Wegen Picks: Difference between B & W?

**Eddie Lang** · 02-26-2013, 02:23 AM

Originally Posted by Spook410

Laminated Ultem experiment?

In short, I glued together three large triangle Clayton Ultem 1.20mm picks with super glue. Then i shaped them something close to a Wegen Twin with a bevel inspired by the "speed bevel" of the Red Bear Style A Heavy.

**FrankyNoTone** · 02-26-2013, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by Spook410

...Franky.. the .09" is 2.25mm. How would you cut it into shapes?

I've used aviation snips to trim the thick back end of the Dunlop 2mm Ultem Sharps and that did the job easily enough. It likely won't cut sheets that thick however due to the lack of flex so I'd probably saw the 12x12 sheet into strips and then stencil in the picks in a up/down sharkstooth pattern (assuming the 351 shape). After that, the snips should work but if it doesn't work then I'd go for the cutting disc on the dremel.

**PTChristopher** · 02-26-2013, 10:57 AM

Thnanks for ID-ing the material Spook. I had not recalled that Clayton used the Ultem name, which could have been a "clue" to a more aware person.

Looks like I can get a 1/4" sheet for well under $100, so worth fooling around with for some "ergo" shapes. For a basic pick, the Ultex 2.0 mm with the sharp tip rounded a bit works nicely for me.

A 12 X 12" piece will make an absurd number of picks, so if anyone want to go in on a hunk of the 1/4" slab let me know.

A band saw and some quality time with the Dremel will do it for the 1/4" stuff.

Chris

**PTChristopher** · 02-26-2013, 11:23 AM

Found some .625" scraps on Ebay for $20.00 - that should do it.

The Dunlop Ultex sound the least chirpy/clicky of any hard pick material I have tried, so interesting enough.

Man, it is a pain being a lifetime victim for any material and method that floats by - must try,...

It beats the more classic vices as best I can tell - far cheaper and you get cool stuff out of the process now and then.

Chris

**Eddie Lang** · 02-26-2013, 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by Eddie Lang

In short, I glued together three large triangle Clayton Ultem 1.20mm picks with super glue. Then i shaped them something close to a Wegen Twin with a bevel inspired by the "speed bevel" of the Red Bear Style A Heavy.

Here is the pick that I made, between a Wegen Twin and a Red Bear Style A. Just below it, there is one large triangle Clayton Ultem 1.20mm like the three that I used to make it.

And to answer the question in the original post, I have played a couple black Wegen's but did not A-B them with whites at the time. Myself, I only get the white ones because they're easy to spot if I drop them.

**Spook410** · 02-26-2013, 04:22 PM

While gluing works OK, I'm thinking I would like like some 1/8" (3.175mm) sheeting to play with. Good excuse to buy a small band saw. And then a good excuse to get a small belt sander to shape them. Good idea to check Ebay.. guessing some of the right size will come up sooner or later. Nice pictures Eddie.

**FrankyNoTone** · 02-26-2013, 04:54 PM

This guy makes some real nice picks using exotic plastics, and he's got all the shop equipment:

Hufschmid Plectrum Research and Design ? How I build my picks?

**Philco** · 02-26-2013, 07:09 PM

Nothing technical to add other than I love those Ultex Sharps. They have saved me a fortune because they have ended my reliance on the Blue Chip Jazz large.
50cents as opposed to $35.00.

The lighter Ultex Sharps (.75 and .90) are perfect for the so called Benson technique. Eliminating almost all clicking.
They are so much more accurate than a Fender Medium because of the point.
Amazingly tough.

**Spook410** · 02-26-2013, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by FrankyNoTone

This guy makes some real nice picks using exotic plastics, and he's got all the shop equipment:

Hufschmid Plectrum Research and Design ? How I build my picks?

Liking the Proxxon sander. That whole thing was pretty cool.

So.. is cast crossed link acrylic what V picks are made of?

Is Torlon what Blue Chip uses (noting this guys 75 pound Torlon model is sold out)

Is UHWMPE acrylic?

Is PHO Micarta?

Need some quality Google time on this.

And finally, did he come up with his logo before or after Skyrim came out?

**PTChristopher** · 02-26-2013, 08:35 PM

>>>And finally, did he come up with his logo before or after Skyrim came out?

I thought it was a new Spinal Tap movie when the vid started.

**Spook410** · 02-26-2013, 09:09 PM

If you will forgive me geeking out for a moment:

Cast crossed link acrylic: Multiple colors. .125" 12"X24" sheet $25 (Cast Acrylic Sheet - .125" Thick, Clear, 12" x 24" - Pick: Color, Thickness, Size: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific)

UHWMPE: .125" 12"X24" sheet $14.11 (UHMW Solid Sheet, White, Inch, Standard Tolerance, Meets ASTM D4020 Specifications: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific_

PHO: Could not find under that name. Looks like Micarta or even G10.

Ultem: .125" 12"X12" sheet $54.29 (Ultem 1000 Solid Sheet, Natural, Inch, Standard Tolerance, Meets ASTM D5205 PEI0113 Specifications: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific)

Torlon: Looking at 4203, I couldn't find a .125" sheet. In .187" 12X12 it was $607.89 (Order Plastic Torlon 4203 Sheet in Small Quantities at OnlineMetals.com)

'Acrylic' is a large family of different formulations. Would probably take an engineer with expertise in plastics applications to tell us what would work well. I've heard in some places that V picks use their own formulation.

Torlon is really, really expensive. Makes me more likely to buy a pick made from this knowing that it's some sort of super polymer and just the basic material is so pricey.

Tempting to get some Ultem to play with. I wonder why Mr. Hufschmid doesn't have an Ultem model in his line up.

**FrankyNoTone** · 02-26-2013, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by Spook410

...So.. is cast crossed link acrylic what V picks are made of?
...
Is Torlon what Blue Chip uses (noting this guys 75 pound Torlon model is sold out)
...
Is PHO Micarta?
...

I don't think V-Picks are made with the high end acrylic because they would have to cost a lot more.

Blue Chips, from their patent application, are made from polyimide (Meldin/Vespel).

Perhaps PHO is Micarta, definitely a "vulcanized fibre":
Vulcanized fibre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've been contemplating getting a small sheet of Forbon, which is similar and used to make pickup bobbins. I got the idea from these guys:
What?s With The Picks? | Lollar Pickups Blog

Originally Posted by Spook410

...And finally, did he come up with his logo before or after Skyrim came out?

Good question, perhaps he's a veteran and took up pick making after taking an arrow to the knee.

**Spook410** · 02-27-2013, 03:06 AM

Originally Posted by FrankyNoTone

Blue Chips, from their patent application, are made from polyimide (Meldin/Vespel).

Good question, perhaps he's a veteran and took up pick making after taking an arrow to the knee.

Torlon is a polyamide-imide. Meldin and Vespel are just more trade names maybe?

And yes.. maybe a veteran. Looking forward to his Daedric line.

**PTChristopher** · 03-01-2013, 11:16 AM

Well that was fast. My $20 worth of Ultem showed up today. 5 small blocks - plenty for tons of pick experiments.

I'll try making something this weekend. 0.625" thick, so it will need some re-sawing. I expect the bandsaw will be fine for this stuff, but thermoplastic can be an adventure in melting, etc..

Chris