cosmikdebriis Posted April 15, 2008 Posted April 15, 2008 I managed to buy some very cheap Maple veneer from our local dump. So, I thought could be useful for making some wood pickguards for my Heritages. 8) I always feel the plastic ones look a bit cheap. It's early days yet but I'm getting there. Here's a pic of my progress so far. The most complete is the "natural" finish Just needs sanding and re varnishing. The others I've stained with leather dye !!! as I found it lying around in a cupboard. I wanted to match an OSB for my 150 and I think it could be pretty close. Unfortunately the picture doesn't really show off the flaming but it certainly is there... When I'm done I'll take some pics on the guitars. I'd be interested in some alternative shapes if anyone has any ideas?
Kazwell Posted April 15, 2008 Posted April 15, 2008 Looks nice. Bet you could make some cash on the side making those, and not just for Heritages....
brentrocks Posted April 15, 2008 Posted April 15, 2008 Looks great....how long does it take you to make one?
cosmikdebriis Posted April 15, 2008 Author Posted April 15, 2008 Looks great....how long does it take you to make one? I suppose like most things I'm learning as I go along. By far the most time consuming part is waiting for the glue or varnish to dry. I've experimented with gluing a thin veneer on top of the original plastic guard and that's been surprisingly successful. 6hrs for the glue to dry, then an hour for the stain to dry, then 24 hrs between coats of varnish as I need to sand and re varnish. As such that's probably two or three days. The other style I'm trying (and where I can easily experiment with shapes) is by laminating the veneer together (crossed grain for strength and to reduce warpage) kind of like plywood. It doesn't really take any longer but I can have much more scope for experimentation. I'm considering making some without varnish, just a stain and polish as perhaps they won't scratch so easily. Not really worth it from an economic point of view unless I was going to mass produce on some sort of production line. Still... Keeps me out of trouble... :wink:
High Flying Bird Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Still... Keeps me out of trouble... :wink: Right! Looking good so far.
doggy1972 Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Cosmik. They look superb. Very classy.Ill buy one if you're selling any.
Spectrum13 Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Very very very very nice! As my 150 and 137 does not have a pickguard, how about something nice on the flip side to cover the control cavity? Korina to replace black plastic clear nitrous finish. I'm in.
Heritage525 Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 cosmikdebriis - can you do a small one for a mandolin?
cosmikdebriis Posted April 16, 2008 Author Posted April 16, 2008 I'm not sure they're of a standard to even think about selling them. I'm working on getting them up to a suitable standard so watch this space... For the moment here's a half finished one on my Antique Natural 150. A few more layers of varnish to go which (hopefully) may lighten it a little. Part of the problem I have is too much flame... Have a look and you decide.... Unfortunately one pic was taken in natural light and the other indoors so colour balance is different. http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj254/cosmikdebriis/both.jpg[/img]
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