Not familiar with that product, but I get the idea.

What about a U-shaped metal "hanger" at the bottom of the rack, for the belt hook to rest on? You could use a rubber covered ladder rack hook like you see in the hardware stores for your garage. The Stick would have to sit a lot higher in the rack, though.

(Edit) ...or maybe, since you're on a stud, you could just attatch some kind of "T" bar from there?

That was a thought at one point, but I'm finding the "safety loop" works real well, and is simpler. The Sticks (when I have two of them) need to sit on the rack one a bit higher than the other so that the pickup blocks don't collide. By changing the length of the "safety loop", that is easily established.

I have the silicone sheet installed, and so far, it's holding. But as I mentioned above, I'm leaving the safety loop in place. The grip is just sufficiently questionable (and may be more so with a Railboard which is heavier than a wooden Stick) that I think it's fine to hold the Stick in place, but not to support it's full weight (sadly).

But at the end of the day, it's super easy to place the Stick into the rack or remove it, which was kinda the goal.

Okay - this project took some extensive material engineering, but we're cooking now...

I tried 4 different materials to use to face the "gripping" parts of this wall rack. The first three failed to grip the Stick without it gradually sliding downward. Suede, neoprene, silicone sheet all would grip fine at first, but the Stick would gradually slip until it would either fall on the floor (which it never actually did) or engage the "safety strap", seen above, that I rigged when I realized that I had a problem.

I finally found the right material, and realized that the more contact the Stick has with it, the better. This means that I removed the two suede "patches" on the back of the holder and replaced them with this material, and it is working Like.A.Charm...

I was looking for the silicone gripper sheets that they sell for opening jars. It is textured specifically for gripping. But instead I found this product that is made with recycled automotive tires. The material is also a little thicker than the silicone ones I've seen before. It works really, REALLY well!! It has held the stick tenaciously for a couple of days without it budging so much as a millimeter.

That's great

What's it's firmness like, i.e. can it be seen to squash a little as the cams 'engage'? I imagine there was little if any squash with silicone?

Oh, and what's this super material called?

Nothing I’ve used had any visible “squash” to it. This stuff is probably the firmest of the options I tried, though the neoprene would be close. Very firm stuff.

I couldn’t find sheets of this stuff, instead repurposing a pack of those jar-grippers.

Not sure if you can find them that side of the pond, but I think other brands might work as well. The ones I used are called Jar Heads

IIRC a boot scraper door mat we have is made of material recycled from tyres & that's certainly tough!


That exact brand can be supplied here, from the US. However, there are also a host of similar options that don't need to cross the Atlantic, and hence cheaper. At the moment I don't have a use, but very interesting to know about.

The finish on your Stick's neck will experience prolonged compression and shear/friction forces against the material. I don't know if this will lead to localized discoloration or damage to the finish on the instrument, over the long term. Do you think this is worth being concerned about?

No. I have 6 guitars finished in lacquer, nitro, Brite-Tone (a waterborne lacquer) and Tru-Oil (probably closest in chemistry and physical properties to the Watco finish on Sticks). These have all been grasped by the necks, sometimes for months at a time, and I never had any concerns or observed any damage from the friction against the necks. The only thing I have to be careful of is the nitro. The cushions typically placed on guitar racks release a chemical that will etch nitrocellulose lacquer, polyurethane, and some plastics. The racks for the nitro-finished guitars are wrapped with a sheath of suede.

The other factor is that the finish on many guitars, and especially Sticks, is extremely thin. In finishing guitars, it takes a bit of experience to avoid sanding through the finish. The thickest finish I've ever applied is 12 coats of the Brite-Tone, and even on that one I sanded through in one small inconspicuous spot (next to the neck at the cutout on a Lester design). Not only is it thin, but every finish I've listed above cures hard - it cannot deform without failing.

The only finish I'd have any concern about with regard to damage as you describe is maybe French polish. French polish is shellac, and shellac does not "cure" - it dries. It is classed as a thermoplastic, which means it can be deformed by heat and pressure, so I suppose it could be a concern if someone refinished their Stick with French polish, which frankly I wouldn't recommend. It's a beautiful finish for acoustic guitars, but easily damaged by sweat, alcohol and it's much softer than most finishes, so easily scratched.

Pursuant to the comment I made above, the one thing I would strongly recommend against if anyone tries to build one of these is using any kind of "foam" in place of the grippy rubber sheet I used, e.g. the waffle-textured stuff they sell to line the bottoms of tool boxes and drawers. That has the same nasty chemical that I referred to above that will etch some finishes, and even attack some plastics. I have several chisels and plastic bit cases and plastic-handled screwdrivers that have been damaged by that stuff.

Also, the next Stick that will be chucked up in that rack is a Railboard, so no worries at all there!!

I just wanted to come back and report on how this rack is working.

First, I was a little concerned that when my Railboard arrived its significantly greater weight may not work with this. Hah! Actually the greater weight makes this rack work better - the cams grip it much more tightly than they do the rosewood!!

Second, as you can see in this picture, I have two "safety" features as a backstop to the cams gripping the shafts of the Sticks. There is a loop of leather ~1/2" wide that will capture the belt hook should the cams ever fail to hold. There is also a thin bar that I rotate to extend across the fretboard. When I was still experimenting to find a suitable non-slip material, I had a scary experience coming into the music room one morning and seeing my Stick hanging from the leather loop, and cantilevered out from the wall at about a 45° angle!! Apparently when the loop started taking the weight, the cams had nothing to keep them firmly against the sides of the Stick and it fell forward. The little cross-bar keeps them from falling forward should that ever happen again.

However, once I got the right "grippy" material on the cams and the central wedge, neither Stick as slipped so much as a millimeter in the last 5-6 months. When I place the Sticks in the rack, the loop is slack - it's not bearing any of the weight. Each time I take one down, I look to see if the loop is now taught, indicating that the Stick has slipped and the loop is carrying the weight. Thus far, the "safety" features haven't had to do anything but make me feel warm & fuzzy!

All that said, I'm going to make another rack similar to this, but I'm going to lean-in on the "safety features" as the method of securing the Sticks to the rack; a loop for capturing the belt hooks, and something across the front of the fretboard at the top. Less complex, easier to make etc.