Replacement pickguard for 70's F-50m

guitarjesus

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Mine has shrunk over the years and came loose. Anybody have any idea where to find a replacement? Mine is black, not tortoise.
 

adorshki

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Mine has shrunk over the years and came loose. Anybody have any idea where to find a replacement? Mine is black, not tortoise.

"IIRC" the usual suggestion is to get a blank of material from someplace like StewMac, cut to size from a tracing of the original, and go from there.
The caveat is that it may be very hard to remove the original:
They were literally glued to the top with NCL which basically melted the p/g material into the topwood, and then finished over, to boot.
The main problem is reported to be getting it off the top without mangling the topwood underneath.
You might want to discuss with your favorite luthier to see if he's had experience with R&R'ing such a method.
 

guitarjesus

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"IIRC" the usual suggestion is to get a blank of material from someplace like StewMac, cut to size from a tracing of the original, and go from there.
The caveat is that it may be very hard to remove the original:
They were literally glued to the top with NCL which basically melted the p/g material into the topwood, and then finished over, to boot.
The main problem is reported to be getting it off the top without mangling the topwood underneath.
You might want to discuss with your favorite luthier to see if he's had experience with R&R'ing such a method.

I think I managed to get it off with no mangling, literally, it peeled off.



 

adorshki

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I think I managed to get it off with no mangling, literally, it peeled off.




EXCELLENT!
Is it actually NCL plastic or something else?
One of our members with considerable experience in repairing '70's era Guilds, Christopher Cozad, has reported that headstock veneers of the '70's were actually made of an impregnated paper material, and that p/g has that kind of appearance, in the photo.
He was also the gentleman who described the p/g mounting technique I described.
Over the years I've seen that Guild could and did change manufacturing methods, so really not much surprises me any more.
It's just trying to remember it all that gets harder and harder.
 

guitarjesus

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EXCELLENT!
Is it actually NCL plastic or something else?
One of our members with considerable experience in repairing '70's era Guilds, Christopher Cozad, has reported that headstock veneers of the '70's were actually made of an impregnated paper material, and that p/g has that kind of appearance, in the photo.
He was also the gentleman who described the p/g mounting technique I described.
Over the years I've seen that Guild could and did change manufacturing methods, so really not much surprises me any more.
It's just trying to remember it all that gets harder and harder.

Not sure, but it's thin and flappy. I'll get the thinnest I can get at StewMac and cut it, and glue it down. I could just have my son take it to school and 3d print one.
 

adorshki

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Not sure, but it's thin and flappy. I'll get the thinnest I can get at StewMac and cut it, and glue it down. I could just have my son take it to school and 3d print one.

V-e-e-e-r-r-r-y interesting....
One wouldn't expect NCL plastic to be "flappy".
Anyway, sounds like you've got it well in hand, let us know how it goes!
 

geoguy

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A repair guy who replaced a pickguard for me said that he cut the new one slightly larger, to assure that it covered up the tan line left behind when the original guard was removed.

Might be a good idea for you, too.
 
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