Official Luthiers Forum!

Do any of you have direct experience working / shaping Tor-Tis? I am working on a custom pick guard and after looking @ several materials, that is going to be the final answer. However, I seem to remember someone (John How?) saying it chips really bad when you try to shape it w/ a router.

Did I remember correctly? Anyone have a good solution to shaping this (if routing it isn't an option). At almost $60 a sheet I don't want to experiment too much.   

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Brock,
I make a thin 1/8-1/4 or wood template, double back tape it down and scribe around it with an kinfe a a few times, it goes quick. Sand the edges to polish and a scraper puts a nice bevel on.
BTW - I'm sitting here surfing the the OLF while doodling on a new guitar that just got strings today, sounds great right out of the shoot. Pictures coming!

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I've used about 80-100 sheets of the stuff(2-3 guards per sheet). Out of that, only maybe 3-4 pickguards cracked or chipped enough to be ruined. One sheet couldn't be cut at all, it was so brittle, but that one was their bad...

I've never routed it. Soak in very hot water(as hot as you can stand), and cut it while hot, using your best(or your wife's best) scissors. If you can, cut it -in- the hot water, but if you must pull it out, cut about 2-3 inches, then put it back in the hot water. You'll know when to stop cuting, as it gets harder, and if you force it here, it will crack. It'll bend and seem to want to hold that new shape, but fear not, once you're done cutting, place it back in the hot water to soften a few seconds, and then place it on a piece of glass or something, while it cools.

Only cut near your line, then sand to the line. Sands easily. Bevel with a razor blade, then buff the edge back.....

Well, Mario the Maple Leaf Marvell does it again...gotta love this place.

Thanks Mario, great tip

Cheers

Kim

Good advice above, you want to make sure you don't bend it much either and make a support the same shape as your pickguard (I use a piece of 1/4" plywood) to support it as you bevel and polish the edge.

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I also cut them after heating the sheet in water, but I use a utility knife, must try scissors next time. I cut my first one cold, and it took forever, this this is tuff stuff! It also felt like it was close to breaking all the time.

Todd, the Tor-Tis (epoxy) pickguard material is not the same as the Tortis ("cultured turtle-shell") pick material, it is way to brittle.

<edit> Here's a little backgroundArnt38978.3891087963

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Thanks guys.   

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

For sanding the rosette radius into the guard, I glued a strip of 80 grit to a small ice cream pail. Its taper allows every radius I encounter.

Simple is what simple does...., but someday, I'll get my bro to turn me a cone like Frank's.

I've tried gluing up scraps and made picks out of them. Looked genuine enough, but they wore like crazy; one or two tunes, and the edge would get all raspy. The cultured stuff Dave makes the picks from is a completely different material, similar only in name. Those picks are DA BOMB! Best there is, period.Mario38978.4983912037

From a player's perspective, they are as close to the real thing as you can get, both in tone and feel. Great picks.