Instrument stand padding/contact points
Hello,
I’m making some stands for wooden instruments (guitars and guitar-like), and I’m wondering what material is best to use at the contact points where the instrument touches the stand. I want to use something that provides some padding (avoiding potential scratches and the unpleasant clunk of wood on wood when the instrument is placed back in the stand), and also won’t damage or stick to the variety of finishes used on guitars. I know guitars in my collection include polyester, nitrocellulose lacquer, and probably shellac-based finishes, but there may be others. I’m leaning toward simply using felt (that’s what their cases are lined with, after all), but I wanted to see if there are thoughts on other options. I’m not particularly interested in the foam rubber or rubber tubing used on cheap commercially available guitar stands unless these really are the best materials for this purpose.
Thanks!
Jason
Replies
For a guitar stand I used a super ball cut in half. À Forster bit pocket and glue. Hope this helps.
A nice thick piece of leather offers protection and looks classier than felt or foam.
Cheap doesn't necessarily mean useless. The only one to notice will probably be you. The stand will draw all the attention, not a 3 cubic inch piece that will be hidden by the instrument.
Mikaol
Felt can be a useful padding in many pieces of furniture but there's always a risk that the felt gets embedded with scratchy dirt that will eventually marr sensitive surfaces such as French Polish or similar finishes that are formulated to enhance the look of what they cover but aren't very tough or protective.
John_C2's suggestion is probably safer for sensitive finishes - leather not only looks more "classy" than felt but comes in many grades, some of which have very smooth surfaces that reject dirt or grit (especially if waxed) but also a thick underpinning that has a bit of spring and therefore won't impart dings to whatever rests on it. Any colour you want, too! :-)
Leather will also be rather easier to glue on to wood than would be felt, which tends to suck up all the glue and go hard, if you use a wet glue. The spray on glues are an alternative with felt as they sit on its surface - but then don't keep the felt in place for too long as any shearing tug easily pulls the felt from the wood.
Neoprene is quite effective but some formulations have chemical exudations that might, eventually, leave a "burn" on whatever rests on them for a long time. Also, it looks a bit "cheap and from a factory", as you mention.
Lataxe
Another option is cork. There are different grades to buy with some softer than others, or cut up a wine cork if your pad is small enough. It is somewhat grippy so the instrument won't slide around, and soft enough that you won't get the clunk of wood on wood you mentioned.
I have built a number of stands (and am currently building a cabinet to hold up to 12 guitars).
I've used foam sheet from the hobby store (I'm still nervous about these stands). I've used white leather (which I think is my favorite) and I've used velvet (which is actually more like what the case liner is made from, not felt). I haven't had a problem with any of them yet. But, I haven't left any of my nitro guitars on stands for very long...
On the current cabinet build, I put foam weatherstripping down, then covered it with crushed velvet.
I like the idea of the leather the best.
The biggest no-no is surgical tubing. As it breaks down, or the off-gasing of the nitro breaks it down (not sure which does what) it will absolutely destroy a nitrocellulose finish. There are other rubber products, and some foams you need to be mindful of this with as well.
Another thing to watch out for is colors... Some dyes will bleed into the finish of the guitar. Hence, the white Gibsons with pink stains on them. So, be careful with some leathers as well... I have seen strap stains on light finishes as well.
I know this is now a year old, but I just stumbled upon this. We had the same thing come up, and we settled on wrapping with black paracord.
Photos in the portfolio.
https://www.dzenitisartandengineering.com/
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