Cutting out a pickguard - advice please

Jimbro66

I want to make a custom pickguard for a new guitar I'm assembling.

My plan is first to experiment with card to get the shape right then from that make a template of 13mm MDF. I'd then use the template initially to draw the shape onto the pickguard material before cutting the material a few mm outside of the line. I'm planning then to attach the MDF template to the pickguard material with double-sided tape, using the drawn outline to position it.

The idea is then to cut the pickguard with a bearing router bit using the MDF template to guide it. The pickguard material may be either standard coloured 2.5mm plastic or 3mm clear acrylic of the types sold by WD Music, etc.

Does this sound like a viable method to those who have done it before? If so, do I need to use a particular type of bearing router bit to avoid chipping the edge of the the pickguard material?

I'm not intending to chamfer the pickguard edge (and I think that would probably require a table router that I don't have). So what is the best method to achieve a polished and very slightly rounded edge after the router cutting?

Any advice would be really helpful and much appreciated please. Thanks.

CasperCaster

Your basic plan is fine, but I would make a couple of points.

Firstly, if you cut your template from a reasonable sized sheet of MDF make sure you retain the scrap MDF,  along with scrap scratchplate material. Since the pickguard template will likely be quite small it is easy for the router to rock/ wobble - use the scrap material around the outside of the template to support the outer edge of your router whilst cutting your pickguard. Your scrap materials will be the exact same thickness as your template and pickguard blank. I use double sided tape to stick the whole lot on another piece of MDF, with the scrap material arranged like a frame spaced around the work.

Secondly, once you have it trimmed with the router leave everything in place. Then go around again with a bearing guided bevel bit. No need for a table router, or to do it all by hand.

Finally, I have never had much success cutting acrylic - it is a complete bitch with both saws and standard router bits, and cracks and chips very easily. There are specialist acrylic cutting bits but I've never felt the need to invest in these - easier just to avoid acrylic! Alternatively, if you have a lot of it expect to have 3 or 4 goes at it before you have a successful result.

Jimbro66

Brilliant advice @CasperCaster   Thanks very much for your comments.

Have you found a reliable method of polishing the cut edge? I remember seeing one guy take a heat gun to the edge of acrylic to crystalise it and make it shiny but I would think the chances of a warped sheet are pretty high.

CasperCaster

I have cut acrylic for a recessed transparent cover for a rear mounted preamp in a Strat - the battery status LED was on the circuit board and the clear cover seemed like a simple solution to maintain visibility of the LED, but was a pain to make for the reasons outlined in my first post. However, acrylic will buff and polish much like lacquer, so you might get away with regular wet and dry papers, micromesh, buffing compounds etc. I have no experience of using a heat gun to get the edge shiny, but that sounds like a recipe for a warped pickguard!

Personally I would use the regular multiply plastic/ vinyl that modern pickguards are made from. Mount the roughed out pickguard on top of the template (protect it from scratches from your router base), use the frame I described previously to provide additional support for your router, and ensure there is enough clearance around and below the template for your router bit. Then trim it exactly to the template with a laminate trimmer followed by a bevel bit to put a nice bevelled edge on it just like most Fender pickguards have. If you look at a 3ply Fender pickguard they are not polished on the edges, but the bevel reveals the different coloured ply's of the plastic/ vinyl material. The smoothness of the edge is assured by having a good template and a sharp bit.

So, take your time to get the MDF template right - any flaws in the template will be beautifully and accurately copied onto your pickguard. So get your mistakes out of the way with MDF, it's probably cheaper than your pickguard material!

I think I have a picture somewhere which shows me cutting the acrylic backplate - it's probably easier to see it than to describe, so I will see if I can find it and post it here. It's all very Heath Robinson, in the backyard on the Workmate etc. 

Jimbro66

Thanks again @CasperCaster that's all really helpful.

For this particular guitar I was thinking of a single colour (or clear) pickguard blank and on this occasion I'd prefer not to have the sort of bevelled edge that shows three or more ply contrasting colours. I am undecided as to whether to have the pickguard screwed down or floating, probably the former, but I would like it to be square-edged with the top edge ideally very slightly radiused if that is achievable with consistency? I heed your advice about the difficulties of cutting acrylic so will see whether WD has a single-colour blank to complement the guitar's colour (perhaps cream like its P90s).

Edit: I'm wondering whether a laminate trim-and-round-over bit might give the edge finish I'd like. Perhaps something like a Whiteside 2630 but it might be too critical to set it spot-on with a hand-held router.

CasperCaster

As well as WD try eBay. I've purchased sheet material from sellers on eBay for a lot less than WD, though on the last occasion I was buying regular 3ply BWB material which I understand is not the kind of thing you want. Still, there might be some interesting material out there for the sake of a few minutes searching.

If you do want to try acrylic get yourself into Wickes/ B&Q and get a sheet of the stuff used to make cloches/ shed windows etc. Last time I needed some it was about £20 for a huge sheet, so if you screw up the first few attempts, no problem, you'll have plenty spare.

For a radiused edge I would still have suggested a router, but using a small radius bit rather than a bevel bit. However, from your description it seems you want a really, really small radius just to take the square top edge off, and a routed radius will be greater than that, so you are right to dismiss routing it. I think the choice of material may influence what will work, but for softer plastics/ vinyl a scraper would likely work. Its possible to make a rudimentary scraper from things like razor blades, and with care they can also be notched with a grinding bit on a dremel. If my memory serves me correctly Dan Erlewine demonstrates this when making a notched scraper to use on plastic binding, so perhaps have a look over on the StewMac website and see if you can find it - I can't now remember if it was one of the written articles or a video. But the point of the notched scraper was to give a consistently shaped edge, and of course scrapers leave a very smooth finish.

Jimbro66

Great tips there @CasperCaster. Thanks again.

I added a later 'edit' to my last post that you might have missed regarding a laminate trim-and-round-over bit that would probably do the job perfectly but would have to be set critically  -  perhaps more critically than could be achieved with a hand-held router. Although time consuming, using a scraper as you suggest might be the way to go and I'll certainly take a look at the StewMac site to try to find that Dan Erlewine demo. That's a site I can browse in for hours with all their great tutorials/videos.

I'll try the DIY store acrylic sheet with a nice new router bit but after your earlier comments I'm not optimistic. Still, nothing ventured nothing gained

Sporky

CasperCaster said:

I have no experience of using a heat gun to get the edge shiny, but that sounds like a recipe for a warped pickguard!

I've flame polished polycarbonate and it's pretty straightforward. You just play the heat source over the edges, no real risk of warping.

It's hard to cut neatly with a router; you need very low rpm and very high feed rates. The proper acrylic bits are worth it if you do a lot of them, because they cut cleaner and throw chips better which prevents melting.

Jimbro66

Sporky said:

CasperCaster said:

I have no experience of using a heat gun to get the edge shiny, but that sounds like a recipe for a warped pickguard!

I've flame polished polycarbonate and it's pretty straightforward. You just play the heat source over the edges, no real risk of warping.

It's hard to cut neatly with a router; you need very low rpm and very high feed rates. The proper acrylic bits are worth it if you do a lot of them, because they cut cleaner and throw chips better which prevents melting.

Do I assume then that proprietary clear pickguards are laser-cut rather than with a mechanical cutter?

Sporky

I think that's not an unreasonable assumption.

Jimbro66

Relative to the above and just in passing interest I found this informative You Tube video about router cutting of acrylic sheet. Bears out @Sporky's comments.

CasperCaster

@Jimbro66 you are correct, I had not seen you're edit. That router bit looks interesting and I might be tempted to try it if I had a few pickguards to make, or other uses for it, but it is a bit pricey to use just once. And I agree it would take time to setup for the right result, and even with good support of the router you would need a steady hand.

A couple of loosely related points: it has occured to me that one of my Strats has a transparent backplate on the trem cavity, which I bought from an eBay seller in the Netherlands. Although transparent, it has a very slightly 'milky' appearance, and is not acrylic - probably vinyl? Anyway, I suspect it would be as easy to work as regular pickguard material as it isn't brittle, is flexible etc. It doesn't answer the round over question, but clearly there are alternative materials to acrylic, it's just finding out where to buy them. Also, I recall a blog post on Manchester Guitar Techs website (Steve Robinson, he hangs out in this forum), where he made a transparent pickguard and sprayed the back gold to mimick the Gretsch look. Anyway, he may know where to source materials and may also have some tips on working with them, and his website is also worth a read.

EDIT: That's a helpful video too.

WezV

I have done various acrylic guards with a router.  It is a bit messy but it's always worked fine.  Worth cutting close to the line so you are not removing much as you can get a build up of hot off cuts trailing behind the cut.  A second go round sorts it out 

recently I cut a whole top out of sparkly blue acrylic and trimmed it back with the router, then cut the binding channel with the router too.  

i don't like sharp bevels on acrylic guards.  I usually round over with a small dremel round over bit

Jimbro66

Thanks for the further comments @CasperCaster and @WezV.

In the American video above the tech mentions that cast acrylic is much easier to cut than extruded acrylic but is twice the price. I have found that materials4me.co.uk has 395 x 295 x 3mm clear cast acrylic sheets @ £4.02 each. I might get a couple of sheets to try.

@WezV what router bit did you use to cut the acrylic and can you tell me more about the Dremel round-over bit? Thanks.

WezV

Just the same bits I use for woodwork.  The dremel bit was one of those that came in a set and I never thought I would use

this kind of thing
https://www.amazon.com/Dremel-615-Piloted-Rounding-Routing/dp/B00004UDIJ

Jimbro66

WezV said:

Just the same bits I use for woodwork.  The dremel bit was one of those that came in a set and I never thought I would use

this kind of thing
https://www.amazon.com/Dremel-615-Piloted-Rounding-Routing/dp/B00004UDIJ

OK, thanks.

There's a lot of very useful advice in this thread. Great place The Fretboard  

Jimbro66

CasperCaster said:

..................Also, I recall a blog post on Manchester Guitar Techs website (Steve Robinson, he hangs out in this forum), where he made a transparent pickguard and sprayed the back gold to mimick the Gretsch look. Anyway, he may know where to source materials and may also have some tips on working with them, and his website is also worth a read.

I had a look through @SteveRobinson's blogs last night and found the one showing the Tele with a Gretsch theme including a clear pickguard with gold finish on the back. It looks great. The blog explains what gold paint was used but nothing regarding cutting the acrylic material. Nevertheless it's encouraging that what I'd prefer to do is achievable. I'll order some cast acrylic from Materials4me and get busy..........

SteveRobinson

It's a WD Music standard Tele pickguard, not one I made.

I think a roundover edge looks good on acrylic, rather than the 45 degree chamfer common on laminate. You can use a roundover bit or just scrape the edge to a curve then either flame polish or use increasing grades of micromesh to bring to a shine.

Jimbro66

SteveRobinson said:

It's a WD Music standard Tele pickguard, not one I made.

I think a roundover edge looks good on acrylic, rather than the 45 degree chamfer common on laminate. You can use a roundover bit or just scrape the edge to a curve then either flame polish or use increasing grades of micromesh to bring to a shine.

Thanks for your comments Steve. I'm looking forward to experimenting. If I can't make a decent job of clear acrylic I have single-colour blanks to fall back on.

WezV

the acrylic ones i was talking about were all to be painted on the back

Like this la cab.  I stuck a vinyl logo sticker on the back before painting to give a blue sparkle logo on the guard- sticker removed after paint





Or the mini V hohner conversion:




This is a WD custom guard on a steiny rebuild... printed on the back


The owner attempted to enlarge the jack hole slightly and split the guard...something to be aware of with acrylic as it is quite brittle.  As this was quite an expensive guard i saved it gluing together with epoxy and mounting the whole thing  to a piece of thin veneer - no hiding the damage though.  check screws fit nicely into the counter sink and do not over tighten!

Jimbro66

Those are excellent @WezV! ; I'm really encouraged now  -  and all the advice and examples in this thread have probably saved me quite a lot of heartache on my journey to an acceptable pickguard.