Using melinex for a guitar?

Create a Post
J

Justin Alvarez

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Posts
152
Loc
Alberta, CANADA
Hey everyone,

Ok I have done a search for this already. I had a client bring a guitar in to be framed. Its an autographed one. Now my question is mounting, all I have come across is mounting guitars that can be opened. This one is permanent. So my question is, i do remember reading this in one of the posts that popped up during my search. If I mount it with Melinex will that be strong enough to hold it in place? I just need to make sure that the Melinex is in the proper areas? Any ideas?

As well, what can I use as backing for it? Would chloroplast be strong enough or should I use 2 sheets of chloroplast? The guitar will be mounted at about a 10-15 degree angle upright.

Thanks for the help!

Justin Alvarez
 
There might be some better solutions out there, but I mounted two guitars using eye bolts around the strap pegs. One needed a little extra support because it had a convex back, so I used a J bolt gently around a tuning peg. One guitar had silver pegs, but the other had gold pegs, so I painted the eye bolt gold.

I used 3/8" plywood for the back board, so that held the eye bolts well.
 
What kind of guitar is it? Acoustic or Electric? There is a considerable weight difference more often than not. For electrics we have had great success utilizing the neck screws. We carefully remove the neck screws and utilize a new set that are just long enough to make up for the backer used. Granted this works only on guitars with a removeable neck. The majority of the electrics we see are Strat copies which facilitate this method. On other occasions we have used the actual strap buttons on the guitar by manufacturing metal brackets. These methods are reversible but that said we obtain the approval of the customer before we have at it. Here are a few examples...

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ronerin/sbcurrent/bowie.jpg

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ronerin/sbcurrent/springsteen.jpg

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ronerin/sbcurrent/canrock.jpg
 
As a luthier, I would recommend boxers method.

If it's a set neck I use hangers that are specifically designed to hold guitars (vertically).

Finally if it has to hang horizontal, and has a set neck, I like Richard's idea. I think Gemini makes some plastic supports that fit on strap buttons but I'm not sure.

Regardless of how you frame these, conservation is a secondary concern at best. Like so many things, if it is truly precious and valuable, it doesn't belong in a frame. This is incredibly true with guitars. The neck will warp and render the guitar worthless 100% of the time. So is it the signature or guitar we wish to preserve. Or both? This is a serious question!

I wouldn't use any fancy shrink wrapped wires or spray rubber or anything that resembles rubber. The finish may be damaged by this very quickly and there is just too many easier ways to mount a guitar. Also loosen the strings so that they look straight but have very little tension.


Carry on (rocking).
 
Thanks for the info everyone. It is an Electric Guitar and I checked the neck screws and sure enough they are removable. So, basically we will be using Boxers method. It seems to be the best. Thanks again for the info!

Justin Alvarez
 
Go easy on me... it would appear that you are the local competition!

:)

Like Jay says... just snug the strings up until they don't appear slack, we do that as well, and we use plywood as the back board.
 
actually boxer i appreciate the help. This is a good thing. Framers sharing secrets. As well your ALL THE WAY in St. Albert...I got nothing too worry about...and you shouldn't either ;)

Justin
 
When practical, it's usually a good idea to take advantage of an object's strucutural elements, which is Boxer's suggestion.

Some acrylic fabricators, such as Genmini/Showcase Acrylics, make prefabricated clear acrylic mounts in several configurations for guitars. That would have been a good "Plan B".

In any case, 10 mm fluted polypropylene would probably be a good mounting board. It is stiff, lightweight, inert and chemically stable over time, and easy to work with. You could also use two crossed-flute 6 mm layers for even more strength.

Justin, to answer your original question, Melinex could be used to mount the guitar securely and inconspicuously, but it involves more work than the techniques suggested above.

For your almost-vertical placement, you could make a stand-off ridge to elevate the neck off the mounting surface. A piece of clear film about as long as the neck could be wrapped over the it (under the strings of course) and pulled through a long slot in the mount board. In that case the body might just hang below the neck, unless the mounting angle or weight balance requires separate support for the body. Perhaps you could strap that, as well. Strength of the clear film would not be an issue if you have a total of at least 4" of strap width on the whole guitar -- for example, four 1" wide straps.
 
And do what when you get the film through the holes? Isn't that a bit much work and unpredictable to be practical even if "possible"? But hey, I don't think we've had a "the guitar fell out of the frame, scratched the wood floor, killed the dog, and cut my finger" thread in the few years I have participated!

While at the Hard Rock the other day I noticed a neat mount they used. It was a metal apparatus that was screwed under the strap buttons. I'm not sure how it worked, but it would be neat to have access to them. Here is it being used on a very sweet Butter Scotch colored Fender Strat played by Mark Knoffler.

guitaruandd.jpg



I almost wonder if the bracket were screwed to the wall first then removed the strap buttons and hold the guitar into the bracket and replace the strap buttons? It would be rather secure both from theft and physically. This has me thinking....I wonder how difficult it would be for a metal worker to build something like this? I'm gonna dig through my guitar blueprints and see what the odds are that the more popular models all have the same strap button location!

Carry on.
 
Jay H said:
And do what when you get the film through the holes? Isn't that a bit much work and unpredictable to be practical even if "possible"?
Click to expand...

There are probably 50 threads in the archives that describe how 3M #889 double sided tape is used to secure clear film to the back of a mount board, but thanks for asking.

If you ever hear of a clear film mount failing, let me know. My life's mission is to learn every conceivable way for an object mount to fail, and find a way to avoid it. So far, mounts involving silicone glue or ATG seem the most risky.
 
Forever we have been warned about pressure sensitive tapes ability to age and hold up to shear weights.

Now the suggestion is that it’s safe to strap a guitar into a frame and tape it? Come on. Protest away freely but I'm done with this line of thought. It’s ludicrous to me. Maybe not everybody but certainly to ME!
 
The mounts you show in the picture from the Hard Rock are like the ones we have made on occasion when the neck screws are not removable. We bolted them to the back board first like you mentioned and then screwed the strap buttons back in. You need to be careful and utilize a felt gasket between the bracket and the guitar.
 
Jay

I have had a few brackets like that made by a local machinist. He is getting old and wants to retire so he wont last much longer as a source for me. I do a good many guitars for my friends. I played in a band many years ago and know a lot of musicians in my area.

For my next step on these brackets I am going to try 1/4 inch thick acrylic. The stuff is pretty rigid and I think it will hold. I have a really heavy old Jackson bass from back in the day that I will experiment with. If my bracket design will hold that, it will hold any of those little old 6 strings.

Give me a month or so and I'll let you know how it works.
 
Ya, do that. Can acrylic become brittle?

I too am going to experiment with metal brackets. We'll exchange notes.
 
Ludicrous is right.

Jay H said:
Forever we have been warned about pressure sensitive tapes ability to age and hold up to shear weights.
Click to expand...

Yes, pressure sensitive adhesives do not work well under the stress of weight. They fail, they may chemically react or deteriorate over time, and their residues often cause problems.

Jay H said:
...Now the suggestion is that it’s safe to strap a guitar into a frame and tape it? Come on. Protest away freely but I'm done with this line of thought. It’s ludicrous to me. Maybe not everybody but certainly to ME!
Click to expand...

Jay, it looks like you're the only one protesting, and why? This might be a good time for you to use that quote feature you dislike, so you can let us know where you got that unwise suggestion.
 
Jim Miller said:
Justin, to answer your original question, Melinex could be used to mount the guitar securely and inconspicuously... A piece of clear film about as long as the neck could be wrapped over the it (under the strings of course) and pulled through a long slot in the mount board...Strength of the clear film would not be an issue if you have a total of at least 4" of strap width on the whole guitar -- for example, four 1" wide straps.
Click to expand...

Jay H said:
And do what when you get the film through the holes?
Click to expand...

Jim Miller said:
There are probably 50 threads in the archives that describe how 3M #889 double sided tape is used to secure clear film to the back of a mount board, but thanks for asking.
Click to expand...

Did I miss something?
 
Jay H said:
Did I miss something?
Click to expand...

I guess so. Clear film strap mounts, properly installed, impose very little stress on the 3M #889 double-sided tape, if any. The polyester film is extremely strong, and the tape is excellent for the purpose.

Everything you need to know about clear film strap mounting is in the archives. Detailed instructions have been given previously to several Grumblers, and a few of them have not yet declared the concept ludicrous.

But for this job, mounts using acrylic or metal brackets on the existing structural parts would be recommended, as earlier described by others. The attachment points for a guitar strap might be good for that.
 
Create a Post
Back
Top