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TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 3 SUPPLIES: WHAT YOU RE GOING TO NEED 4 STEP 1: CUTTING THE WOOD BASES TO THE RIGHT LENGTH 6 STEP 2: CUTTING THE DOWELS TO THE RIGHT LENGTH 7 STEP 3: DRILLING THE ARM HOLES 8 STEP 4: DRILLING THE MOUNTING SCREW HOLES 10 STEP 5: INSERTING THE DOWELS 13 STEP 6: CUTTING AND DRILLING THE RUBBER PIECES 14 STEP 7: PAINTING THE WALL HANGERS 15 STEP 8: MOUNTING YOUR HANGERS TO THE WALL 16 THE FINISHED PRODUCT 19 CREATING YOUR OWN WALL OF GUITARS 20 OTHER STUFF FROM PAINTYOUROWNGUITAR.COM 21 2
INTRODUCTION As the guy behind PAINTYOUROWNGUITAR.COM and someone who s been painting guitars for over 20 years, I have more guitars and more guitar parts than you could imagine. Although a lot of my guitars are in cases, I do have roughly 30 or so hanging up on the walls of my guitar room. Rather than spend $10 - $15 for professional guitar wall hangers (which truthfully, are well constructed and probably worth the money), I m just such a do-it-yourselfer, that I d rather not spend $300 on hangers. For me, paying less than $1.00 per hanger is much more appealing! And, that s what this e-book is all about. Follow along and I ll show you how I make a very sturdy guitar hanger in less than 5 minutes and for less than $1.00 per hanger. With the money you ll save...shoot - you could probably buy another guitar for your collection! In all seriousness, you don t need any special skills to make these wall hangers; all you need are a few common tools. I show you the exact supplies you ll need, the tools, and the measurements. ANYONE CAN DO THIS. Okay - let s get started! 3
SUPPLIES: WHAT YOU RE GOING TO NEED FIG 1 shows the finished wall hanger without paint. Here s a list of items I used to make my Guitar Wall Hangers. You need the first 6 items in order to do it right. FIG 1 1. 1 Wood - I found this piece of wood (see FIG 2) in the area that you ll find round dowels in your local hardware store. I bought these pieces from Lowe s, but I ve also seen them at ACE Hardware, as well as Home Depot. It s 1 in width and the length you ll need for each of your wall hangers is roughly 4. You can make each longer, but it s not necessary. One piece that s 3 ft. long will be enough to make 8 hangers - which is what I did. FIG 2 Buy your wood from HOME Depot rather than ACE Hardware - you ll pay half the price. 2. 3/8 Oak Dowel - I recommend using an oak dowel (see FIG 2) because it s a very strong wood. 3. Tape Measure (or Ruler) and a Pencil - You need one or the other to make accurate measurements and a pencil to mark your cuts. 4. Drill Press or Power Drill - I used my drill press (see FIG 4), but you re only drilling 4 holes, so you could easily use a power drill and do it by hand. 5. Hand Saw or Miter Saw - I used a Miter Saw to cut my pieces to length, but you can easily cut your pieces to the length with a hand saw like the ones seen in FIG 5. 6. Wood screws - if you are screwing directly into a stud or solid wood, use a screw that is at least 2.5 long. If you are NOT screwing directly into wood, but rather, a wall (which is drywall and FIG 3 FIG 4 4
SUPPLIES: WHAT YOU RE GOING TO NEED possibly plaster), you ll need some heavy duty drywall anchors. I recommend using something like EZ ANCOR (see FIG 6). Choose the one that can support up to 20 lbs. or more. You ll be drilling two holes to keep your wall hanger in place, so these will hold the weight of your guitar without a problem. FIG 5 OPTIONAL ITEMS 7. Paint - You can leave your wall hangers as bare wood, but if you decide to finish them with paint, a flat black may look best. Krylon s Interior/Exterior Flat Black will work nicely. 6. Rubber Bungy - I live in California - the land of earthquakes, so although the guitars sit nicely on the holders, I thought it was best to place a piece of rubber over the dowels - just in case we get a few strong tremors. The rubber will prevent the guitars from falling off the dowel/arms. I bought one bungy cord and cut it into several pieces. 7. Wood File and Fine Sandpaper - I didn t bevel the edges of the wood, but that s something you can definitely do, if you want. After beveling the edges, take some fine sandpaper to make it nice and smooth. 8. Level - I used a level to make sure that my wall hangers were perfectly 90º. FIG 6 FIG 7 FIG 8 And that s the list. 5
STEP 1: CUTTING THE WOOD BASES TO THE RIGHT LENGTH To begin, I measured 4 from the end of my piece of wood. I marked this measurement with a pencil. Using my miter saw, I made my cut (see FIG 9). Keep in mind, this cut can easily be made with any type of hand saw, so use what s at your disposal. FIG 9 If you plan on making a whole bunch of these wall hangers, which is what I recommend you do, have your ruler or tape measure, and pencil handy, so you can measure, cut, measure, cut, etc. In no time, you ll have 8 bases cut and ready to go. FIG 10 When you ve made all of your cuts, you re ready to move to Step 2. FIG 11 6
STEP 2: CUTTING THE DOWELS TO THE RIGHT LENGTH If all you had were Strats with a non-angled headstock, you could cut all of your dowel pieces to 3.5 in length. However, if you have some Les Pauls, then, because of the headstock s angled headstock, you ll need to cut some of the dowels to 4.5 to compensate. So, once again, measure your length - 3.5 for Strats (or non-angled headstocks), 4.5 for LPs, mark it with a pencil, then cut. FIG 12 FIG 12 shows all of my dowel pieces cut. (I cut some other longer pieces for my Les Pauls.) When all of your pieces have been cut, you re ready to move on to Step 3. 7
STEP 3: DRILLING THE ARM HOLES For this step, you re going to drill two holes for the arms. Measure 7/8 from each end of your 4 base and mark it with a pencil as I ve done in FIG 13. FIG 13 When you ve marked each end, this should give you a width of roughly 2 for your neck to sit in. This is enough room to hold the neck by the headstock for Strats and Les Pauls without a problem. IMPORTANT POINT: If you re making a hanger for a Tele, the space for your neck to sit in will have to be less than 2 to compensate for the small headstock. That means, you can either make your base less than 4, and still measure 7/8 from each end, or you will measure in from each edge 1 - instead of 7/8. To be certain about the width you ll need, carefully measure your Tele neck, or any other neck you re going to hang to get a perfect measurement for that specific neck. Once you have your measurements, follow that up with finding the middle of your base which will be 1/2. Make a mark at each end and draw a line across as I ve done in FIG 14. You ve now found the center points for each of the arms. To make an indent in the wood where you want to drill, you can either use a center punch as I m doing in FIG 15, or you can use a regular nail. Either way, mark the center point so that it ll be easier for you to line up your drill bit with the center point. Using either a drill press or a hand drill, drill right through your base using a 3/8 drill bit. Make sure that your bit is sharp - for a nice, clean cut (see FIG 16). To avoid having your wood splinter like the one pictured in FIG 17, you can either A: exit out of the bottom very slowly B: place your base on top of FIG 14 FIG 15 8
STEP 3: DRILLING THE ARM HOLES another piece of wood, then drill your holes making sure your drill bit passes through your base, and slightly into the wood underneath, or C: use a drill bit with a long point such as the one in FIG 23. Once you feel the point exit out of the bottom, flip your base over and continue to drill the hole through using the hole on the bottom as your center point. Personally, I use option B. The one in FIG 17 is the worst of all of them that I drilled and I did this on purpose to show you that this can and will happen - and to offer a way to prevent it. All of the options above will reduce and eliminate splintering, but resting the base on top of another piece of wood is probably the best option. FIG 16 FIG 17 Once your holes for the dowels/arms have been drilled, you can move to Step 4 - drilling the holes for the screws. 9
STEP 4: DRILLING THE MOUNTING SCREW HOLES There are two options for drilling mounting screw holes; the first option is for Les Paul-style guitars - where the headstock is perfectly symmetrical - the same on both sides. The second option is for headstocks like a stratocaster or explorer - where each side of the headstock is completely different. OPTION 1 - Symmetrical Headstock For this step, you re going to drill two holes. If you choose, you can also drill a half-hole, as I did in FIG 18, to countersink the head of the screw, but it s not absolutely necessary. To start, find the center of your 4 base - which will obviously be 2. Mark the center with a pencil as I ve done in FIG 19. From there, place a ruler on that center mark and mark off 1/2 on both sides, so you now have a measurement of 1 (see FIG 20). When choosing a drill bit for the screw holes that ll mount the wall hanger to the wall, choose a bit that is slightly larger in width than your screw. You want your screw to be able to pass through the base without getting hung up in it. But at the same time, you do want it to be tight. So, choose a drill bit that is JUST a bit wider than your screw. FIG 18 FIG 19 FIG 20 Once again, use a center punch to make a small indent in the wood on the center point of the hole before drilling your screw holes. 10
STEP 4: DRILLING THE MOUNTING SCREW HOLES Using your drill press or power drill, line up the point of your drill bit with your center punch hole and drill right through your base. Exit your drill bit slowly, or place your base on top of another piece of wood, if you re concerned with the wood splintering underneath. FIG 21 When you re done, your base should look like mine in FIG 21. If you wish to countersink the head of your screw rather than have it sit above the base of your hanger like I ve done in FIG 22, then I started with a drill bit that was slightly larger than the screwhead and drilled that hole first as seen in FIG 22. I went down about 1/4. The drill bit I used has a very sharp point, so it s perfect for this usage; it leaves a center point as a guide (see FIG 22 and 23). To make the holes for the screws, it s just a matter of switching drill bits and drilling the holes for the screws using the center hole guide left by the bigger drill bit (see FIG 22). If you don t countersink the holes for your screws, your wall hanger should look like this. FIG 22 FIG 23 If you don t have a drill bit with a point like the one in FIG 23, then I would suggest that you drill the hole for the mounting screw first, then drill the hole to countersink the screw head last. OPTION 2 - Non-Symmetrical Headstock If you re going to make wall hangers for guitars such as a stratocaster, an 11
STEP 4: DRILLING YOUR MOUNTING SCREW HOLES explorer, or any other guitar that has a headstock that is non-symmetrical, you will have to angle the base of the wall hanger on the wall to compensate for the imbalance. However, finding just the right angle can be tough when using two screws to mount it to the wall. So, for guitars such as these, I drill only one hole - dead-center (see FIG 24). This allows me to pivot the base FIG 24 and to get just the right angle for each guitar. Once I have the right angle, I tighten my screw and it s done. More on this in a few minutes. When making wall hangers for guitars with non-symmentrical headstocks, follow the same procedure for symmetrical headstocks - just substitute two screws 1 apart for one screw dead-center. FIG 25 Finishing Up When I was all done drilling my mounting screw holes, I had eight bases for Les Pauls all ready to go (see FIG 25). This took me about 20 minutes to do, but that s also because I was taking photos along the way. I imagine if I wasn t snapping photos, I would ve had them done in 15 minutes or less. When you ve got all of your holes drilled, it s time to move to Step 5 - inserting your dowels. 12
STEP 5: INSERTING THE DOWELS I used 3/8 dowels and by using a drill press, I got perfect 3/8 holes. But that also means that the fit s going to be TIGHT... but, that s good. To get the dowels into the holes, I start by trying to push both of them in by hand. When I ve pushed them in as far as I can, I use a piece of wood and a rubber mallet to hammer them into their holes all the way (see FIG 26). The piece of wood is sitting flat along the tops of the dowels and I tend to hammer the center of the piece of wood so that both dowels go in at the same time. I make sure that each dowel sits flush on the bottom and that both are the same distance in and out. FIG 26 If you do an accurate job of drilling your holes, you won t need to glue these in at all. The fit is extremely TIGHT. FIG 27 When you ve completed this, it s on to Step 6. 13
STEP 6: CUTTING AND DRILLING THE RUBBER PIECES This step is totally optional. I only added the bungy rubber over my hanger s arms just to be safe - in case of an earthquake. You don t have to do it if you don t want to. FIG 28 shows a bungy cord cut up into pieces roughly 4 wide. I marked the length with a pencil and then used an ordinary pair of scissors to make each cut. When drilling the holes into the bungy, I made my second hole slightly narrower than the hanger s arms, so I d have to stretch the bungy just a little to get it on. This makes it a nice, tight fit. Once the holes were drilled, they slid over the hanger s arms very nicely (see FIG 29). An option to using this bungy cord would be to use a rubber band. When doing a search online, I found a few online retailers that sold black rubber bands for a very cheap price. Those would be a good alternative. FIG 28 FIG 29 When you re done, it s on to Step 7. PLEASE NOTE: I actually cut all of these pieces at the same time I was cutting and drilling the wood pieces. You can do all of it at the same time, or you can do this step after all of the wood pieces are cut. 14
STEP 7: PAINTING THE WALL HANGERS Once again, this step is completely optional. If you like the look of the bare wood, you can leave them as is. I ve made several of these wall hangers. Some were left as is while others were painted flat black like the ones seen here. Painting Your Wall Hangers For these wall hangers, I used Krylon Interior/Exterior Flat Black to finish them. Before I start, I insert a screw into the bottom of the hanger and wear an old rubber glove to keep me from painting my entire hand black (see FIG 30). FIG 30 shows a wall hanger after one coat of thin flat black. It usually takes just two thin coats to get a nice, solid black. FIG 30 I like to paint it all in one application if I can, so the screw helps me to rotate it in my hand and get all of the recesses. When spraying your paint, hold your can at least 10 away from the wall hanger. Between coats, I rest the hanger on a table. I leave the screw inserted, so half of the hanger is hanging off of the table. I wait roughly 10 minutes between coats. After two coats have been applied, I wait one hour before handling it. When all of your hangers have been painted, and you ve given them at least an hour to dry, you can move on to Step 8. 15
STEP 8: MOUNTING YOUR HANGERS TO THE WALL Now that our hangers are done, it s time to mount them. Before we start drilling, there are a few things you need to know: when screwing into a wall and not into a stud, you ll need to use heavy-duty drywall anchors to help support the weight. EZ Ancors, which are the ones I use (see SUPPLIES YOU LL NEED), can hold up to 20 lbs of weight per ancor (some hold less, so choose the right one), so when using two close together (an inch apart), they ll support the weight of the guitar very well. For the wall hangers that you make for guitars with non-symmetrical headstocks such as a stratocaster, use the EZ Ancors that can support up to 50 lbs. EZ Ancor supply you with a screw, however, because the screws have to pass through the base (3/4 if you countersunk your hole - 1 if you didn t countersink), they won t be long enough. So, just pay a visit to your local ACE hardware store (or LOWE s or HOME Depot), and buy some 2.5 screws. Another thing to consider is the placement of wall studs in a typical home. Normally, they are spaced 19 apart. Most guitars are about 12-14 in width. So, if you really wanted to screw your wall hangers into a wall stud, once you find one, you should be able to locate the others using the 19 measurement. (this is a general contractor s rule, but not all contractors swear by it, so use a wall stud finder just to be certain.) At the end of this book, I give the measurements I used to create my wall of guitars. You can use this as a guide to help you create a similar wall. Mounting A Wall Hanger For A Guitar With A Symmetrical Headstock Once you ve decided where you want to place your first wall hanger, use a stud finder to determine if you re going to be drilling into a stud or into drywall. When you ve made that determination, put a piece of masking tape down on the wall as I ve done in FIG 31. Using a level, I drew a straight line across, then used a ruler to FIG 31 16
STEP 8: MOUNTING YOUR HANGERS TO THE WALL measure 1/2 on both sides of my center point. I marked those points with a center punch (see FIG 32). Now, I have my marks for where I need to drill. For this wall, there is a plywood wall directly behind the drywall, so all of my hangers will be going into wood rather than having to use the EZ Ancors. Nonetheless, the EZ Ancors are extremely sturdy, so using them is just as good as drilling into a stud - or a plywood wall. Using my drill, I drilled the mounting holes using a drill bit that s the same thickness as the shaft of my screw (The white line in FIG 33 shows the thickness of the drill bit I used). This allows the screw to go in easily and allows the thread to grip and hold the hanger in place. When both holes were drilled, I inserted the screws into the holes on the wall hanger and positioned the wall hanger into position. I screwed each screw in fairly deep (see FIG 34). However, before final tightening, I got out a small level and made sure that the wall hanger was perfectly level before I secured it for good (see FIG 35). FIG 32 FIG 33 FIG 34 FIG 35 Moving to wall hangers for guitars with non-symmetrical headstocks such as strats, I find the location on the wall where I want my wall hanger to sit. I place a piece of masking tape down in that location, then mark 17
STEP 8: MOUNTING YOUR HANGERS TO THE WALL the center point on the wall. I drill just one mounting screw hole for that wall hanger. I place a screw into the hole on the wall hanger and screw it into place so that it s tight but not fully tightened (see FIG 36). FIG 36 I then grab the guitar that s going to hang on that wall hanger and put it in place. Then, I adjust the position of the wall hanger until the guitar is hanging perfectly. FIG 37 I then remove the guitar and give the wall hanger a final tightening so it can t move. And, that s all there is to it! Once you ve done one of each, you ll get the hang of it and you ll have no problem doing as many as you need. Remember that if you re screwing a wall hanger for a non-symmetrical headstock into drywall, make sure that you use the EZ Ancors that can support up to 50 lbs. IMPORTANT: As a precaution, when hanging Les Pauls, make sure that you hang them so they sit close to the wall and not out hanging close to the ends of the dowels. These wall hangers are sturdy and so are the oak dowels, but Les Pauls are heavy, so you don t want to risk having the weight of the guitar snap the dowels. 18
THE FINISHED PRODUCT This wall is a mixture of my own wall hangers and some profession wall hangers that cost $15 each. It was after I bought five of the professional hangers that I decided to start making my own. 19
CREATING YOUR OWN WALL OF GUITARS For my wall, I m fortunate in that I have a high ceiling in my guitar room - 13ft. high ceilings, so I was able to hang two guitars per row - and offset them. If you have a ceiling that s at least 7 ft. high, you should be able to also hang two guitars per row. 1. I hung my wall hangers with a space of 45 between the top hanger and the one that sat below it. If your ceiling is 7 ft. high, you ll need to tighten up that space to about 41. Most guitars are roughly 39 long, so that gives you just enough room. However, my numbers are estimates, so doublecheck your guitars for length to determine if you can hang one on top of another. 2. I positioned my wall hangers 14.5 apart. This allowed plenty of room between each guitar. 3. I offset the guitars by 16.5 simply because of the height of my ceiling. You may not be able to do that, so if you have to hang them side-by-side, you may want to allow for a little extra space between the guitars. Instead of 14.5, you may want to do something like 16 apart. 20
OTHER STUFF FROM PAINTYOUROWNGUITAR.COM www.paintyourownguitar.com/guitars.html The PAINT YOUR OWN GUITAR Book Series These books are available in both e-books and hard copies through my website. DVD Series www.paintyourownguitar.com/dvds.html 21