I'm a "Do It Myselfer"

[Sarah93003]

I've had a lot of people contact me through my website looking for various parts so they can restore their Celebrity. I've decided I would like to help people do exactly that. I've enjoyed working on my own guitars for a while now and a few months ago I started looking for various pieces of small equipement and tools that I would need. I also started reading Benedetto's book and watching scores of YouTube videos on how to do stuff.

I thought I'd start with pickguards and such first. I've collected a dozen or so different vintage pickguards (mostly from Eddy Elliott) so that I can make my templates and know the correct hole sizes and positioning. Another method is to borrow a pickguard or control plate from an owner so that I can make the template. I did this with Nate and his Stereo 350 (pictures to follow).

This also allows folks to put away their vintage pickguard and put an exact replica in the material of their choice for a little self expression.

Below is a pictorial of how I did just that with our very own Jim Page. He wanted to put some tortoise pickguards on his Celebrity and send me some cardboard templates. I can't wait to see them on his guitar!

First, let me introduce you to "Celebrity Central". This is one wall of my little "Girl Cave". It's the bench that I use to work on guitars, do setups, etc. It is carpeted and very handy with lots of lighting, etc.



The first thing I do is make oak templates out of 1 X 6 oak that I get from Lowes. I know I could use thinner but I like them being taller and a bit heavier.



I don't have a Drum Sander yet, so I improvise with my baby drill press. I bought these neat little gizmos from a local woodcrafting store. They sell sandpaper tubes that slip over the gizmo and when you tighten the screw it squishes the rubber outward to hold the sandpaper tube. It works really well. I use it to sand inside curves such as the one below. For outside curves and straight areas I have a regular beltsander/disk sander combo.



When I've got the templates the way I want them. I drill some holes, countersink them, and attach the templates to a larger board.



When I make my oak templates I also make matching templates out of masonite (or whatever it's called). I bought a 4X8 sheet which will last me forever! I use the masonite templates to draw my pattern onto the pickguard material. I have different colors of Sharpies to do that. The reason I like the masonite templates is that they are cheap, easy to replace, and I don't have to remove my oak ones from the board to trace onto the plastic.



I know it's not real easy to see in the photograph, but I can see it just fine on the bandsaw.



Then I rough them out on my handy dandy Craftsman bandsaw (found on Craigslist for a steal!).

[Sarah93003]

Once I have them roughed out I use double sided 3M tape to tape on onto my oak templates.



Here they are all taped down and ready to go. Before I begin to use the router I like to put something heavy on them just to make sure they are firmly in place.



For Christmas I splurged and bought myself a brand new Bosch Colt router. I really like it a lot. It's small enough that I feel like I can really control it even with one hand. I have a Craftsman router that I've used on big wood projects but it takes two hands and it kinda intimidating.



You will notice that I have all sorts of scrap pieces of oak and scrap pieces of pickguard material on top, surrounding my templates. The reason I do this is when I did my first pickguard for Nate I ruined it because I tipped the router a little and it dug in. So, in order to make sure I have support on both sides of my router, I created a little pathway that I can go through and my router is firmly planted on both sides. Having the scrap pickguard material insures that I am parallel.

The first pass is done with a straight bit. This makes the pickguard exactly the same shape as my template.



The second pass is done with a 45 degree bit. Depending on how deep I cut determines how many layers will show. For Mosrite pickguards I try to simulate what was done back in the day.



I use a stiff putty knife to carefull pry the new pickguards from the template. The double sided tape is very effective! I use a dull razor blade to remove the tape.

Next I drill the required holes and peel off the protective film.



The last step is when I take them out in my back yard and do some light sanding on the edges to make sure they are nice and smooth.

The pickguards below are ready to go in the mail to Jim Page. The tortoise pickguard matches one that is on his other Celebrity which has a black one. The control plate will replace the original. The one with no holes will become a sweat guard, or arm guard on the other side of the bout. The black/white/black one is for his other Celebrity.

[Sarah93003]

For Nate Gibson, he wanted to preserve his original pickguard and have a new pickguard that he could have his name engraved into. He was awesome and sent me his original pickguard so that I could make an exact template for a Mosrite Stereo 350.



I was grateful to be able to trace his original to make this template.



Yep, perfect fit!



He also wanted to have a sweat/arm guard for his guitar. I drew up about a dozen variations and ultimately he settled on the "M" guard.



Using my masonite templates I drew out the shapes onto the White/Black/White pickguard material.



I mounted the templates as described above onto the board.



I was then ready for the router. I had a little trouble however in that the vibration of the router would cause it to slip slightly and I just could not get it tight enough. I know I should have taken it back, but that was about 50 miles from here and I didn't want the delay. So, I put emory cloth between the column of the router and the sleeve so that when I clamped down it had something to "bite" into. It works fine and you can't see it.



Ta da! A new pickguard and new arm guard. I can't wait to see them on the guitar!


.

[MWaldorf]

That's fantastic Sarah! Really smart ways to get the tasks done with the tools on hand.

[dubtrub]

That's a great step by step report.

BTW, to get that tape to release, rather than use a pry tool and scraper, simply use Naphtha, also know as Ronson or Zippo lighter fluid. You can buy it at most any hardware store located in the paint department. Take a small brush and flood the are under the pickgaurd and try to soak the double stick tape. Naphtha will release that sticky glue in a heart beat. I use it for any stick on labels. Even those stupid security strips on a new CD container. You can use it on virtually any guitar finish without damage. It's great for cleaning grunge off an old guitar too, and, it's also great for wiping down guitar neck and strings after a sweaty playing session. Don't get too much on a rosewood fretboard though, it will remove the oils. I use it to clean filthy fretboards then re-oil them.

[JimPage]

Hey!

I think we can all agree that Sarah has knocked it out of the park with these pickguards!!! I am just astonished at how great they look in the photos.

Wow!

--Jim

[Sarah93003]

Thank you Mel. Danny thank you so much for the tip! I didn't know lighter fluid would do that and I would have thought it might melt the plastic or something.

Thank you Jim! I'm so happy that you like them. I will get them in the mail today or tomorrow, depending. We are in court today (our office) so I'm not sure I'll get it all packaged, etc. But, for sure tomorrow.

Who knows, maybe this will be the beginning of my little Celebrity Custom Shop! We'll see how my double neck goes this winter.

[gooberman]

Awesome tutorial. I have had issues with templates moving and also with the router tipping. I really like the idea of the scraps to give you the channels to prevent the tipping. Thanks for sharing!

[olrocknroller]

Excellent post Sarah. Thanks for the pointers on making pickguards, you have just made my life a lot simpler. Now a little tip for you...I used to use carpet on my bench until a little screw got lost in the pile of the carpet, and, you guessed it, scratched a guitar! I now use the interlocking rubber matting used for shop floors...it's nice and soft, inert to anything I use on guitars, and a quick dusting cleans all the flotsam and jetsam away for the next project...much easier to maintain and use.

[Sarah93003]

Thank you Gooberman! Y'know, everytime I see your handle I'm reminded of where my mother grew up, Goobertown, Arkansas.

Olrockinroller, thank you for tip and I'm glad you found the post helpful. I'd like to know more about the mats you spoke of and where you get them.

I'm mindful that a screw could easily get lost in the pile so currently I have these little rubbery mats that you put in a drawer so things don't slide around. I put all of my pickups, hardware, etc. on a mat and only the body of the guitar ever rests on the carpet. I also have a metal bowl that has a strong magnet underneath that makes the screws stay put.