Working with new old stock Tortis for a pickguard

[Wade Hampton]

Lately I've been thinking about getting a tortoise plastic pickguard made for a Tacoma guitar I own that - uniquely among Tacoma guitars that have passed through my hands - still has its clear plastic pickguard.

I'm not a fan of clear pickguards, and no attempts to persuade me that they actually look better will work, so that's not up for discussion. I just flat dislike them.

Anyway, I've been thinking about getting a sheet of pickguard material from Stew-Mac or another online luthiery supply house, but then a few minutes ago I went through a drawer and found a small sheet of Tor-Tis pickguard material that I must have had laying around for ten years or more.

Here's what I'd like to know, from any of you who have worked with this material: the sheet of plastic has become slightly warped, presumably from gassing off a little bit as the years have passed.

When I put it up against the guitar top, however, and pressed down on it lightly, it flattened out, but returned to its previous shape once I took it off.

So my question is: will this sheet of Tor-Tis need to be flattened out somehow before being cut into shape and adhered to the guitar top, or should the adhesive be enough to keep it flattened once it's stuck onto the top?

It's a fairly mild warpage, it's not like it's all curled up or anything.

Any guidance any of you can provide is appreciated.

Thanks,


Wade Hampton Miller

[Wade Hampton]

I just posted this same question over on the general discussion page, but thought that the higher concentration of hand builders on this subforum might bring results a little faster.

Lately I've been thinking about getting a tortoise plastic pickguard made for a Tacoma guitar I own that - uniquely among Tacoma guitars that have passed through my hands - still has its clear plastic pickguard.

I'm not a fan of clear pickguards, and no attempts to persuade me that they actually look better will work, so that's not up for discussion. I just flat dislike them.

Anyway, I've been thinking about getting a sheet of pickguard material from Stew-Mac or another online luthiery supply house, but then a few minutes ago I went through a drawer and found a small sheet of Tor-Tis pickguard material that I must have had laying around for ten years or more.

Here's what I'd like to know, from any of you who have worked with this material: the sheet of plastic has become slightly warped, presumably from gassing off a little bit as the years have passed.

When I put it up against the guitar top, however, and pressed down on it lightly, it flattened out, but returned to its previous shape once I took it off.

So my question is: will this sheet of Tor-Tis need to be flattened out somehow before being cut into shape and adhered to the guitar top, or should the adhesive be enough to keep it flattened once it's stuck onto the top?

It's a fairly mild warpage, it's not like it's all curled up or anything.

Any guidance any of you can provide is appreciated.

Thanks,


Wade Hampton Miller

[bighaze51]

Hey wade. Maybe you could warm it up with a hair dryer and then clamp it flat. I did it with the guard from my Martin. It curled up bad after I peeled it off but I cut it smaller to go on my little silvertone. It took most of the curl out and it stuck down flat on the silvertone

[downtime]

Wade, warming it up will definitely make if pliable and I would think it should flatten right out for you. I'd try to warm it up, then flatten between heavy books and let it cool.

I recently bought a tor-tis D-28 shape pickguard for my Gibson WM-45 and cut it down to match the Gibson teardrop shape. I wrapped it in a heating pad to warm it up and it became quite pliable and cut easily. It cools off quickly and if you try to cut it while cool it can brake.

Good luck, let us know the results.

[Bruce Sexauer]

If it will lie flat with mild pressure and there are no ripples or dents you'll be OK if you use the right adhesive. I use 3M 467MP, but there are likely others that will do the job. If you do have anything that amounts to a distortion you will need at addrees it first. This can be done by heating the material to around 150-175 f and pressing it flat while it cools. A piece of MDF and the table saw's table are good as the the saw table sucks the heat out quickly and you can see right away whether you've nailed it. Two workable heat sources are a hair drier (wave it around a lot to keep from melting the Tortis), or dipping it in very hot water. I use the former.

[Wade Hampton]

Thanks, everyone!


whm