The best vintage looking tortoise shell out there!

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 8:43 pm

Hey guys. I have been a long time member of OSG website working on a long term project. If you are like me you have been searching for the best tortoise shell material and always coming up short and having to settle. We see the true vintage Jag or Jazzmaster in the window and marvel over the tort guard it has on it and go searching for one just like it. Well I have not found one that looks like the true vintage tort so I began my long journey of creating my own. Its been a year or so in the making, but I finally have achieved what I set out to do. The vintage tort is known for having its fiery lava like appearance with its soft smooth smokey like look. No sharp lines, no stringy detail. Just smokey soft fiery lava. Well I am pleased to give you my Vintage Spitfire Tortoise shell. Its got the same deep 3Dimentional thick look. Its like solidified fire or frozen smoke. Have a look. I am currently making it. Some of the pictures still have the plastic film covering over the top. Please share your comments and requests and any questions please ask. Lets do this and lets tort the world!!!

So if you are interested check me out over here http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... &start=975 or let me know and I can make you one. Thanks.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:10 pm

Did you read the forum rules? Ads go in the classifieds.

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:17 pm

NickS wrote:Did you read the forum rules? Ads go in the classifieds.

This is not an add for sale. This is a discussion for comments, requests, to share, to see a project that is almost in its completion. This is to help others find an locate vintage tortoise shell. This is also to help many in search of this material. I have been searching for years and I wish someone would have posted this a long time ago for me. Would have saved me a lot of time. To be quite honest with you if someone did post this a long time ago, I wouldn't have ever found it in the adds or classified section. Its fine where it is, but if anything the next place it would move to would be in the project section since it has been an on going project for many years, but since I have my first completed version I felt it was best here since it can be for any shortscale or offset guitar. This is to encourage anyone and everyone that tortoise shell is not dead, its just, a good one can be hard to find and Im doing my best on making it easy for everyone because I was once that person. Thanks for your help.

If the moderator feels it should move to the project section, Im okay with that and will do it.

Post by **Hurb** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 10:14 pm

Hello and welcome to shortscale, this could be a very interesting thread as there are big lovers and fans of vintage tort(you will always get the heathens that don't like it though).
My first question to you would be, are you planning on giving the guards or material away for free, or do you plan to give away the secrets of how you made it? if yes then lets discus this further in this thread as not everyone is a member of offset.
However if you do plan to sell this product(and why wouldn't you? I am sure you have time and money invested in the product) then I feel this thread is in fact marketing of your product and it should really go in the (horribly but aptly named) whore house. There are many who sell their wares on this site very successfully and I imagine you could be the same.

So good luck.

moved

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 11:21 pm

OP needs 25 posts to access this forum.

Post by **Hurb** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:55 am

they will need to get posting then

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 4:15 pm

Hurb wrote:Hello and welcome to shortscale, this could be a very interesting thread as there are big lovers and fans of vintage tort(you will always get the heathens that don't like it though).
My first question to you would be, are you planning on giving the guards or material away for free, or do you plan to give away the secrets of how you made it? if yes then lets discus this further in this thread as not everyone is a member of offset.
However if you do plan to sell this product(and why wouldn't you? I am sure you have time and money invested in the product) then I feel this thread is in fact marketing of your product and it should really go in the (horribly but aptly named) whore house. There are many who sell their wares on this site very successfully and I imagine you could be the same.

So good luck.

moved

Hurb, I agree...and well-said. Spit, I was looking for exactly what you're makin for years, and finally did find something close. But yours is IT, so thanks for lettin us know.

I'll gladly look for you in the whore house.

Cheers,

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:03 am

I made it... 25 posts!!!!!

Alright Im back. Nicely said guys. Yes okay I dont mind being over here in the "whore house," whatever. So I just want the world to be torted. So please join me. Throw out your feedback, your ideas, your suggestions, and a tort that you would like to see. I have currently mostly been working with the Jaguar and Jazzmaster boys over at OSG and just found this cool site. This has got some good stuff and good info.

So here's where Im at. Over the past few years I have been like many of you searching for that glorious vintage looking tort. Long story short. It just doesn't exist. So my motto quickly became "If you cant find the right tort, then make it yourself." Well I did it. After years of experimenting and trying to find that top secret recipe I have come up with an almost identical material. I have been researching and testing for the last year and all of my research and examples can be found over here. http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... &start=945

I have literally created a science lab in my kitchen mixing weird chemicals and just about anything and everything I could to make vintage looking tortoise shell. I found that celluloid comes from plants and is ground up into a powder and then into a gel and specific powdered dyes are introduced as well as plasticizers and you name it. Its a very dangerous, flammable, and toxic composition. So I suggest most of you to just take my word for it and I will do all the hard work for you. I have made mine so its not flammable and has UV protection chemicals in it to keep it from fading and it will not warp like old 60's celluloid.

So just a few days ago I successfully created my first successful Jaguar pickguard. I have had many tests version that had slight imperfections. I will not sell it unless it is perfect and up to Spitfire Vintage Tortoise Shell specs. I have done it!!! So now the test lab closes and the factory production line opens. I have one AVRI Fender Jaguar looking for a home in the Los Angeles area. Reason is because I would like to hand deliver my very first one so that I can make sure it lines up and make sure everything looks and works perfectly. So if you are out there and have a Fender Jaguar AVRI and live in the LA, CA area. let me know.

Each one is hand made and is a work of art. You want fiery flames of yellow shooting out, you got it. You want it smooth and subtle burgundies, you got it. You want it dark, you got it. You want it red, you got it. The process to make each one is quite time consuming especially making the tort. Then after drying for quite some time I then make the pickguard. So I hope that gets everyone up to speed. Thanks for joining and thanks for your interests. So Im not exactly ready to sell just yet, but soon. I have to meet the demand with my supply before I start taking orders and the factory is working hard... my garage and kitchen.

Here is the one Im selling right now

Post by **Hurb** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:09 am

They look very nice indeed, do you make the tort and stick it on top of already made white guard material ?
What sort of price will you be charging? I am fully torted up with vintage guards but would be interested if I had some modern tort. Do you have the process protected? maybe fender custom shop would be interested in buying it off you?
Anyway thank you for sticking around.

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:27 am

Hurb wrote:They look very nice indeed, do you make the tort and stick it on top of already made white guard material ?
What sort of price will you be charging? I am fully torted up with vintage guards but would be interested if I had some modern tort. Do you have the process protected? maybe fender custom shop would be interested in buying it off you?
Anyway thank you for sticking around.

Yeah I can do a pre-cut guard if need be. This is nice because if you have a custom pickup setup or screw pattern no problem. Price is still being sorted out. I wont have that until my doors open for business because things might change. Everything is protected and maybe I will make custom shop one or two, but this is mine especially after they priced my dream 65 AV Jag so high lol. Maybe I can work a deal with them for that Jag.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:54 am

Wasn't there someone on Offset that was scanning and printing original tort onto acetate or the like and layering it on a plain guard ?

Not you ?

They look great btw.

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:11 am

othomas2 wrote:Wasn't there someone on Offset that was scanning and printing original tort onto acetate or the like and layering it on a plain guard ?

Not you ?

They look great btw.

Yes there was a guy doing that and no it wasn't me. I guess it just wasn't working like he wanted and he gave up I think. He got a test piece back and the color was off and it was costing him a lot of money I guess.

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:12 am

othomas2 wrote:Wasn't there someone on Offset that was scanning and printing original tort onto acetate or the like and layering it on a plain guard ?

Not you ?

They look great btw.

Yes there was a guy doing that and no it wasn't me. I guess it just wasn't working like he wanted and he gave up I think. He got a test piece back and the color was off and it was costing him a lot of money I guess.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:25 am

it does look very good. quite a niche market, but i hope it takes off. i read somewhere that the old stuff came in big blocks and would be sliced down, not sure how true that is though.

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:37 am

Go, Spit, go! We need ya.

Cheers,

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:17 am

how much for an MIJ jaguar guard ? If you're selling

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:14 am

The tort looks really good indeed. Next time I want a tort guard I will certainly come your way.

speedfish · Post by **speedfish** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 4:17 pm

Wow! That's the best looking imitation Tort that I've seen. Well done.

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:07 pm

Hey everyone I am selling a Jaguar guard. Its up on ebay right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... CA:US:1123

Spitfire7 · Post by **Spitfire7** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:30 am

Wow, its been a long time since I have last been on here, but a lot has changed. I have a website now. Stop on by and say hi http://spitfiretortoiseshellpickguards.wordpress.com/