Aluminum pickguard

61fury · Post by **61fury** » Mon May 06, 2013 2:20 am

I'm contemplating one. Lowes has very thin stock at high prices. Traffic signs come in .063" (about 1/16") to .08" thick. Searched on Ebay and the internet looking for the best price. Most 12X18" signs clock in at around 25 dollars. That allows for 2 guards, mistakes will be made. Anyone know a good source for this kind of thing? Short of stealing one of course. Plan is to do a Teisco like striped polished guard. Someone on one of these forums did their own Teisco striped guard, which is where I got the inspiration .

61fury · Post by **61fury** » Mon May 06, 2013 2:23 am

I believe whoever did this striped thing described the process, polishing to a certain level, then masking for the stripes and polishing to a higher level

cur · Post by **cur** » Mon May 06, 2013 3:30 pm

Cooterfinger shared shared this LINK on my Intermark build thread.

61fury · Post by **61fury** » Mon May 06, 2013 10:33 pm

That's where I saw it, thanks.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Tue May 07, 2013 12:03 am

there is a place in WI, chippewa falls, to be exact, place is called metal fabrication of chippewa falls, totally a great name and the most inventive i have ever heard.
anyway.
they charge like a 76 dollar setup fee, but after that its all raw material, so you could send them the guard. they copy it into the cnc machine. send gaurd back with first run pg. and you send money, and for every guard after that its like raw material cost, which is wicked stupid cheap.
so as long as you think you could sell a few of them for cash, it might not be bad idea.

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Tue May 07, 2013 1:30 pm

One of my strats came stock with a brushed metal pickguard. I'm really into diamond plate so if i ever change it i'm going with a diamond plate pickguard and i'm working on a diamond plate pedal board. I think metal or aluminum pickguards are killer.

61fury · Post by **61fury** » Wed May 08, 2013 2:18 am

Thanks Robert, this project started out really casual. lots of ignorance involved. Old, hacked up Ibanez body, random other parts, etc. I will have to make a pickguard. The project before just involved some wood work , sanding and paint so the idea of making a pickguard is getting daunting. So it's getting a bit over my head, then there's some other minor luthiery things I have to deal with also, all new to me. I'm a tinkerer, dammit! Not a brain surgeon! Or a luthier.

kdanie · Post by **kdanie** » Fri May 10, 2013 1:46 am

Aluminum sheet is readily available in just about any thickness you want. Signs are a waste of $$ to buy and cut up unless you want the sign on the face for some reason. Just google sheet aluminum and you will get several sources that will send it mail order in just about any dimensions you want. Some has plastic sheeting on one side to protect it while you work on it the peel it off once you get it cut to shape.

ken

h8mtv · Post by **h8mtv** » Fri May 10, 2013 4:13 am

What size do you need? I have two good friends who own machine shops. I left with a 5 gal bucket of aluminum and SS scrap just yesterday. Most machine shops are happy to sell scrap for next to nothing or free. The plates for dog box cutouts are big enough for 2 strat pickguards.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Fri May 10, 2013 6:04 pm

I read somewhere in internet land (it may have been a post by theworkoffire on offset?) that you can use normal router bits for cutting ali pickguards.
Apparently 1.5mm ali sheet is actually softer than hardwoods often used.
I would like to try making one in the future, maybe a duo sonic or a random design?

Joey · Post by **Joey** » Fri May 17, 2013 6:18 pm

I've seen video on youtube with a guy shaving a tremolo with a table saw, I was expecting it to explode. Al can be machined with regular carbide bits... only thing, I'd use a variable speed control router so you can dial into the right speed to cut.

I've paid $20 for an armful of scrap acrylic at a glass shop just by knocking on the back door. The guys in the back gave me tons of 1/4" material that would of cost me a shitload. I'm sure you'd get the same reaction at a metal shop. Don't forgot the recycle yards, these places are easy to find cause the cost of metals has been high.

61fury · Post by **61fury** » Fri May 17, 2013 10:05 pm

Haven't checked out the local machine shops or fabricators yet. Well signs, signs are everywhere, so my first thought. When I search for material on the internet I usually end up on AliBaba, where you can get anything you want as long as you get a container full. I'm stalled out somewhere else on this project for the moment.