So I got this circa 1960s Kay flat top on clist for $10. It's in rough shape but might have promise. It's got an interesting "V" shaped neck.
(I'll post some photo bucket pics soon).
All things considered it's not coming apart at the seams. The bridge was pulling up due to it's glue giving way - probably an easy fix.
My big issue is this > The original celluloid tortoise pick guard is warped, cracked and brittle. It still barely has the old Kay logo visible. I've been searching for an original - but that'll be a toughie.
But I have a wacky plan. I'm wanting to quasi-salvage the original. It's in about 6 pieces and as I said, warped and brittle. My desire is to somehow mildly, chemically soften it, to make it flat (heat is a no-no from my research) - and to embed it in clear epoxy to preserve it and hold it together.
A pretty weird idea???
I've seen Kay repros on eboy - but not in tortoise, though the guy does have the same logo on some of his archtop guards.
I guess my question is, Any thoughts on softening that celluloid without destroying it to make embedding it in epoxy do-able?
yeah, i'm odd