Flattening old Bakelite pick guards and source for new guards?

[Kerry Krishna]

The old axes I am constantly working on have a few things in common, and the warped guars are one of them. Have any of you any ideas on how exactly to flatten these things? And I would love to get a sheet of this somewhere also so I can start making my own.

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

medium heat?

[Chris Rochow]

This is how I do it... never had a problem.

Using two rather thick metal plates, perfectly flat ones....about 8" x 8".

I clamp the PG in between the two plates. (Use several clamps for uniform pressure)

I then use a heat gun, on LOW, to gently warm the plates.. (NOT hot!!)

Let sit overnight.  Remove teh next day.  You MIGHT have to repeat.

[Kerry Krishna]

 Thanks Chris. I actually have 1 inch thick aluminum plate I will use and see if it works. How about suppiers of this material?

 

[Chris Rochow]

I just go to the local hardware store for it.  1" is a bit thick... it'll just act as a heat sink, and defeat the purpose. :(   Unless you can gently warm the whole thing up... the it'll retain the heat nicely.  My 2 plates are approx. 1/8th" thick.

[Tom Mitchell]

Not that I'd ever done this, so consider my FREE advice to be worth every penny...

 

If all I had was 1" aluminum plate, I'd cut two matching pieces, sandwich the pickguard between them, c-clamp everything together (small clamps, of course), and toss the whole shebang in the oven at the LOWEST heat setting for a while.  Then I'd turn off the heat, crack the over door open and let it cool slowly.

[Paul Hostetter]

The term Bakelite is incorrect. I know antique toy collectors love the term, but real Bakelite is something else. Pickguards are usually made of celluloid, sometimes ABS.

 

I highly recommend against using dry heat on celluloid. It's extremely flammable, and at the very least will shrink, if not get worse. What you can do is sandwich the guard under a sheet of glass in a water-filled pyrex pan in a microwave—this way it's always underwater and combustion is not possible. Give it a minute or so and then let everything cool completely before lifting the weighted top piece off the celluloid.

 

I find it's usually better to replace an old potato-chipped guard with a new one. All the requisite materials are easily available, and it looks a lot better. Axiom has great celluloid.

[Tom Mitchell]

Paul makes some very good points, and I'd like to expand on them.  Celluloid (like Bakelite) is a thermosetting polymer.  Once it has cured, reheating DOES NOT soften it.  Only a thermosplastic can be reworked by applying heat.

[Greg Mirken]

Not so, Tom. Bakelite (your classic pot handles and distributor rotors) is a thermoset plastic and does not soften with heat. Celluloid does indeed soften when heated, which is why loose shrunken binding can be heated and stretched back to conform to guitar waist curves.

[Tom Mitchell]

I enjoy "teachable moments".  I knew Bakelite is thermoset.  I wasn't familar with Celluloid, so I did a quick internet search, and I found a page that grouped it with Bakelite.

 

And then I assumed...  But now I'm enlightened.

[Paul Hostetter]

Thanks Greg, we agree (as usual). I'd add that lots of things, not just thermoplastics like celluloid, such as wood and hair, can be softened and reworked with heat.

 

 

[Greg Mirken]

Love your new hairstyle, Paul.

[Paul Hostetter]

That's my beard. It's a comb-up.