Anyone here make their own scratchplates?

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axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
edited July 2018 in Making & Modding
I imagine it would be quite trick to do the bevelled edge. I quite fancy a go.

Anyone tackled them?
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Comments

  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    If you make a template it’s really easy to add the bevel with a router.

    i used to hate making plates.  now I always put the time into making a decent template first and making the plates takes a few minutes.  

    i do sometimes hand scrape a bevel, but even that is easier with a decent template providing support underneath 
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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    I'd love to be able to make a custom scratchplate but the whole idea fills me with dread, I literally talk myself out of it for fear of cocking it up! My Challenge Mustang desperately needs a better plate, perhaps I should put on my man up pants a just go for it!
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • pintspillerpintspiller Frets: 994
    I have a 74 SG Special that I sold the minis on and put a cheap P90 at the bridge. I never thought that such a simple and cost effective thing could turn a guitar that just sat in the case for years to something I could not set down for a long time!

    A mate of mine had some pick guard material left from a LPJ build of his and he made me a Junior styled guard for the SG. I think he used the Dremil (as he did for most things in those days).
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    edited July 2018
    I made this one. I made a plywood template from the original scratch plate, then did what @WezV said.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/5t1vp8rkdou10te/IMG_9916.JPG?raw=1
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Acetate is a bit of a bugger to cut, shatters easily, needs a sharp saw bit, and not too much pressure.  Better sandwiched between something else.
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

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  • CasperCasterCasperCaster Frets: 760
    edited July 2018
    @AustrianJohn that's very nice work.

    For me the time consuming part is making the template, but that can be very dependent on what sort of workshop equipment you have - very limited at Chez CasperCaster. Anyway, better to screw up with a piece of ply or MDF whilst making the template than a sheet of pickguard material. And the time is obviously less of an issue if you intend to make multiple pickguards.

    If you have an existing pickguard you can copy, then that obviously helps, but you generally need to tape multiple pickguards together, and tape the edge if you want to avoid having the router bearing eat into the existing pickguard.

    Doing a Strat style switch slot can be tricky. I used my Dremel in a router base, and cut the slot with a small down-cut inlay bit, and set up a fence to push the Dremel along. It worked for me, but there are probably more effective/efficient ways to achieve it.

    There was a thread about cutting acrylic pickguards, probably about a year ago - can't find it now unfortunately. Anyway, one thing I took from that thread was that there is more than one type of acrylic. Apparently it can be made into sheets by different processes, and the cast type is less brittle and more forgiving for cutting and routing into pickguards. If I ever get around to finishing my Paisley build I'll let folks know how I get on.
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  • GagarynGagaryn Frets: 1553
    axisus said:
    I imagine it would be quite trick to do the bevelled edge. I quite fancy a go.

    Anyone tackled them?
    I haven't made my own but I managed to re-bevel a guard from 45 to 30 degrees successfully by mounting a stanley blade to a pice of timber at the desired angle then scraping round the guard that was held flat on a stable surface. Router would be easier but I don't own one.
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  • CasperCasterCasperCaster Frets: 760
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