My First Pickguard

[Chuckster]

The original pickguard on my Yamaha SGV300 was cracked, and replacements are impossible to find. The narrow cuts and wacky shape on this guard were probably not the easiest choice for making my first guard, but I figure anything after this would be a breeze.
Old:

New:

I still have to make the tiny minion-shaped back plate, but I need to do some thinking about how to do that and still walk away with 10 fingers.

I never liked the cheap single-ply original guard, so I went with a 3-ply parchment/black/white pearloid for strength and a cooler vibe.

Looking forward to getting this surf monster back together again.

 

[Steve Holt]

Well done for your first attempt! I've only had to make 2, and neither of them look that good.

 

[GeneB]

Pearloid was/is the way to go. Nice!

 

[Peegoo]

@Chuckster

DANG, brother.

That looks good for a person's 20th pickguard. And that's you first?

Respect!

 

[Chuckster]

@Chuckster

DANG, brother.

That looks good for a person's 20th pickguard. And that's you first?

Respect!

Thanks man... it's all about the routers!

 

[bender66]

By hand?! How did you get the bevels so clean?

Nice job!

 

[Chuckster]

By hand?! How did you get the bevels so clean?

Nice job!

First, I spent a stupid amount of time making templates from MDF... Cut, sand, file, sand... ugh.

Then, 2-sided tape onto the back of the pearloid and rough-cut on the band saw. Hogged out the pickup cutouts on the drill press.

Rough cutout:

Then, onto my Bosch router table with a straight bit first, then to an Amana 45-degree bevel bit. It was an expensive bit, but worth it.

Fun project, I learned a lot.

 

[brookdalebill]

Bravo!

 

[arlum]

If that was your first attempt at creating a pick guard you may have found your calling. That looks excellent.

 

[hd09]

That's definitely talent

 

[ChicknPickn]

Wow. I can respect that.

 

[ahiddentableau]

Woot. Nice work, Chuck! I kinda love the SGV300, so seeing it get some love is always good in my book.

 

[HaWE]

Great job
I still have some pickguard material that is waiting to become a Stratocaster pickguard with only cut outs for bridge and neck pu ... I already made a diy pickguard for my Framus but that was a rather simple shape compared to your pickguard

 

[Chuckster]

Great job
I still have some pickguard material that is waiting to become a Stratocaster pickguard with only cut outs for bridge and neck pu ... I already made a diy pickguard for my Framus but that was a rather simple shape compared to your pickguard

Thanks man... have you considered buying a blank Strat guard and just cutting the pickup holes? It will save a ton of time and effort. Something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1925969565...1-2-SWiR_G&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[HaWE]

Thanks man... have you considered buying a blank Strat guard and just cutting the pickup holes? It will save a ton of time and effort. Something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1925969565...1-2-SWiR_G&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Yes, I already had one, but it was a bit smaller and because the guitar body is nicely yellowed there would be a bright area on the body all around the smaller pickguard- so I decided to build my own as an exact copy of the old one.But until now I have not found time and energy and use the old original pickguard.

 

[netgear69]

Good stuff I hate making them covers for body routes from scratch a real pain in the ass to get them perfect it always helps to have the original the pearloid will look much better than the plain guard

 

[Chuckster]

The Flying Samurai bridge gets a full Chucksterfication. No trace of the 20+ years of ick...

Next step: Fret level, clean, and polish.

 

[TunedupFlat]

That is really looking nice and clean!

And good lord, that was a pretty clean looking first try for a pickguard and back plate

The right tools and a little patience go a long way

Great looking job!

 

[Chuckster]

Done... finally. Yamaha SGV300 Flying Samurai in Metallic Emerald Green.

I'm embarrassed to admit that this sat taped and waiting for a setup for more than 6 months, so it's great to have it back in rotation now.

Created new pearloid pickguard, backplate, and cavity cover. New Tusq string trees and strap washers. Truss rod adjustment, fret level and polish, set intonation, and new Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 46-10 strings.

Action is good, but I may shim it 1 or 2 degrees during the next string change to get it a shade lower.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. If anyone wants to see how I cut/routered that tiny cavity cover without losing fingers, let me know and I'll post it.

 

[FortyEight]

Nice job!!! that is an interesting beast!!!