Best practices for notching a 'guard

[rpguitar]

I just scored a beautiful and silly-expensive (but normal market price) gold DeArmond 1100 for my vintage L-5N. I should have it in a few days. I plan to evaluate it with the rod setup before committing to any kind of permanent installation that produces irrevocable changes to my guitar. Ideally, though, I'd like it to be attached neatly as I really dislike the rod apparatus.

That said, the gold 1100 is arguably the "best" period-correct option for my 1947 blonde guitar, so if it really rocks, I will probably go all the way.

I have a repro pickguard that, while replaceable, is really really nice. If I have to notch it for the DeArmond, I have no idea how to proceed. Do you use a coping saw? A knife (seems like that's courting disaster)? Melt it away with a soldering iron?? What is the best technique for notching a 5-ply bound tortoise guard without hacking it?

[Gramps]

I would guess a router or dremil tool but melting might be an issue at too high a speed.

[cosmic gumbo]

Laser.

[Greco]

Laminate trimmer? ...just a guess, no experience doing this.

Cheers

Dave

[rpguitar]

Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo

Laser.

Is this a serious reply? I mean, it's not rocket science to cut plastic, but it's extremely easy to make it look like $#|+.

[bigdaddyguitar]

I've used a coping saw with good results . It's only plastic .

[rpguitar]

Coping saw is looking good. I'd say to tape the pickguard before cutting to reduce splintering and rough edges. Maybe even sand the edges after the cuts are done.

[SamBooka]

before I used routing templates I used xacto saws to rough it out and clean up with files and finally sanding sticks. Like you say.. not hard to do.. but hard to make look good.

I HAVE used the thicker portion of a soldering iron to enlarge the pickup holes on a strat but wouldnt try melting a large portion..

[kamlapati]

Pretty cool! But I'm surprised you're against the rod installation, as it's the most period correct too.

Good pickguards are easy to come by. You should get some spares and fool around.

Hope we get some clips or videos when you're done.

[jazzbow]

rpguitar, I use a local engravers that do various engraving jobs for me on customers scratch plates and hardware for guitar. It would be no hassle for him to scan a scratch plate and pickup outline, overlap these in any place of your choosing and cut out notches anywhere.

Hope this helps

[stevedenver]

well not to be captain bringdown
but here goes

i have tried to cut a multi lam tele guard years back-
because i have a unique tele with a unique pup config and i was trying a new guard from an existing, stock tele guards- i was going to enlarge the holes
on #2 and swap with the original, for 'fun'
if your pick guard is as tough-its a big deal job
i actually had the damn thing CNC routed
these things arent soft styrene-mine was very tough and slick poly something

heres what i suggest if you are going to do this yourself
first measure precisely-because you dont want to do this twice


FYI-razor saws are far more precise and give a much cleaner and controllable cut than a coping saw-but the cross cut between the two top and bottom cuts is going to be a challenge-also razor saws have a limmited depth, unlike a coping saw-in your application, i THINK they woud work as you only talking at the very most an inch

as for a dremel -i use one frequently and they are likely to melt the plastic-BUT!!! you coud try this using a dremel router mount-

the problem with dremels is two fold-if you are not experienced it is very easy to screw up-not only do they take a steady hand and good eye-but they tend to wander. It is damn near impossible to free hand a dead straight line -, and like scraping butter, its easy to dig in too deep and then end up smootihing things out by making the whole thing deeper just to get a straight line
-you need an experienced feel imho-and they DO melt plastic, even at low speeds-dont know if this would the case with pickguard plastic-it is the case with styrene as well as some of the BASF super tough plastics -


the advantage of razor saws are they are very controlable-you will not likely screw things up, provided you accurately determine the cut
and they make an ultra fine clean cut with no tearing or chipping-but it will take a very long time
-but its reasonably easy to cut a straight lineprecisely ending where you want

for the cross cut-ie the cut parallel to the fingerboard edge-you could drill two very fine holes at the corneres and all along the line (use a set punch, or the awl on a swiss army knife, to set the drill tip with a tiny pilot hole), and then use an xacto mini saw blade to connect the holes -this will take a very long time-then smooth/file -a dremel cut off blade might work -but it will not be perfectly perpendicular to the top of the guard becuase youll need to angle slightly the tool in order to cut

to clean up the cut -jewelers files and 400-600 sandpaper

i can tell you i tried scribing the tele guard plastic with an xacto and the stuff is so tough and thick its nearly impossible-and its so slick even the razor sharp tip can skate and wander-using a straight edge !

if i were in your shoes -id try to find a plastics shop, or CNC guy that can make a perfect cut

you know too, you could order one by making a template, with the cut out and going to one of the pickguard makers-[probably save you some brain damage and frustration)
but if your guard is what i think it is , getting a nice one, rounded with multi ply edge binding mail order may not be easy or an option

obviously if yours isnt as thick and tough as mine, it might not be quite so much an undertaking


by the time you invest in the tools and stuff -it may not be much more to pay

[Greco]

deleted....overkill

[rpguitar]

Originally Posted by kamlapati

Pretty cool! But I'm surprised you're against the rod installation, as it's the most period correct too.

Good pickguards are easy to come by. You should get some spares and fool around.

Hope we get some clips or videos when you're done.

Well, absolutely. I would love to share a video. I'm not against the rod really, I just don't like the look. There's something so majestic (to me) about a blonde non-cut L-5 with a perfect guard, and I don't relish messing with it.

I'll probably only mount the 1100 permanently if it's just so amazing that I want to use it 75% of the time or more. If I continue to play acoustically most of the time, I'll probably live with the rod and the slightly misaligned pole pieces (due to not notching the pickguard).

I appreciate the comments here. I didn't know about an Xacto saw, but it figures that there is a very fine, sharp saw blade out there. I'll have to visit the hardware store if I decide to do the surgery.

Regarding pickguards being easy to get; well, not really. I mean, they are easy to buy, albeit a tad expensive. But mounting them can be clumsy and stressful. The glue, the screws, bending the little rod that suspends things, etc. I happened to do a perfect job on the installation of my current pickguard, which was miraculous because I always screw such things up. So I'm hesitant to do all of that again.

[fws6]

Sorry for the lousy quality cell phone pic.... But here's what I did on my '51 Epiphone Broadway Regent. I didnt want to cut into the original guard so I added a small strip of binding in between the neck and the guard ... that way the pickup can be positioned properly without modding the guard plus it is totally reversible

[rpguitar]

Yes, fws6, that excellent idea has already crossed my mind! It may be possible to adjust both the bracket end and get a longer screw for the neck end so that both can stand farther out. Thanks for the photo.

[Bill C]

Roger

You may have considered this already, but as we're talking a great guitar with a great pickup, you might want to contact Cris Mirabella (on Long Island I think) about a custom but otherwise "correct" pickguard. I don't know if he still does pickguards these days but I understand his guitar building and restoration work are second to none.

Bill

[fws6]

>so that both can stand farther out. Thanks for the photo

at first I tried this as a temporary solution until I figured whether I want to keep the PU on. But since you dont notice while playing the guitar I have kept it this way. It is a very elegant solution

>his guitar building and restoration work are second to none.

very true ... but with prices also second to none ;-)

On several of my vintage guitars I have EXCELLENT repro pickguards from www.daspraypickguards.com and they are very affordable compared to most other luthier made guards