i have had a few questions and instead of answering all of them all at once, i figured a thread may be usefull, same process is used for a any pg, of any style.
btw, this is a vintage issue(styled) guard for a 66 fender mustang for someone in canada. its a 3 ply mother of pearl bought from stew mac( i think thiers looks the best)
but any who.
step one. trace out the guard shape on the pg material
step 2. cut it with a band saw to 1/8 of an inch or so within the template, then double stick tape it to the template.
then i measure up my table router to the template( i use a top bearing bosche bit) and proceed to cut the shape.
and then the same for the pickups
something i did not show in the pics, is that to alleviate dust and stress on the bit i drill a hole in the center of the route, then use a scroll saw to cut the basic shape of the pickup before using the table router again.
. then i drill the pg holes and any other holes using a radiul drill press and the sufficent bits/sizes.
here i am back at the table router with a bevel bit.
that is obviously too high, so i use scrap peices of wood to ensure that its at the right distance before i continue.
here is the beveled edges.
then i basically do the same bevel trick using the drill press for the screw holes.
note, some holes get this treatment and others do not.
next i mark out where the switches will go, there are two on the mustang, and one on the jazzmaster, and a few other guitars have switches like this, but for the most part you will never encounter this(thank god)
for these i have to do them by hand which is rather tricky.
then i drill out the center of the hole as big as i can and use a scroll saw to get the basic shape.
then its all up to a modified rasp and a razor to get the rest of the work done.
once it is completed i usually stamp the back with my name, and address and thebuyers name, that way it is like free advertising and if the person ever needs to get ahold of me they can.
I would like to state very clearly that i am not saying this is the ONLY way to do this, it is just the way i do it, and enough people have asked in the pas couple of weeks that i figured it proper to make a thread about it
total time spent on this, about 35 mins or so, but i will spend another 15 mins working the switch area ever so carefully, and then it shall be done, after some copper foil is applied to the back. plus time spent packaging it and driving to the postal office.
