Beveling edges on a Martin style Pick Guard - FRETS.NET2024-03-28T19:14:54Zhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topics/beveling-edges-on-a-martin-style-pick-guard?id=2177249%3ATopic%3A71820&feed=yes&xn_auth=noPaul,thanks for the info. I a…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-10-14:2177249:Comment:743682011-10-14T15:28:39.402ZEd Taubliebhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/EdTaublieb
Paul,thanks for the info. I agree with you about the current Martin tortoise pick guards. Only the high end Series models get the Delmar pick guards which are much nicer looking. I will have to try the Axiom material.
Paul,thanks for the info. I agree with you about the current Martin tortoise pick guards. Only the high end Series models get the Delmar pick guards which are much nicer looking. I will have to try the Axiom material. The current Martin tortoise g…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-10-13:2177249:Comment:745682011-10-13T23:27:15.874ZPaul Hostetterhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/PaulHostetter
<p>The current Martin tortoise guards are pretty awful: halftone dots in colors not quite found in nature. They remind me of a bad hairpiece. I've replaced quite a few of those Martin guards (and black ones, and...) with real celluloid ones. I get the celluloid from Axiom, and it comes with clean surfaces. I lightly doublestick-tape the roughed out guard to a plywood backing and do the final trim there, wood and all. Then I hand-bevel the edge much as Greg describes, being careful not to…</p>
<p>The current Martin tortoise guards are pretty awful: halftone dots in colors not quite found in nature. They remind me of a bad hairpiece. I've replaced quite a few of those Martin guards (and black ones, and...) with real celluloid ones. I get the celluloid from Axiom, and it comes with clean surfaces. I lightly doublestick-tape the roughed out guard to a plywood backing and do the final trim there, wood and all. Then I hand-bevel the edge much as Greg describes, being careful not to booger the main surface. When I have the chamfer nice and round, I buff with a nice big machine buff. No sanding scratches to get out, and the plywood block supports the edge so it doesn't distort or burn.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You can keep scraping round and round, finessing a curve until there's no ridge between the edge and the main surface. If the scraper is really sharp, there are no lines or irregularities to deal with—the buffer is the next stop. I basically never use abrasive papers on guards or flatpicks. From beginning end, it takes me about half an hour to lay out a guard and have it buffed and ready for the double-sided adhesive film.</p> Thanks Frank. A great procedu…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-10-13:2177249:Comment:746602011-10-13T22:41:26.336ZEd Taubliebhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/EdTaublieb
Thanks Frank. A great procedure with excellent photos. The sad thing now, is that I suspect with the beveled edge pick guards being made in Mexico for Martin that it will be cheaper to buy from Martin than to make, at least for the common sizes of Martin models. However, I have not asked Martin for the price yet.
Thanks Frank. A great procedure with excellent photos. The sad thing now, is that I suspect with the beveled edge pick guards being made in Mexico for Martin that it will be cheaper to buy from Martin than to make, at least for the common sizes of Martin models. However, I have not asked Martin for the price yet. I do it like-a this:
http:/…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-10-13:2177249:Comment:744502011-10-13T21:50:03.871ZFrank Fordhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/FrankFord
<p>I do it like-a this:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Pickguards/Pickguard/pickguard1.html" target="_blank">http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Pickguards/Pickguard/pickguard1.html</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>One thing I often do is support the back of the pickguard when I'm buffing - I use a piece of 1/4" material the same shape. That way I can lean really hard on the buffer to make the job go quickly.</p>
<p>I do it like-a this:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Pickguards/Pickguard/pickguard1.html" target="_blank">http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Pickguards/Pickguard/pickguard1.html</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>One thing I often do is support the back of the pickguard when I'm buffing - I use a piece of 1/4" material the same shape. That way I can lean really hard on the buffer to make the job go quickly.</p> Apparently Martin is no longe…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-10-13:2177249:Comment:744482011-10-13T16:25:04.367ZEd Taubliebhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/EdTaublieb
Apparently Martin is no longer making the beveled edges on the Delmar pick guards in Nazareth. The CS21-11 guitar I just received from Martin has a non-installed beveled edge Delmare pickguard. On the back of the pickguard is a sticker that says"Made in Mexico"!!!
Apparently Martin is no longer making the beveled edges on the Delmar pick guards in Nazareth. The CS21-11 guitar I just received from Martin has a non-installed beveled edge Delmare pickguard. On the back of the pickguard is a sticker that says"Made in Mexico"!!! What I'm going for is the loo…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-09-21:2177249:Comment:721012011-09-21T03:45:12.332ZEd Taubliebhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/EdTaublieb
<p>What I'm going for is the look of the pick guard having been glued to the bare wood as Martin use to do. The bevel I want is a gradual thinning toward the edge. No visible line where the bevel begins from the flat surface of the pick guard. When installed the pick guard looks like it is in the finish, not on top of it. The vintage reissue model Martins come with the Delmar pick guard, beveled and polished.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have the small squares of what I think is Micro-Mesh. Grits are…</p>
<p>What I'm going for is the look of the pick guard having been glued to the bare wood as Martin use to do. The bevel I want is a gradual thinning toward the edge. No visible line where the bevel begins from the flat surface of the pick guard. When installed the pick guard looks like it is in the finish, not on top of it. The vintage reissue model Martins come with the Delmar pick guard, beveled and polished.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have the small squares of what I think is Micro-Mesh. Grits are color coded and on both sides of a flexible center pad. Even the fine grits caused scratches...</p> That technique sounds good an…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-09-21:2177249:Comment:723942011-09-21T03:37:30.028ZEd Taubliebhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/EdTaublieb
That technique sounds good and won't take too long. Thanks
That technique sounds good and won't take too long. Thanks "If I were to start with a hi…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-09-21:2177249:Comment:722122011-09-21T01:29:52.038ZPaul Verticchiohttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/PaulVerticchio
<p>"If I were to start with a higher # grit it would take an unreasonable length of time to make the bevel.". Sometime it takes a long time to do a near-perfect job.</p>
<p>I'm a bit confused at exactly "what" you're shooting for. It sounds (possibly <em>only</em> to me) like you're going for a rounded edge on the PG as opposed to a sharp bevel.</p>
<p>In any event, have you tried using Micro-Mesh products?</p>
<p>Best of luck,</p>
<p>Paul</p>
<p>"If I were to start with a higher # grit it would take an unreasonable length of time to make the bevel.". Sometime it takes a long time to do a near-perfect job.</p>
<p>I'm a bit confused at exactly "what" you're shooting for. It sounds (possibly <em>only</em> to me) like you're going for a rounded edge on the PG as opposed to a sharp bevel.</p>
<p>In any event, have you tried using Micro-Mesh products?</p>
<p>Best of luck,</p>
<p>Paul</p> I spent some time in the Mart…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-09-21:2177249:Comment:720972011-09-21T00:55:31.332ZMark A. Kanehttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/MarkAKane
I spent some time in the Martin customer service department a few years ago and Dave Doll showed me how he did it. It was a pretty slick method and required very little sanding to make it just right. As I recall, he worked against the side of a big old bench, seated. With his left hand, he pressed the p/g flat on the bench and moved it right up to the edge. He held a cabinet scraper in his right hand and drew it towards him for around 5-8 inches against the side of the bench at a very small…
I spent some time in the Martin customer service department a few years ago and Dave Doll showed me how he did it. It was a pretty slick method and required very little sanding to make it just right. As I recall, he worked against the side of a big old bench, seated. With his left hand, he pressed the p/g flat on the bench and moved it right up to the edge. He held a cabinet scraper in his right hand and drew it towards him for around 5-8 inches against the side of the bench at a very small angle, maybe 80 degrees from the plane of the p/g. The bench had been subjected to this treatment many times and had quite the depression from countless scrapings. He planted the p/g in position just barely over the edge, then pulled the scraper across, cutting maybe a sixteenth. He rotated the p/g all the way around it's perimeter, scraping all the while. Then he steepened the angle of the scraper and did it again. He repeated this process maybe 3-5 times until he was scraping very lightly almost parallel with the plane of the p/g. A quick hit on the scraped edge with 320 or 400 or so, then a trip to the buffer was all it took. It looked as good as anything I've seen anywhere. Frecut is 3M's name for their…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2011-09-20:2177249:Comment:722062011-09-20T22:38:04.418ZGreg Mirkenhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/GregMirken
<p>Frecut is 3M's name for their stearated aluminum oxide paper. These days I'm actually using Klingspor's version of the same thing.</p>
<p>Now that I look closely at the Martin Delmar guard, there are small scratches in the bevel. Also the material has a clear bottom layer, so the color fades to clear at the thin edge. Now if you want to see a <em>perfect</em> beveled guard, look at a Collings.</p>
<p>Frecut is 3M's name for their stearated aluminum oxide paper. These days I'm actually using Klingspor's version of the same thing.</p>
<p>Now that I look closely at the Martin Delmar guard, there are small scratches in the bevel. Also the material has a clear bottom layer, so the color fades to clear at the thin edge. Now if you want to see a <em>perfect</em> beveled guard, look at a Collings.</p>