Tortoise Pickguard Material for Archtop Instruments

This Tortoise Pickguard Material was perfect to replace the warped original on my 1946 ES-125. I kept the original in a safe place (with the crumbling tuners) and the guitar is like new.

I'm about to order more after building my first two pickguards. The quality is excellent and it machines very well. Only criticism is that the resin is poured in quite a linear fashion - I'd prefer a bit of a swirl. There are some light patches which are quite transparent. I angled the template slightly to offset the 'grain' and avoid light patches. Recommended!

Very nice piece indeed . made two pickguards out of it . One for a 49 forcillo [ very rare ] One for a 46 harmony thanks so much . Stewmac rocks

I'm no luthier. I was just trying to make a dupe of the pickguard on my son's Norma acoustic. It was bought by my uncle @ 1963, resembles a Hummingbird, and has a shattered p/g. The stick-ons sold today would ruin the look. Anyway, half of the piece I got was a nice (but dark) tortoise-shell, the other half was pretty much black. But even if the whole thing were the right pattern, it would be too dark for my app, screwing it directly on the guitar like the original. As an elevated finger-rest, it would probably look better, and I think you'll naturally find a variance between pieces. I'd order several and return the ones that are less than ideal.

I should have paid more attention to thickness. way too thick for what I wanted

The best I can find out there for a good looking Tortoise Shell look and feel. The sheet is small. You will be lucky to get 2 small archtop pickguards out of it. Stewart Mac I am begging you! Please offer this in a large sheet!! People want this material on Solid Bodies too. That other Laminate Tortoise shell you offer is useless.

Dear Readers,
This tortoise pickguard material is outstanding!
The colour is more on the brown side than on red and the swirls are a delicious amber with a huge 3D depth.
This is the loveliest looking tortoise material I've ever worked with for making archtop pickguards. I had no trouble in the machining or laminating processes. The edges retained a nice crispness. The material was absolutely flat, no warping or cupping and it fused beautifully with the binding plastic when I cemented it on.
This was a custom guard that I made for a Gibson Custom Shop AL-355 to replace the original pickguard that was signed by Alex Lifeson.
The binding material is all from Stewmac as well.
Regards,
Freddy Gabrsek
Luthier

Beautiful pickguard material... and fast shipping! Ordered it one week ago, got it today in Spain! Thanks!

I used this to make a pickguard for a "The Loar" VS-600. The blanks I received were not very transparent but the effect was good. I beveled the edge with the StewMac beveling bit and there was no chipping. When gluing the neck block, i got some CA on the top of the pickguard. It is resistant to acetone so the day was saved. The customer is happy, therefore I'm happy.

Great vibe for a quality vintage feel. Nice to work with. Planning where to use it next! Looked good on the mid 40s Gibson archtop.