My First Pickguard

[middy]

I’d definitely like to see how you did the tiny cavity cover.

 

[Chuckster]

I’d definitely like to see how you did the tiny cavity cover.

Routing small parts is dangerous, so the best approach is "don't bring the piece to the router; bring the router to the piece."

First, I screwed the template to a scrap that was clamped to the bench, but I discovered that the roller bearing nut was hitting the scrap. So, I had to put in another small scrap to get some height.

Then, I laid down 2-sided tape, but kept it away from the edge to avoid gumming up the router bit, and stuck on the rough-cut piece:

A quick but carefully spin with the Colt router and it looked decent:

At this point, I kept the piece mounted for stability for finishing. I cleaned up the chatter with a fine file, then polished up with grades of MicroMesh.

Now, for the dozens of incredibly talented builders on this forum, this is a total hack job, and I'm aware of that. Just sharing what worked for me, and I truly enjoy learning from the experts here.

 

[Chuckster]

Found the perfect replacement for the SVG's missing whammy bar courtesy of Babicz Guitars.

Finding an original is impossible, and I swear Babicz used the original Yamaha arm design for their tremolo systems.

This thing is super high quality.