Custom moulded pickup rings?

guitargeek62 · June 2016

I was wondering how black pickup rings might look on my Paul's Guitar and then realised that it'll cost me just over £30 for two bits of plastic. This seems a bit ridiculous, but as the pickups aren't exactly common-place I don't have any other option.... or do I?

I've taken one off and taken measurements of the pickup ring* to draw up some plans. I was thinking 3D printing could be fun, I haven't tried any yet, but a simpler option would be to make a mould and then produce new ones with black resin or similar. Has anyone here tried this before? Obviously this is a bit OTT for such an unimportant piece, but it could be fun.

*and taken measurements of the pickup itself incidentally, that's for another project though.

normula1 · June 2016

Have a look at Shapeways 3d printing to see if someone already has done one. I got a mounting ring that bolts a GK3 onto it.

SteveRobinson · June 2016

If you are going the mould route, it's probably best to borrow a pickup ring and use it as a master to create the mould.

ADP · June 2016

I'm interested in doing this for another guitar. I've got a Roland G-303 that has no pickups. Unfortunately, it has a completely different route from pretty much any other guitar ever produced and so it needs a very different pickup ring. I've made drawings of one in Solidworks and looked into getting it 3D printed. It wouldn't be cheap - 20 to 30 pounds for two - and from what I can tell, the finish wouldn't be smooth, so I'm put off the idea.

I have a pair of rings on another G-303 that I could use to make moulds though. Gil Yaron goes into great detail in one of his build threads on tdpri.com on how he makes his. I may have to look into that unless someone has a better idea.

Sporky · June 2016

3D printed parts tend to be very weak and look crappy. Moulded will always look better and be stronger.

Nomad · June 2016

Another option is to get them machined from some suitable engineering plastic (like acetal, which machines well, has good strength, and isn't expensive).

guitargeek62 · June 2016

^ True, that crossed my mind too - but it's not as fun/interesting as either 3D or moulding. I've had parts machined before from designs, it's cool 'n all but I'd probably just buy a set this time around if that was my only option.

I've been thinking about celluloid though and maybe making som vintage Gretsch-style tortoiseshell block ones from laminated sheets. It's tricky to source in usable thicknesses though in the UK but Stew-Mac did a really good vid a while back of some replacement ones he made using the same technique. This project could well turn out to be incredibly overblown, or just a load of hot air. We'll see!

ADP · June 2016

Nomad said:

Another option is to get them machined from some suitable engineering plastic (like acetal, which machines well, has good strength, and isn't expensive).

I wondered it that might be the best option. Thanks for that. I'll have to inquire.

Scatterbrain · June 2016

If you go down the 3D printing route, you want to look at the likes of jewelry prototyping, this typically gets quite a good surface finish, owing to a better printing method. Probably cheaper than machining as well. You need to make/get the cad though. I use Design Spark Mechanical, its free and really good if you fancy having a crack at re designing the CAD your self.

Nomad · June 2016

Scatterbrain said:

If you go down the 3D printing route, you want to look at the likes of jewelry prototyping, this typically gets quite a good surface finish, owing to a better printing method. Probably cheaper than machining as well. You need to make/get the cad though. I use Design Spark Mechanical, its free and really good if you fancy having a crack at re designing the CAD your self.

He mentioned that he's done it in SolidWorks.

ADP · June 2016

Nomad said:

Scatterbrain said:

If you go down the 3D printing route, you want to look at the likes of jewelry prototyping, this typically gets quite a good surface finish, owing to a better printing method. Probably cheaper than machining as well. You need to make/get the cad though. I use Design Spark Mechanical, its free and really good if you fancy having a crack at re designing the CAD your self.

He mentioned that he's done it in SolidWorks.

I have done mine in Solidworks, but guitargeek62 (the original poster) hasn't yet - at least he hadn't when he started the thread.

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Custom moulded pickup rings?

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