Help - Need ABS Plastic for an Archtop End Cap

[Philip Secrist]

I need some ABS white plastic that is around 2.5" x 5/8" x .250" thick as well as a .020/.020 inch black/white laminate for an arch top guitar neck end cap. All I can find are plastic companies that want to sell me huge quantities! I am only building a couple of guitars. Any ideas where I can get this materials in small quantities? I have checked the two parts houses I order from and they don't have anything wide enough...just binding widths.

[Dave Stewart]

Not sure where you checked but Stewmac sell individual .020"blk & white ABS pcs that you can easily laminate with acetone.They also have .060" trim blanks in both colours for heelcaps. LMI has larger "white plastic" pieces .090" thick. I've never seen anything .250" thick.

[Philip Secrist]

The problem is I need a white plastic end cap with a black and while laminate that is a minimum of 1/2 inch wide by 2-1/8 in long by 1/4 inch thick. Stewmac and LMI binding material only goes up to 1/4 inch wide. The blk/wht piece, which continues the fine binding lines up and over the end cap (traditional for arch tops), needs to be 0.5 inch wide to fit the width of the end cap and the white end cap material needs to be about 1/4 inch thick to bring it flush with the back. I can't find either a 1/4" piece of white plastic for the end cap (in small quantity) or a blk/wht laminate wide enough (in small quantity).

[Dave Stewart]

Ah, I see the .020 issue now....tha's easy...use fiber veneer from LMI (or wood veneer from local "exotic wood" shop). Re the actual cap, doubt you'll find it, like I said. You could use holly. Or use the .090", and here's why. The heel will move. Build it flush & you'll soon feel a sharp edge (or depression) as the cap moves slightly above & below the back with the seasons. I now build with the caps intentionally below "flush". I think it's only good practise in any woodworking to accept what the wood inevitably wants to do and build for it.

[Philip Secrist]

Dave, good point on the reasons to not make the end cap flush with the back. 0.090 " plus 0.040" black/white laminate would give me 0.130", which is half the distance of the 1/4" binding that runs under it. That would still look OK, though. Oh wait, I still have the problem of finding a 0.090" piece of white plastic that is 1/2" high by 2-1/2" wide to cover the maple end cap area. How about using a piece of white acrylic or Corian used for counter tops? It comes in 1/2" thickness and I did get a free sample from a cabinet shop. I don't know how easily it would be to thickness though? Any thoughts? What glue would you use to laminate the fiber veneers to the end cap and maple end of the neck?

[Dave Stewart]

........Oh wait, I still have the problem of finding a 0.090" piece of white plastic that is 1/2" high by 2-1/2" wide to cover the maple end cap area. How about using a piece of white acrylic or Corian used for counter tops? It comes in 1/2" thickness and I did get a free sample from a cabinet shop. I don't know how easily it would be to thickness though? Any thoughts? What glue would you use to laminate the fiber veneers to the end cap and maple end of the neck?

????........you lost me
You've used a bit of the .090x2"x7" plastic plus B&W fiber veneers to build a heelcap. What are we talking about now???

[Mario Proulx]

What's an "end cap"?

[Philip Secrist]

Sorry for the confusion Dave. I am not doing a very good job of explaining. Where do I get a 0.090" by 2" by 7" piece of white plastic? Stewmac sells some wider plastic trim that is 0.060" thick, but I have not seen .090" (1/2" or wider) white trim. I may be not be looking in the right places! Mario, we are talking about an arch top neck heel cap that needs to be approximately 2.125 inch wide x .5 inch tall x some thickness. I want the heel cap to match the binding which is a 1/4" white binding with a black/white laminate. I was going to do this by using a piece of white plastic material laminated to a black/white fiberboard so that the black/white lines continue from the bindings up and over the end cap. To make this heel cap sandwich flush with the back, the white plastic end cap thickness would need to be about 1/4" (plus the 0.040" black/white laminate), but as Dave well pointed out, it may be better to not make it flush, so I am considering the 0.90" thickness. I am just not sure where to find white plastic trim of this length and width and the thickness I want (0,090" or greater).

[Dave Stewart]

As I mentioned in my second post, LMI carries it
http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproduc ... p+Material

[Philip Secrist]

Aahh! Great! Thanks.

[Mario Proulx]

Ahh... Heel Cap!

[Michael Lewis]

Put binding around the heel cap and use thinner material for the cap, so no need to search out unusual sizes of material. You want it to match the binding, and you have the material you need.

[Dave Stewart]

Great tip Michael!