Padding for guitar storage racks?

[Charlie Schultz]

So I guess I volunteered to build some guitar storage units for a local school. I'm guessing the guitars all have a polyester finish, but I'd like to add some kind of padding around the places where it rests in the rack. Wondering if anyone has any recommendations- carpet, felt, tubing, other?

Here's "plan A", but nothing is started yet (kibitzing welcome).

[Bob Gramann]

I've used carpet scraps stapled to the wood before. The drawback is the thickness of the carpet uses up storage volume.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Rather than the dividers you are showing I would do a solid bottom of 1/8inch luan or meranti ply curved to the shape of a guitar bottom with 1/2 inch of polyethylene foam over it.

[Barry Daniels]

Foam, such as pipe insulation will work, but any foam wears pretty quickly and will look shabby. Covering it with cloth would go a long way to improve longevity.

[John Catto]

I've done this sort of rack before. In the end the best thing seems to be thick natural undyed vegetable tanned leather. The sort that people who do leather tooling use. Pretty much anything else has the potential to imprint a mark, react with finish etc. etc.

[Jim Ashby]

I agree with John. Leather is the way to go - doesn't mark and (as far as my racks have gone) doesn't react.

[Barry Daniels]

Well, if you want to do this right you need Corinthian leather from middle aged yaks.

[Nate Scott]

How about cork?

[David Robinson]

I use cork, you can get great rolls of it at the big box stores. Thick stuff for flooring underlay. Thin stuff for shelves, sometimes peel and stick.

[David King]

Use anything but the skin of middle-aged luthiers.

[Michael Lewis]

So Charlie, what have you decided to use? Maybe a combination of carpet and cork?

[Charlie Schultz]

Not yet, but thanks for all the great suggestions.

I like the idea of a solid/curved bottom, but I worry that guitars might slide and bang into each other (again, this is going to be used in junior high/high school). On the plus side though, that concept is body depth agnostic.

I like the carpet or cloth covered foam ideas, the only concern is how much space it's going to eat up.

The leather seems like a good idea, not sure how expensive it will be though (or if I can find the yaks <g>).

The cork also seems like a good idea, though not sure of the longevity of it (and if it would be easy to replace down the road).

I'm going to build a small prototype and see what kind of space I have. Maybe the use of pine and strategic coves/curves will be enough?

[David King]

I used that speaker carpeting in mine. The stuff that comes in black and grey and is dirt cheap. I'm sure it would imprint on a fresh finish but it's all I ever see on the rolling stage guitar coffin trunks that bands lug around. It's modest protection at best but only takes up 1/8" and doesn't weigh hardly anything. I used some 3/8" ply panels between the guitars to keep them from knocking into each other. Then3M spray adhesive 90 and let that cure for a week. Some staples along the edges where they couldn't ever touch a guitar.

[Charlie Schultz]

Here's the prototype (using 3/4" pine). I used the divider approach for four positions and the curved bottom for the other three positions. They liked it and thought the dividers would be better for the classroom. If I was doing one for myself, I'd probably go with the curved bottom.

[Bob Francis]

I like the curved bottom too. Nice Charlie!

[Matthew Lau]

Classy!

btw, cork would be easiest to replace--use a heat gun to loosen it.
Leather is nice, but can get pricy. I'd like to know a good supplier!

[David Robinson]

Home Depot has rolls of Self stick cork rolls, Contact paper brand. cheep.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Nice looking guitar rack. Something I should add to my list of things to make.