Help! Pickguard Holes don't line up.

[andromeda]

I have a 62 re-issue Lake Placid Blue body, and the pickguard I have purchased "almost" fits... 2 holes are just slightly off the screw hole in the body. I really want to use this particular pickguard, so can anybody tell me what is the best way to handle this problem? I'm sort of new to this and don't have any experience filling wood holes.-Thanks

[Tele Fan]

You might try widing the screw holes on the guard a bit so that the guard will fit against the body.

[freddie]

Hi folks,

My '52 reissue pickguard has developed a slight outward bow. I wonder if I loosed the screws if it will go back down.


freddie

[casterway]

Fill and drill. Get some round toothpicks-they are hardwood. Cut them slightly longer than the hole is deep. Put some wood glue on them, stick 'em and leave to dry. Carefully trim plugs flush with body with a razor blade. Put the pickguard back in place, carefully drill small holes through holes in pickguard in better alignment, reinstall screws.

[JimiBryant]

Originally Posted by freddie

My '52 reissue pickguard has developed a slight outward bow. I wonder if I loosed the screws if it will go back down.

most likely, no - but you could always try that and see what happens

[jwells393]

Welcome to the world of putting aftermarket pickguards on Fender guitars.

[mellecaster]

I'm feelin REALLY OLD...right about now........

[Fatmanstratman]

Originally Posted by casterway

Fill and drill. Get some round toothpicks-they are hardwood. Cut them slightly longer than the hole is deep. Put some wood glue on them, stick 'em and leave to dry. Carefully trim plugs flush with body with a razor blade. Put the pickguard back in place, carefully drill small holes through holes in pickguard in better alignment, reinstall screws.

+ 1 on the sound advice given by casterway - that is the only real way to get over the problem of pickguards with holes that don't match up.

I don't think I've EVER bought a 5 or 8 hole Tele pickguard that exactly matched the existing screw holes in any guitar I've ever owned or worked on.

Originally Posted by freddie

My '52 reissue pickguard has developed a slight outward bow. I wonder if I loosed the screws if it will go back down.

freddie, I've also come across this problem on occasions. My advice is to take the pickguard off your Tele, lay it on a clean sheet of paper, gently heat up the guard with a heat gun (a decent hairdryer might do the job), place another clean sheet of paper over the top, then place several heavy books (or similar) on top. Leave it for an hour or so until it has cooled down, and I think you'll find it is flat once again.

When you re-fit it on your Tele, make sure that ALL the holes line up with the existing screw holes. If some are out, follow the advice given by casterway above.

[Hiflyer]

Originally Posted by jwells393

Welcome to the world of putting aftermarket pickguards on Fender guitars.

... or Fender pickguard on after market Tele style bodies.

[Fatmanstratman]

Originally Posted by Hiflyer

... or Fender pickguard on after market Tele style bodies.

I don't think we should try to lay the blame on "after market" pickguards or bodies.

Rest assured, Fender pickguards still don't fit Fender bodies perfectly. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.....

[Hiflyer]

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

I don't think we should try to lay the blame on "after market" pickguards or bodies.

Rest assured, Fender pickguards still don't fit Fender bodies perfectly. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.....

I don't blame anyone for that ... That's the way it is, & that's no big deal to drill new holes for a PG: Been there, done that also, I don't have the t-shirt though

[Grin'n'pick]

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

I don't think we should try to lay the blame on "after market" pickguards or bodies.

Rest assured, Fender pickguards still don't fit Fender bodies perfectly. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.....

Amen brother.

[Mitch Roberts]

For what it's worth, I wanted to change the pickguard on my Gatton Tele to a black bakelite. I happened to have an Allparts bakelite guard stashed away. Having been through the annoyance mentioned above I was afraid I'd have to take a drill to my new Baby. By the way, the neck cut can often be a poor fit as well. To my delight, the Allparts guard fit perfectly! Now I know where I will order my pickguards in the future. Of course, there is never a guarantee of perfect fit, but Allparts must be spot on with the Fender template, or I was just very lucky.

I once had a Mighty Mite Tele guard the fit so poorly I would have had to hack up my guitar to even have a chance. I chose to stay with the original pickguard on that one.

[skydawg]

All the above suggestions are good. You really have to make up your own mind on which you want to keep original and which you want to modify, the body or the guard.

[yegbert]

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

I don't think we should try to lay the blame on "after market" pickguards or bodies.

Rest assured, Fender pickguards still don't fit Fender bodies perfectly. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.....

+1.

The current production Fender Teles made in the US and Mexico reflect a specification for screw hole and control plate cutout placement and size that is one prevailing standard. I've heard that Allparts branded replacement guards are compatible with that standard.

I think it would be interesting to identify the other standards. I've figured out that CII Squier Standard Teles followed one spec from 1998 (when Indonesian/Cort production of them began); and in late 2004 (according to this Squier Buzz) they presumably adopted the MIA/MIM standard. However, my assessment is they adopted the MIA/MIM standard only in terms of screw hole placement. They retained the larger cutout for a 6 5/16" x 1 5/16" control plate cutout, instead of the slightly smaller one for the MIA/MIM 6 4/16" x 1 4/16" control plate.

I'm trying to track down sources for pickguards to fit the early CII Squier standard. I've found one ebay dealer with them, another that seems to be a good possibility. According to sketchy sources found doing brute force searches using Google, Mighty Mite may make some to fit. But it's hard finding a Mighty Mite dealer that knows this stuff and is willing to provide the info.

andromeda, do you know whether your body is MIA or CIJ? If you want to locate a pickguard that fits precisely without filling and drilling, that info would help. Even if you just want to fill and drill, it could be handy to know which standard you're modding your parts for.

[Jett]

What I do is cut off the two screw heads that dont fit and glue them to the guard. Then get a role of two sided carpet tape from Home Depot, Lowes or whatever home improvement store you have close by. This tape is so thin you cant tell it is there. Cut a few small pieces of tape and stick that sucker down. I have been doing this with my guitars forever and have never hurt the finsh. Below are a couple of examples.

This first three pictures use no screws only tape. works great







The black guitar, none of the screws are into the guitar. I cut off the heads and glued them to the pickguard. Then I taped down the guard with a few small strips of tape. Click on the picture for a better view.

[tdowns]

Here is my method. It is a little more involved.

T's Technical Notes

[boris bubbanov]

That pop rivet trick, I never would have thought of that, great idea.


Bubbanov

[skydawg]

If there is all this variance even among Fender products, does Fender drill the p/g and the body at the same time?

[Jett]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

That pop rivet trick, I never would have thought of that, great idea.


Bubbanov

That is great idea, thanks for sharing it.

[andromeda]

I just ordered some stuff from the Guitar ReRanch for the very first time. When I e-mailed them after a week for a status on the order, no responses came. I tried calling the phone number, the mailbox was full. Has anybody ordered from them recently or know why they don't respond?

[Cross Roads]

Originally Posted by tdowns

Here is my method. It is a little more involved.

T's Technical Notes

Genius!!

[tdowns]

Originally Posted by Cross Roads

Genius!!

Thanks but....I'm not genius. I'm just anal retentive when it comes to pickguard screws. I'm also a big fan of tooling that helps the accuracy of anything. I just hope you find it useful.

[Dep]

Andromeda,

The guy who runs the reranch site is gone from time to time. Also, when he gets a lot of orders in, he will stop taking orders until he is caught back up.

Chances are you should get your order before long.

Dep