bram99 Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 I am in the process of swapping out the modern stripe pickguard on my J-45 42 Reissue... I have a beautiful replacement tortoise guard made from real celluloid sheet stock. It just looks great on the guitar....I am aware celluloid guards shrink. Would it be a bad idea to use celluloid? Roughly how many years does it take to shrink? Is it a issue or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 It may never be an issue. I've seen plenty of 1940's J-45's with perfectly fine original celluloid pickguards. I would by all means use real celluloid when it is consistent in character with the guitar, as it is with yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenverSteve Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 I've never had one shrink. While I'm not a builder I think it has as much/or more to do with proper humidification of the guitar to keep it from contracting and swelling from dryness or over-hydration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Or from staying locked up in a case for a few years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 The stock fire stripe pick guard on your J45 is also celluloid ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bram99 Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Yesterday I replaced the stock modern stripe pick guard with celluloid tortoise...don't like the modern stripe at all. By the way this J-45 42 Banner Reissue is the best guitar I have ever owned. Just a couple of tweaks here and there to make it perfect....I have also replaced the white buttoned relic'd golden age tuners with with the same set in nickel but with black Antique Acoustics tuner buttons. I I combined parts from two sets of tuners so I now have the proper short shafts on the tapered headstock. (I'll post a pic later). I have also ordered 1942 replica Antique Acoustic black bridge pins. Then I'm done... Before Now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarjtb Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 The tortoise looks great. Where did you get it? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 That looks really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Massive improvement! Gotta ask - did you set a match to the scraps? Some of my guitars built in the 1930s still have their celluloid scratch plates and they have apparently held up fine. Also had one made for my 1942 J-50 from a stash of NOS celluloid sheets. Certainly a whole lot better than the Bakelite stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Looks great! Now you just need to get rid of the orange label! I kind of went the other way with the pickguard on my SJ. I put on a reissue firestripe guard. Here is a pic. Lars http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/e5e25d9caa0dcc2fedee5b4d250f2a5c0430cfa.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Looks great! Now you just need to get rid of the orange label! I kind of went the other way with the pickguard on my SJ. I put on a reissue firestripe guard. Here is a pic. Lars http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/e5e25d9caa0dcc2fedee5b4d250f2a5c0430cfa.JPG Lars, that one is very close to the original firestripes used on some 1942-'43 SJ's and J-45's, as well as earlier guitars. It's a far cry from the modern firestripes Gibson uses, which really are pretty poor imitations. Reproductions that good are very hard to come by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bram99 Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 The tortoise looks great. Where did you get it? James Someone selling them on the bay. Look for J-45 celluloid pick guard and you'll find it. Took a chance on it because could not really tell from photo but I love the look of the material I got and it shipped right away....I had to shave the rosette radius, bevel the edges and polish it up, but I am happy with how it turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Someone selling them on the bay. Look for J-45 celluloid pick guard and you'll find it. Took a chance on it because could not really tell from photo but I love the look of the material I got and it shipped right away....I had to shave the rosette radius, bevel the edges and polish it up, but I am happy with how it turned out. Sounds like the same one I got. Looks great on my J45 TV. I had to do the same thing to mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I had to shave the rosette radius, bevel the edges and polish it up, but I am happy with how it turned out. Could you give some details on that process, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 It's a far cry from the modern firestripes Gibson uses, which really are pretty poor imitations. You are being kind. Not sure I have actually ever seen a '42 J-45 with a firestripe guard though. Also never seen one that did not have the seven- ply rosette though either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bram99 Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Could you give some details on that process, please? The pick guard looked like it was cut to shape with scissors leaving a rough square edge. The sound hole portion of the guard had a little smaller radius than my guitar so I traced (scribing with the back of an exacto knife) the sound hole portion of the old guard onto the back of the new guard. I then used a razor blade to scrape to shape sound hole radius and to round off the top edge of the guard to make a soft beveled edge. I use the micro mesh pads to soften the bevel and remove any scratches. The guard was a bit rough with sanding marks so it took a bit of elbow grease with scratch remover and virtuoso to finish them off.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Not sure I have actually ever seen a '42 J-45 with a firestripe guard though. Also never seen one that did not have the seven- ply rosette though either. The first J-45 pictured on the bannergibsons.com gallery is a '42 with a firestripe. Judging from everything I've seen, those disappeared pretty early. Also seen on some early SJ's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 The first J-45 pictured on the bannergibsons.com gallery is a '42 with a firestripe. Judging from everything I've seen, those disappeared pretty early. Also seen on some early SJ's. The model guitar (Eldon Whitford's) must have had a Firestripe - I think of the few "Legends" I've seen they all sport Firestripe. Most I've seen seem to have a variety of stripe angles, and are a bit over-pronounced. But as much as I like the looks of Lar's Firestripe and Bram's new Tortoise - I would be extremely leery of changing what apears here - just too much risk - and I do not dislike what I have. To tell the truth, I rarley notice them until this topic pops up now and again. Notice how the PG on the TV is in exactly the right position Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Looks great! Now you just need to get rid of the orange label! I kind of went the other way with the pickguard on my SJ. I put on a reissue firestripe guard. Here is a pic. Lars http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/e5e25d9caa0dcc2fedee5b4d250f2a5c0430cfa.JPG That is the only firestripe pick guard I have liked. The rest look like the smear on pavement of a roadkill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I got a good deal on a TV earlier this year and it came without a pick guard. I'm not that handy with a razor. I measured the rosette ring and turned a steel ring to size minus the sand paper thickness. I applied some self adhesive sand paper to the ring and used it to form the radius in the guard. I've been using the 3000 grit spongy backed cloth for polishing pick guards. It takes out any scratches and leaves a dull finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I measured the rosette ring and turned a steel ring to size minus the sand paper thickness. I applied some self adhesive sand paper to the ring and used it to form the radius in the guard. You "turned" a pice of steel to match the radius? You have a metal lathe? I am in awe of folks that can shape steel to meet their needs. Impressive ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Fundi Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I got a good deal on a TV earlier this year and it came without a pick guard. I'm not that handy with a razor. I measured the rosette ring and turned a steel ring to size minus the sand paper thickness. I applied some self adhesive sand paper to the ring and used it to form the radius in the guard. I've been using the 3000 grit spongy backed cloth for polishing pick guards. It takes out any scratches and leaves a dull finish. That is so AWESOME! I love people who want something "their" way and will make it happen! I may need to rent your steel ring here pretty soon ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarjtb Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 For those of you that don't have access to a metal lathe, you can find a coupler for approximately 4" PVC pipe at Lowes or Home Depot. The O.D. of the coupler is a little less than 4 3/4". You can put a few wraps of duct tape to dial in the correct size and apply your adhesive backed sand paper over the duct tape. It is easily adjustable by adding or removing layers of the duct tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 For those of you that don't have access to a metal lathe, you can find a coupler for approximately 4" PVC pipe. The O.D. of the coupler is a little less than 4 3/4". You can put a few wraps of duct tape to dial in the correct size and apply your adhesive backed sand paper over the duct tape. It is easily adjustable by adding or removing layers of the duct tape. Thanks for that! I wish you were making more of your firestripe pickguards. The ones I have seen are superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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