color of the Padauk still intact? How hard is that finish? Rock hard or semi-hard?

Reading all of your replies has made me quite anxious to try out some new options. Thanks to those of you who took the time to chime in!