Installing thin wood pick guard

[Sorehand]

I have started my first guitar build and have a question. I am thinking about making a small wood pick guard out of a piece of burled walnut. The sound board is cedar. I am wondering about the best approach for gluing it to the face. This will be a thin pick guard less than 1/8 inch thick. Should I glue it directly to the unfinished cedar or finish the body and pick guard separately and scrape back to glue it. I plan to finish the guitar with a French polish.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[arie]

probably want to try an adhesive that is not water based.

[Tom West]

If I was trying it, I would apply it to the finish with regular pickguard adhesive. The sheet kind sold by Stew-Mac or LMI. Much easier to back up...........once you have glued to your wood top you may run into problems with changes in RH. Or you may want to go to a regular pickguard. Just my opinion.
Tom

[Sorehand]

Thank you very much for your advice.

[KingCavalier]

The only thing would suggest is to make sure the wood is fully dry and stable.
If it shrinks after you attach it that might not look so good.

SA

[repete]

Pickguards glued to soundboards will cause a crack over time. The guard and the top shrink at different rates.

Do your finish job and attach the guard with double sided tape or some other non-hardening adhesive.

-r

[Sorehand]

I figured a pick guard made from burl wood would not have that problem like the old Martin plastic guard glued to the face. Anyway, your idea seems to be the right approach. Thanks.

[redir]

I laminate thin burls to plastic then tack it down with 3M double stick tape. In either case you will want to make a caul out of thick plywood or MDF that is dead flat and the exact same size as the pick guard. Walnut burl tends to have lots of waves and cracks that need to be pressed hard to flatten out.

[John Arnold]

Pickguards glued to soundboards will cause a crack over time.

This one is over 30 years old, and there is no crack. I also did several celluloid pickguards in the same time frame, and none of them have come close to cracking the top.



All you have to do is have an understanding of shrinkage and the causes.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

I also did several celluloid pickguards in the same time frame, and none of them have come close to cracking the top.

John, presumably you used a different approach than Martin did when it came to gluing on your celluloid pickguards.

Care to share ?

[redir]

Another question for John, in that pic it looks like that maple guard is laminated to either black plastic or ebony, is it?

[John Arnold]

John, presumably you used a different approach than Martin did when it came to gluing on your celluloid pickguards.

Care to share ?

Long ago, I accidently discovered the reason for most of the shrinkage of Martin's plastic pickguards. I was installing a celluloid end piece (wedge) in the butt of a guitar body, and I noticed that as soon as Duco cement touched the celluloid, it swelled up and would no longer fit in the groove. Duco contains acetone, which will swell the celluloid. Martin used an acetone based liquid to attach the pickguards to the bare wood. This swelled the pickguard, and when the solvent gassed out years later, the pickguard would tend to shrink back to its original size.
The solution is to glue the guards with an adhesive that is not solvent based. I used epoxy, and I have had zero problems.

Another question for John, in that pic it looks like that maple guard is laminated to either black plastic or ebony, is it?

That pickguard is bound on the edge with ebony veneer, purely for visual effect. It is not laminated. Like the celluloid guards, I glued it on with epoxy. With wood pickguards, swelling is mainly due to the water that is contained in wood glues. For that reason, epoxy or even Duco is a better choice.
Whan I apply a wood guard over the finish, I seal both sides of it. Sealed or finished wood is a better surface for sticking with pressure sensitive adhesives.

[Steev]

This pickguard is one piece of wood, hasn't budged in 35 years.

[Sorehand]

John Arnold, thank you very much. I think your techniques for gluing the pick guard will be my approach.

[[J.K.]]

Where are you all finding decent wooden pickguards? I've seen some under that "True Custom Shop" ebay account, but their customer service alone has been terrible... anywhere else where a reasonably priced one can be purchased?