W.J. Watson Pickguards

Steven (AKA Hinde Custom Instruments) has been one of my kindest and enthusiastic supporters. Check out this beauty of his—featuring one of my Hawksbill styles—which is available for sale at The Acoustic Shoppe. I simply adore how this style is set off by the visually stunning Quilted Sapele.

To grab a guard like, as well as many other styles, please visit www.alliedlutherie.com: the official place to order your next W.J. Watson Pickguard.

Hinde Adirondack/Quilted Sapele OO 14-Fret Acoustic Guitar #6 The true star of this instrument, however, is its back and sides, meticulously fashioned from Quilted Sapele. This exquisite wood not only graces the guitar with a stunning visual allure but also adds a unique sonic character. The Sapele infuses the guitar with a delightful blend of brightness and w...

So excited to be making a contribution to this stunning project.

If you haven’t already, like and follow Circle Strings to keep up with the rollout of these very special dreads. And if you happen to be in the Burlington, VT area be sure to stop in at Ben and Bucky's Guitar Boutique and perhaps you’ll get a chance to lay your hands on one!

Dig on these beauts from the boss himself, Adam Buchwald aka

Adam is also the mastermind behind , the new and exclusive place to purchase your W.J. Watson Pickguard.

TGIF: Tortoisey Guard Is Fire!

Check out these 🔥 detail shots brought to you by

I am thrilled to announce this exciting new partnership with the tremendous folks at Allied Lutherie.

W.J. Watson Pickguards will now be available exclusively through Allied Lutherie.

This partnership is but one facet of a much greater shift in my career path as an aspiring guitar builder. For nearly a month, I have been the newest member of the Iris Guitar Company Build Team. This marked a significant departure from my previous life as a custom cabinetmaker. I feel so fortunate to be a part of what this incredible team of people are doing in my home state of Vermont.

Allied Luthierie and Iris Guitar Co. are divisions of Circle Strings, helmed by Adam Buchwald. Adam and I are excited to combine our cumulative resources and outreach to offer W.J. Watson Pickguards through Allied. Importantly, this partnership will enable me to focus on production which has been a fierce obstacle producing guards at home in my office.

While some changes have been made to pricing and lead times, it is our objective to continue providing custom, handmade, heirloom quality pickguards to players and builders alike. No compromises.

I would like to assure those who have reached out to me prior to this shift that your requests for production will be fulfilled unaltered by this change. Moving forward, I will begin quietly phasing out my own site. Rest assured, all of the same resources including pricing, styles, sizing, and templates will become available through Allied.

I want to thank you all for your continued support. I could never have imagined being able to incorporate pickguard making into my full time career and I am so excited for what this partnership will bring.

Happy Picking,

W***y

I’m not ashamed to play favorites. There’s only one.

Apollo Picks

Happy Friday!

I love receiving customer photos first thing in the morning, like this OM-45 in Vintage 30s.

W***y

🤩

Here’s hoping everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!

I’ll be working on backing and packing those flash sale deals this week ✉️

Thanks to all you who continue to support my little operation. I recognize I’m not the fastest one-man show around, but your continued support and patience is always appreciated 🙏

W***y

Thank you to everyone who made a claim during yesterdays sale!

I believe I’ve followed up with everyone who staked a claim with general information and instruction for payment and shipping. If you made a claim and you haven’t received a message please don’t hesitate sending me a DM.

I’ll be working on tabulating individual totals, verifying claims, and following up one more time with folks within the next 24 hours to finish processing orders.

Thank you all in advance for you patience. It’s a one man band over here, but rest assured I can’t wait to get your guard or guards to you!

Special thanks to Hinde Custom Instruments who staked a number of claims in yesterdays sale. Pictured below is one of his tremendous builds featuring one of my Hawksbill Bold style guards.

W***y

A day late and a dollar short? How about a day late and $10 off!?

The time has come, and thankfully yesterday’s mishap was simply the result of a bad fuel gauge. Can you believe that was the first time I’ve run out of gas? Big oof.

Now let’s get to it!

Here’s how to play:

Listed below are images of every guard I have available for sale. Like always, these guards will come backed with 3M double sided adhesive film, edges dressed and polished, ready for application.

Each guard with included shipping is $35. No batch pricing. All sales final.

Sizes are included below every image. Size specifications are as follows:

D1 : 4 3/4” diameter (D-18 typical)
D2: 4 7/8” diameter
D3: 5 1/16” diameter

Full scale templates are available on my site. Given the grab-and-go nature of this deal, a quick and dirty way of determining the appropriate diameter is as follows (applies only to instruments with a standard 4” soundhole):

4” + *the distance from the edge of the soundhole to perimeter of the rosette you’d like the pickguard to correspond to multiplied by 2*

Example (for standard Martin D-18) : 4” + (3/8” X 2) = 4 3/4” = D1

These are not seconds. I’ve been sitting on these “pre-standard” styles for a while and it’s time to let them go.

To claim a guard, be the first to comment “claim” below the image of the guard you’d like. I will begin following up with folks in 24 hours to begin processing orders.

Looking forward to finally homing these guards!

W***y

Well folks! Looks like you’ll get another day to anticipate the discount guard drop 😅

Currently waiting on AAA to come take my little red Radio Flyer away 🥲

Standing here, I’m reminded of a lyric which describes the precise reason why I love the guitar so much:

🎶Now it was made way back in ’43 when I was just a kid

I believe it’s about the best thing Mr. Martin ever did

It plays real good, stays in tune, and never treats me mean

Thank God for Mr. Martin and that fine old D-18🎶

‼️ LIQUIDATION ALERT ‼️

I’m back at the bench following a much needed week away with the family. My first order of business is clearing out some old inventory I’ve had stored away.

These guards were produced before I standardized the colorways that are currently available on my site. As a result, they are all unique, one-of-a-kind options that I made for general inventory prior to my shift to “made-to-order”.

These are not seconds. They will, however, be offered up at a discounted price of $35 w/ included USPS Priority Shipping & Tracking. This amounts to free priority shipping from my regular singles price of $45. No returns or exchanges.

I plan on making these guards available this Wednesday 8/30 at 6PM EST here on my page. In the meantime, I will include a list of the available sizes I have currently:

18 @ 4 3/4” diameter (D1)
6 @ 4 7/8” diameter (D2)
2 @ 5 1/16” diameter (D3)

Templates are available on my site which I will link in the comments. Instructions for claiming a guard will be included on Wednesday when the guards are made available.

🐢 💥

W***y

Hey folks! In the wake of my recent announcement, I received a number of inquiries about the availability of already made inventory—I’ve largely pivoted to a “to-order” model with the standardization of certain colorways.

The guards I’ll be making available are primarily D1 dreadnought profiles featuring a 4 3/4” diameter. I have a small miscellany of larger diameters as well. These guards were largely produced prior to my standardization of colorways so there is a nice variety of one-of-a-kind options buried in there.

I will be away on vacation now until Sunday Aug. 27th. In light of these inquiries, I will be going through what I have available for liquidation following my return to the bench.

Mark your calendars and keep them eyes peeled!

(Important Announcement)

As the tail end of summer smolders away like this fiery matched set of guards, I’ve made an important decision which will temporarily extinguish my ability to take on new orders at this time.

Many of you know that I am a full time custom cabinetmaker. I am, however, on the cusp of a major career transition into the world of guitar building. There is little I’m able to say now other than it is both thrilling and terrifying. This move shakes up a lot of previously stable things in me and my family’s life. It will be as challenging as it will be rewarding.

If you’ve already reached out to me and have been told you will make it on my production schedule, you can rest assured that I will be working to fulfill those production requests.

In the meantime I will be making time to spend with my family before school begins and before my transition.

I really look forward to getting back to guard making and I don’t expect this hiatus to be too terribly long. Thank you all for your continued support and I am so excited to share the outcomes of this transition with you just as soon as I can!

🐢 💥

W***y

Now THIS. THIS is what it’s all about. Thank you, Bao, for submitting these incredible shots of your 001-T. What a perfect example of a guard serving an instrument.

🎅🏻 🚢

💸 💥

Translation: Hawksbill Bold

There really is an emoji for everything!

This Recording King got its crown 👑

Thanks to everyone who has placed an order. Orders will be going out Monday!

Vintage 30’s: simple, understated, timeless.

My modern take on this historic style seeks to preserve those tenets while pushing its design into the “new Golden Age” of guitar building.

After a much needed holiday weekend, I’m back!

I’m hoping everyone had a safe and enjoyable weekend with your friends and loved ones. Hopefully you’ve still got all ten of your pickin’ fingers too! 🧨 💥

I’ve been using what’s left of this week catching up on fulfilling and shipping orders that took a back seat to last week’s pre-holiday stomach bug. Thanks to that and the much needed holiday weekend, lead times took a little stretch.

I’m looking forward to putting the next round of requests into production!

W***y

‘09 Collings D1AV X W.J. Watson Pickguards

Do you have a guard? Drop it in the comments below!


Collings Guitars and Mandolins

I recently received an inquiry regarding the thickness of my guards and, surprisingly, it’s a question I don’t receive that often. So here is a brief primer on thicknesses with pictures of my own instrument and guard included.

*It’s important to note, first and foremost, that given the method of producing this style of guard, I have complete control over the amount of material used to produce each guard. The following information pertains to the results produced by my standard procedure.*

In general, my guards clock in around a light 2mm—thicker than your run-of-the-mill celluloid guard.

Just shy of breeching the height of the strings.

All jokes aside, the primary reason I’m asked about thickness is due to a concern some folks have regarding “dampening”.

It is true that any material applied to a guitar top will introduce some degree of dampening. However, I like to reassure folks—and I’m paraphrasing John Greven (purveyor of this method) here a bit—that dampening is a function of density, not thickness.

The material that I produce is significantly less dense than celluloid; as a result, the increase in thickness is not proportionally equal to an increase in dampening. In fact, because the material is comparatively less dense, the effects of dampening are less than or equal to traditional celluloid.

Ultimately, though—and for the best, really—thickness can then remain a purely aesthetic choice.

I am continually humbled by the positive feedback I recieve about my work and I look forward to your pictures in my inbox every day. With that said, I understand that some folks prefer the “common” look of traditional celluloid. And to those folks, I say: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

W***y

Christmas is coming early for some folks.

You know you want one...

By day I build custom furniture and cabinetry. So I’m often asked—or rather, it’s simply assumed—that my home is filled with fine handmade furnishings.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

My home is filled with inexpensive flat-pack furniture and curbside finds.

Likewise, in terms of what I do here on this page, most folks probably assume that my guitar is outfitted with my magnum opus guard.

Nope.

Until now.

This guard was the first “successful” tortoiseshell replication I ever made. At the time, I was custom blending black, yellow, and red pigments (and white for opacity) to produce amber as well as light and dark browns. I had been experimenting with various techniques to reproduce the radial growth patterns of true tortoiseshell and had finally developed a method of replicating that in resin.

One night, these discoveries finally coalesced. The result was this guard. I’ve kept it ever since, tucked in a drawer.

A few folks have contacted me about it, asking for it or one like it. Often I’d tell them that it was no longer available. Other times, I’ve offered it up only for it to be passed over.

It’s been the subject of some distressing (intentional and otherwise). I’ve sanded it down with 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and hit it with jewelers rouge polishing compound to produce a clean, worn-in look.

And tonight, I finally broke out the hairdryer and the naphtha and applied my very first guard to my last guitar: my ‘05 Martin D18GE. This guitar has one of the grassiest backstories and it made it into my hands by some cosmic serendipity which I’ll share some other time.

Here it is.

Staying warm on this brisk New England night with some 🔥 stylings.

Future happy mail day ✉️ 🐢

Message for availability!

-W***y

Hey folks!

It sure has been quite a while since I’ve updated the page, huh?

This has always been a “figure it out as I go along” endeavor. And by that, I mean: I’ve got to balance this pet-project with the myriad other responsibilities and obligations in my life.

In light of having received a few direct messages over the course of the last couple of weeks/months, I’m thinking it might make the most sense if I continue to produce guards at my own pace, and field messages directly as they trickle in—with the added exception that I’m unable to take on custom orders.

There are a few patient folks in my inbox who have made specific requests that I continue to work on given the specific time frames we’ve discussed. And if you folks happen to be reading this: I’m still going to take care of you 👍

Moving forward, if you’re interested in seeing what guards I have available, I encourage you to reach out to me directly, perhaps with a brief description of the instrument you’re seeking a guard for, or simply the model. This is so I may better assist you in selecting the appropriate sized radius for your instrument.

I continue to produce my D1 (≈4 3/4” radius) and D2 (≈4 7/8” radius) regularly. I am equipped to produce a number of other sizes and styles as well. For those interested in those sizes (00, OM, etc), I’m happy to field those requests on a “work it into the mix” basis. I only say this considering the vast majority of the requests I receive are for dreadnoughts and I don’t expect to be inundated with non-dred requests.

As always, I’m happy to email my full scale printable templates for you to print, cut out, and compare with, eliminating the guesswork entirely!

Lastly, I’m almost positive I left a few folks “on read” during the same time that I had a somewhat ambiguous Lyme diagnosis this summer. Needless to say, the month of heavy-duty antibiotics didn’t do wonders for my productivity. I really do apologize to those folks and it wasn’t my intention to ignore you. If you’re reading this and are still in want of a guard, please come a’knockin’ as that obstacle finally seems to be in my rear view.

🐢

W***y

Full scale, printable templates are now available!

I'm a bit of a techno-peasant, so I'm very thrilled to finally have these available on the page.

*As an added aside, my daughter broke her clavicle on Sunday on a slip'n'slide which set us all back a little further than expected. Additionally, my wife is out of town which means I'm holding down the fort while I simultaneously man bone-watch. I had hoped to have these up at the top of the week; needless to say, that didn't happen.*

Good news is: I have been able to produce a really attractive small run of D1 and D2 sized guards that I hope to make available on Monday. All guards which I've produced prior to now have been made on my original D1 pattern which accommodates D18's and the vast majority of modern D28s with standard guards. The D2 is a fresh addition to the dreadnought lineup, patterned with the help of Tyler Daulton Manharth who I can't thank enough.

The D2 features a slightly larger radius and a broader shoulder than my original platen. I would encourage anyone interested in purchasing a guard, and especially a dreadnought, to print both, compare, and select the platform which most accurately fits your instrument's rosette, Martin or otherwise.

Please feel free to message me directly if you have problems accessing and printing these templates. I would be happy to email you the .jpegs.

W***y

Did you miss me!?

I’ve been wholly unproductive in many ways, and tremendously productive in many other ways—ways which will help to grow this tiny operation and provide you all with a much greater variety of sizes.

With the help of some incredibly generous folks on the Facebookosphere, I’ve been working on pattering and producing new platens for a wide variety of sizes.

New sizes include:

OM18V
OM18GE
OM45
000-18
000-28
000-45

Not pictured:

D28/35 Oversize (broad shoulder/slightly larger radius)

With my original D18 platen, that’s a total of 8 sizes to choose from…not including the two Gibson platens I have yet to work up!

I still have a few finishing strokes left with these guys before they’ll be available Monday.

I am also working on providing full scale downloadable/printable PDF templates so you can determine the appropriate guard for your particular instrument. I think this is going to be a huge help and I’m really looking forward to getting this thing going again!

In the meantime, as many of you know, I’ve been working on and taking advantage of time spent at camp with my family, among other things. And, as always, I appreciate everyone’s patience and enthusiasm.

🐢

W***y

Inspiration is everywhere. No turtles harmed.
Apollo Picks

1938 D-18 X W.J. Watson Pickguards

*IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING CUSTOM ORDERS AND INDIVIDUAL REQUESTS*

First and foremost: I am continually blown away by the level of support and enthusiasm this page receives on a daily basis. It is both humbling and somewhat overwhelming. For those of you who don’t know, I am a custom cabinetmaker, a husband, as well as a father of four. I could have never imagined that this pet-project would grow into something resembling a business. It has taken a lot to get here and it still only feels like the starting line.

Many of you have contacted me directly with individual requests. In a perfect world, I would be able to fulfill all of these requests while still being able to build and maintain an open inventory. However, I am quickly making the realization that if I were to take on every individual request that l receive, I would have no time left over to build and maintain an open inventory.

As a result, I have decided to suspend my ability to consider individual requests and custom orders for the foreseeable future (unless, perhaps, your name begins with a “B” and ends in “Ryan Sutton”). Jokes aside, this decision will enable me to build and maintain the kind of inventory I have envisioned.

With all of that said, I am confident that the kind of inventory I will be freed up to curate will satisfy and appeal to the vast majority of you, whether you’ve contacted me directly in the past or simply keep up with the page from afar.

Now, with that out of the way—and to help soften the blow a little—I’m going to offer up a few guards for sale at the end of this post. Be the first to claim the guard in the comment section below and I will contact you directly with further instruction.

Once again, I want to thank all of you for your continued support and patience as I continue making adjustments along the way. It will always be my aim to produce the best product I can while providing you all with the most satisfactory customer experience possible.

🐢

W***y

If you ordered a guard last week I am happy to report that your order is in the mail as of yesterday (thanks, especially, to my incredible wife)!

I have not yet sent out tracking to those individuals and, for that, I do apologize. I have been working on making the process of finalizing and shipping orders as efficient as possible in light of last week’s grand opening.

By and large, folks were very happy and, more importantly, very patient ordering their guards. However, Facebook’s interface did pose a few small hitches that I wanted to eliminate from future orders.

In order to do that, I have been working on moving all sales to my newly created Reverb store. Short of making my own website, I believe Reverb will be a simple, effective, and familiar solution which will improve your overall customer experience ordering guards from me.

I will continue to share my latest guards here on the page, but sales will no longer take place in the comment section. As I add inventory to Reverb, I will continue to link my Reverb store in “new inventory updates” which will continue to appear here on my page.

🐢

W***y

I want to thank everyone who has so far ordered a guard from Monday’s round of inventory. Everyone has been tremendously kind and patient as I work through finalizing everyone’s purchases. Your support means a lot.

My wife and children will be returning tomorrow following a two week road trip from Vermont to Florida and back again so I’ve been juggling a few things which have cut into my spare time. With that said, if you’ve finalized your order with me, I will have your guard 3M backed, packed, with shipping to track on Monday. International buyers can expect to receive their calculated shipping rate before deciding to finalize their order with me.

In the meantime, if you haven’t purchased a guard and you or somebody you know is interested in one, there are still a few up there!

🐢

W***y

This guard just became available! Be the first to claim it in the comment section below!

($45, priority shipping included)

9 May 22 Inventory IS NOW AVAILABLE!

All guards are $45, priority mail shipping included. Each guard will come backed with 3M double sided adhesive film, packed securely in a cotton drawstring, custom vinyl sticker, and business contact.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR GUARD:

Be the first to comment on the picture of the guard you’d like to purchase and I will message you directly in the following 24 hours to arrange payment. I am currently able to accept PayPal and Venmo payments. Non-account holders will be asked to provide their best email address so I may forward you a one time request for payment through PayPal.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: Each guard will continue to list for $40, but your shipping cost will be calculated per order. Please allow extra lead time in order for me to calculate your shipping cost.

Guards will be marked “SOLD” under the first comment claiming the guard. Pictures of the guards will continue to remain visible.

*All of the above is subject to change in order to improve everyone’s customer experience*

Thank you all!

🐢

W***y

🚨 ¡24 HOUR INVENTORY ALERT! 🚨

Thank you to everyone who has liked this page. Your continued support and kind words are humbling.

I plan on dropping my first round of inventory tomorrow Monday 8 May at 5PM EST.

To those of you who have reached out to me directly with specific requests: I am going to contact each of you directly in the order you appeared in my inbox with the opportunity to choose from a limited set of guards which I feel may interest you based on the specific request you’ve made. Out of fairness for all of those who have not contacted me directly, you will not be able to select from my entire inventory until it’s available to the public tomorrow.

Moving forward, I can not guarantee my ability to satisfy all custom requests in this way, despite how truly appreciative I am to have received so many requests from so many kind folks. Thank you all for understanding. In the future, if and when I am able to devote more time to this endeavor, I may be able to satisfy custom requests more readily.

In the meantime, I’m very excited to share what I’ve been working on for you all!

🐢

W***y