Pickguard Carving

[FenderJak]

I've got a P-bass that came standard with one of those gold pickguards. In time I bought a black pearloid one and just put it on top because removing the gold one screws with the grounding. Anyway, I decided I want to carve some designs into the black one and have the gold come through underneath. Maybe some tiger stripes. I don't want to have to cut in from the sides if possible. What would be the most effective way to accomplish this without it looking like crap?

[vbasscustom]

what i would do, would be take a sharp chisel, and just scrape the same spot with a corner of the sharp bit of the file, until the gold shows. do this in different spots until you have enough

[Alduroth]

My advice is dont dremel it. Never route plastic. Tried it once on a broken Xbox controller and.. it melts and scews up yer router bits.
Chiseling or using some of that woodcarving tools. Dont hold stuff and push with a chisel-like object.
Been there and now I lost feeling in my thumb. Still can us it for playing thankfully.

Safety first!

[zagnut]

Originally Posted by Alduroth

My advice is dont dremel it. Never route plastic. Tried it once on a broken Xbox controller and.. it melts and scews up yer router bits.

I've had to use my Dremel to contour and shape different types of plastics before. It isn't pretty. It melts the plastic like Alduroth mentioned. It can be done, but it takes some practice and experience to get it to turn out right. If you can do it another way, I would recommend that if you have no experience working with a Dremel and plastics.

If not, get a couple of old pickguards to practice on. It's easy to melt right through the plastic with the Dremel and turn your project into scrap.Be sure you have a few of the same types of "bits" because the melted plastic will clog them up pretty fast. Make sure there is nothing around to distract you. Using a Dremel requires a lot of patience, concentration and takes a very steady hand.

[Greenman]

I route Plexiglas and Lexan with a single flute straight cut bit with good results. Adjust your speed accordingly.

[Armacielli]

drill hole and insert scroll saw blade

[Hullbert]

or a jeweler's saw for really detailed stuff