Pearl pickguard!

[MWaldorf]

So, not being one to leave well enough alone, I decided that the pickguard on my MeshuggaMark was just too bright white, and made myself a new one. In the past, this hasn't been a project I would have managed terribly well, but a few weeks ago I bought a scroll saw at a garage sale ($20!) and off I went!

I ordered a sheet of antique mother of pearl three-ply, and started by tracing the shape of the original guard onto the blank. Here's the blank with a first pass cut very wide around the trace.


Here's a shot of the scroll saw, showing it's most useful feature (as far as pickguards are concerned) - you can angle the bed to make even bevelled edges. I chose a 30 degree bevel.


Here's a close up of the 30 bevel. Note that it was important to keep the pickguard moving through the saw; if it staying in one place too long, the plastic guard started to burn.


I kept the scroll saw as closed as I could to the trace line, but it wasn't perfect. Here's the guard before I used a series of hand files to smooth out the curves.


The original pickguard had copper tape shielding underneath. I didn't have any copper tape, but I had some think copper sheets, which I cut to shape with scissors. Here's the guitar wired up. You can see the spot where I had to solder the two copper sheets together, as well as the spot where the electronics are grounded to the shield. I had to be extra careful not to leave the soldering gun on the shield too long as I didn't want to melt the guard from underneath. Also notice the 3PDT switches for the RH-100 split coils and the TBX treble/bass tone control.


Here's the pickguard installed. It hangs over the edge of the curve a bit below the vol and tone knobs, but no more so than on my 66 Ventures model.


Finally, full body glamor shots, before and after. I think a slightly lighter shade of pearl might have been better, but, to my eyes, still an improvement.

[Veenture]

Interesting project Mel, it's always good to see what others are doing. I myself have an inclination to modify/improve stuff too and have done quite a few mods on audio equipment etc. but only very minor ones on guitars. Now I wouldn't change the original myself but that's a matter of taste or preference I guess. Good job, for a first attempt for sure. Was it difficult to work with the new material... i.e. is it brittle?
Being a bit of a nitpicker-kinda-guy on details, I would've taken it a little further during the final stage by just gently sanding the contours some more with fine sandpaper wrapped around a rectangular cork-block until it really looks 'well rounded'. The thing is, it's an eye catcher with the contrast of the white (pearl) against a darker background! I've always found that a pearl pickguard seems to make any guitar more classy.

[rog43win]

great job, Mel! I always have to give you guys credit for undertaking projects like this...
It looks very sweet!

Roger

[Dennisthe Menace]

Mel,
I've seen a couple of these MOTs on the MIJ models and wasn't totally blown away,
but after seeing it on the ''Tri-Powered Model,'' it makes it seem just.......'rite.'

[dubtrub]

You've come far pilgrim.

Those scroll saws can really get to vibrating and bouncing around. To remedy that try placing it on top of a piece of carpet. It'll smooth right out.

[Sarah93003]

Very nice job Mel! I like it. The scroll saw was a great find as well!

[GattonFan]

Looks good on there - mellowed out, sort of.
Dennis

[MWaldorf]

Thanks guys! The pickguard edges are actually pretty smooth - while not perfectly flowing curves, they're close enough for my purposes. I've destroyed a number of fine tuned parts over the years with the "just one last touch..." so I erred on the side of close enough.

The scroll saw does like to hop, so I ran a bolt through the slats on the table top to hold it down. The pickguard material itself had enough flex in it that I had to hold it down pretty close to the blade to keep the blade on the tracing. Thankfully the scroll saw blade doesn't move as fast as other saws.

I think part of the issue with the pearl guards on the MIJ Mosrites is that they are the really really white ones. I specifically went looking for a toned down version, and I think it helps. I would have been happy with a parchment or cream guard, as that's what I had originally wanted on the guitar, but once I started looking for pickguard blanks, I got a bit carried away. Not that unusual, I suppose.

And Danny, yes, I have come a long way in my guitar building skills, in large part because of this website and your help. That's why I make these process pictorials - if it can help someone learn something, then I'm giving back to the community that helped me so much.

[Veenture]

I've destroyed a number of fine tuned parts over the years with the "just one last touch..." so I erred on the side of close enough.

Fair enough. Any definite plans for the headstock or will it simply be wearing the Meshugga "mask" for the time being? (A definite "Meshugga" logo would be cool though!)

[MWaldorf]

I've destroyed a number of fine tuned parts over the years with the "just one last touch..." so I erred on the side of close enough.

Fair enough. Any definite plans for the headstock or will it simply be wearing the Meshugga "mask" for the time being? (A definite "Meshugga" logo would be cool though!)

BTW, the worst of the "just one last touch" was the time I tried trimming my eyebrows with my sideburn clipper. Lesson learned!

I have an order in for a Meshugga headstock decal - from the type of company that makes vinyl window stickers. No definite eta on it's arrival, but I'd like to make this a proper headstock design.