Reliable pickguard maker?

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JVG
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Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by JVG » Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:42 pm

Hi folks,

I'm hoping someone can point me towards a reliable pickguard maker who they have experience with. I've got a very precise and annotated drawing that I need turned into a guard accurately, and within a reasonable time frame.

The background - I just received a pickguard from a well known maker who couldn't deliver satisfactorily on either of these - it's about the 3rd time I've waited ridiculous times to receive sub-standard products from him, and to put it bluntly I'm f'kn over it. I simply don't want to deal with this guy any more.

Rather than going with a web search, I'd prefer someone who comes recommended. (If there's someone in Australia you can suggest, even better!)

Many thanks!
J.
Last edited by JVG on Tue Nov 14, 2017 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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sirspens
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker wanted

Post by sirspens » Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:49 pm

I don't know about Australia, but I get my custom pickguards from WD Music.
http://www.wdmusic.com/pickguards.html

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mackerelmint
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker wanted

Post by mackerelmint » Mon Nov 13, 2017 9:38 pm

Sneaky T here on the board does good work. He's on reverb as neagleluthier.
This is an excellent rectangle

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Re: Reliable pickguard maker wanted

Post by Embenny » Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:52 pm

Tony Dudzik at Pickguardian has cut me 4 custom guards in the last year. Not always the fastest turnaround, but he's reliable and accurate.
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker wanted

Post by Gordon » Mon Nov 13, 2017 11:59 pm

I second Pickguardian, I had two guards by Tony, including a vastly reshaped one (this Squier 51), and a copied Jazz Bass guard. One thing, though: on the JB, I asked for a cutout for a sliding switch, and it was quite visibly cut by hand; the outline and pickup routes were perfect, just that little thing wasn't smooth (but with the switch installed it wasn't really noticeable).
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker wanted

Post by timtam » Tue Nov 14, 2017 2:05 am

Didn't take me long to figure out that this pickguard guy is Australian ... ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJE0_x8ug4s

I haven't used him, but you can gauge something from his youtube I guess.

http://fletcherhandcraftedguitars.com/
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker wanted

Post by HNB » Tue Nov 14, 2017 9:20 am

I have used Pickguardian as well. His stuff has always been very accurate for me.
Christopher
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by JVG » Tue Nov 14, 2017 1:08 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. I've bought a couple of guards from Pickguardian in the past, but found the wait to be wayyyyy longer than he initially suggested. I'm hoping to wrap this project up before Xmas, and I'm not sure he would be able to.

I'll look into some of the other options suggested.

Cheers!
J

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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by sears » Tue Nov 14, 2017 2:26 pm

Can Pickguardian do small rectangular holes yet? He used not to do Jazzmaster guards. I have used him for everything else and love his work.
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by Fiddy » Tue Nov 14, 2017 3:10 pm

If you need precision hit up user name: Deed_Poll

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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by mackerelmint » Tue Nov 14, 2017 10:48 pm

sears wrote:
Tue Nov 14, 2017 2:26 pm
Can Pickguardian do small rectangular holes yet? He used not to do Jazzmaster guards. I have used him for everything else and love his work.
He never knew he could go to the hardware store and buy a broach to do that? :wacko:
This is an excellent rectangle

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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by Embenny » Wed Nov 15, 2017 9:46 am

sears wrote:
Tue Nov 14, 2017 2:26 pm
Can Pickguardian do small rectangular holes yet? He used not to do Jazzmaster guards. I have used him for everything else and love his work.
I can't speak to the past, but he made me a JM guard and I didn't notice anything funky about the rhythm circuit holes. I can go take another closer look...
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by sears » Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:01 am

This wouldn't be the first time I misunderstood something. Maybe there's a problem putting those kind of holes in plexi for one of his sparkle pickguards? Because that's what I'm all about. I will leave my probably ignorant statement up there so it can be corrected.

I thought the name was Pickguard Ian at first.
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by Deed_Poll » Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:17 am

tribi9 wrote:
Tue Nov 14, 2017 3:10 pm
If you need precision hit up user name: Deed_Poll
Cheers for the recommend!

Just to blow my own trumpet a little, I'd say I'm a good choice if you have an exact vector file of what you want - .dxf, pdf, .ai etc. I've build my system from the ground up to be super flexible and I'm doing custom stuff all the time, straight from the computer to the machine.

A lot of guys, understandably, have a different process which involves tracing from original pickguards to make their templates. This is a good way to go if you do mostly replacement pickguards for existing models, which seems to be 99% of the market. But it also means the process is a fair amount of work for a one-off nobody will order again.

When I cut square holes I do one of two things.

Either I use a 2mm bit and cut them with a 1mm internal rad (really looks square and nice to me)

Or if I'm cutting an edge bevel anyway, I use the same 3mm flush tool I use for the holes / neck pocket, then have the chamfer bit cut little corners in the rectangle so that it's perfectly square from the top surface and just merges into the edge radius as it goes down.

Either process can be very easily filed down to be completely square with ease, especially the latter, because you don't even have to touch the top surface - just file it away from the inside back edge until you're happy.

In fact, looking at the MIM '60s Lacquer JM pickguard (that NICQ was kind enough to send me! :)) the edge radius on the switch holes seems to have been cut with a 5mm or 6mm diameter tool? They are noticeably round and I wouldn't send a guard out like that unless it was specifically requested, not that there's anything wrong with it from a functional point of view.
Last edited by Deed_Poll on Thu Nov 16, 2017 7:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Reliable pickguard maker?

Post by JVG » Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:50 pm

G'day DeedPoll,

You have my interest! I have a very precise drawing of what I want, and a good scanner which will convert the image to PDF format. Is this good enough for your purposes? I'm afraid I'm not a "computer guy" so I don't fully understand what a vector file is....I have vague recollections of learning about vector and raster images many years ago at university!

Please message me if you're interested....id like to throw money at someone who will do a good job :)

Cheers!
J

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