DIY Homemade Guitar Wall Hangers?

[WhiskeyJack]

Anybody have any recipes for home made guitar wall mounted hangers that they have made?

[Tadpui]

I ran across a bag of String Swing hangers as I was cleaning the basement recently. I think I've got 3 or 4 of them, if you're interested. I used one to hang my banjo, and I can't remember how many are left in the bag.

I haven't thought about making my own, but they're relatively simple little contraptions. I have a feeling that finding the right metal that can be shaped to cradle the headstock would be the biggest challenge. Other than that, it's just a bolt and a chunk of wood.

At our last house, I had this thing for my guitars, and it was pretty awesome:

[Armistice]

What's the skinny on whether hanging guitars by the headstock, long term, is actually good for them?

[Tadpui]

What's the skinny on whether hanging guitars by the headstock, long term, is actually good for them?

My Les Paul hung on a hanger for over a decade. Now it's a Fender scale

I haven't heard any reports/rumors about it being detrimental to the health of a guitar. Other than some types of the foam padding interacting adversely with some finishes, I can't say that I've heard anything bad about the stresses of hanging a guitar by the neck. I mean I certainly wouldn't enjoy hanging by my neck for any length of time, but my guitars never seemed to complain when I used to store them that way

[Greg_L]

What's the skinny on whether hanging guitars by the headstock, long term, is actually good for them?

I don't see how it would be bad, besides falling to the floor.

On an electric guitar each string tuned up is roughly 20 pounds of tension. A Fender scale has maybe a little more. So say at most about 150-200 pounds of string tension in total trying to rip the headstock off towards the bridge. A 7-10 pound guitar hanging from the headstock and exerting force the other way isn't gonna do anything bad.

Acoustic guitars have even more string tension trying to destroy the guitar and they stay together just fine with much less mechanical fastening than an electric guitar has.

@muttley can bash me if I'm way off base here.

[Lt. Bob]

I keep all my gits in the case but I have 19 of 'em so may as well be set up for case-keeping

[Tadpui]

I keep all my gits in the case but I have 19 of 'em so may as well be set up for case-keeping

That'd be one busy wall! But it would look splendid

[Greg_L]

I've got a 5-guitar stand in a corner that at any time has a hodge podge of various guitars I'm using at the moment.

Right now it's got...
Hallmark 60 Custom
Mosrite Ventures II
Gibson SG
The stupid Strat I just painted
A P-Bass

The rest are in their respective cases

[Tadpui]

I've got a 5-guitar stand in a corner that at any time has a hodge podge of various guitars I'm using at the moment.

Right now it's got...
Hallmark 60 Custom
Mosrite Ventures II
Gibson SG
The stupid Strat I just painted
A P-Bass

The rest are in their respective cases

That's just an awesome collection. Sparkly Strat and all. That's a great range of tones right at hand.

I've got one of those Hercules 5-guitar stands that I added 2 more neck rests and pads to, so it holds 7 guitars. I just have to be a little delicate in placing/pulling them to avoid bumping things. I'm not sure that I like the more narrow slots for everything, but I do like having more guitars at hand.

I've got everything on that rack except my acoustic that I tend to keep closer. And a couple of red-headed stepchildren in their cases in the closet.

I like having them out where I can see them. I see them, and it makes me happy. So I pick one up and play it and I get happier. Then I plug it in and turn it up way too loud, and I'm the happiest.

I just hung the banjo on the wall last week, it's my only hung instrument in the room. It's light enough that I'm OK with it being secured right to drywall. I guess that'd be my main advice for hanging guitars: go into studs for these things. I wouldn't trust a 7 to 11 pound pound chunk of wood hanging on a drywall anchor for very long. I mean, the anchors are pretty great...but drilling into a stud, *you* could swing on it for the afternoon

[Armistice]

I've always had it in my head that hanging them - long term - wasn't good for them. I'm not sure where the idea came from - something I've read along the way. I've always kept mine in cases anyway - too much dusting and cleaning, and I've never had a dedicated space that I felt would be improved by hanging guitars all over the walls.

[JD01]

My guitars have always been hung on walls, except my Ibanez which is in a case in the attic.
Its never done them any harm. I use wall hangers 'cos I'm in a small room and short on floor space. If I had 3 or 4 cases on the floor that would take up the whole room!

[muttley]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hanging a guitar from it's headstock or chord wrapped round tuners, I do it all the time. The only thing to avoid are swift changes in humidity and temperature but that applies to a guitar anywhere.

There are a bunch of youtube videos on making wooden hangers but a hanger is cheaper than a strap so just grab a bunch.

[Greg_L]

The worst thing about having lots of cool guitars is having lots of guitar cases.

[muttley]

The worst thing about having lots of cool guitars is having lots of guitar cases.

Tell me about it. I have bought three cases this week alone. As I approach my long awaited retirement and focus on what I WANT to do rather than what I HAVE to do, I have been going through my much neglected collection and am setting up each instrument as I go. I still need more cases. I haven't counted them all but I suspect it will rival Lt and his 19, maybe more...

On a side note, I have dug out a few old boutique amps that I will be picking your brains about in the not to distant future. Basically I retired them when I didn't have time or money to fix or maintain them and I want to get them singing again.

[Greg_L]

On a side note, I have dug out a few old boutique amps that I will be picking your brains about in the not to distant future. Basically I retired them when I didn't have time or money to fix or maintain them and I want to get them singing again.

Haha awesome. I'll help in any way I can.

[WhiskeyJack]

Cheers all. I was always a little skeptical of hanging them up and yes @Armistice the dusting involved would be a nightmare. But after having cleaned my space a few times over the last few months and the dust down here is shockingly minimal compared to the rest of the house. In the summer time, this shitty prairie town can provide a nice layer of dust all over the upstairs 24 hours after a proper floor to ceiling dusting. Friggin frustrating. But the downstairs? Minimal! Perhaps because i am the only one in here ever?

I talked to one of my buddies recently who has only ever hung his guitars up and he "claims" that he doesn't do many set ups on his guits and they always seem to stay in pretty decent states of repair. Needs far less trips to the guitar doctor for set ups apparently? After digesting that I was thinking of putting a few up on my walls so i could just grab and play them more.

As it is now i keep my everyday player on a stand next to me at my desk. the stand is built for three but can only hold one becasue the seal gasket thing in the clip that Is supposed to tighten it and keep the trunk held in place gives way and the slides down over the course of a few days . I've come down here to a bunch of guitars sitting on the floor most mornings. So the only thing on it is my ShanTele Lace and my acoustic if i happen to be in that mood. Dumb. All my other guitars are in cases in the closet and behind the door so as not to take up too much room. I don't like this becasue i can't "easily" get to them. (lazy) I kind of hate it actually. I feel like if i could walk in the room and just grab one off the wall it would be way cooler than digging into the closet and pulling the case out etcetcetcetc.

I'd like to DIY them becasue that's just how I am but I wouldn't be opposed to what you have laying around @Tadpui Maybe shoot me a DM and maybe we could work something out. I think i only really have wall space for three at the most currently were i to strategically place in the one empty spot on my wall i have left. Would save me a weekend. I got looking at some DIY recipies last night and they were all kind of junky and I had issues with almost all of them.

@muttley humidity changes are huge concern of mine. My space is in a cement basement. We have forced air heat all winter long (6 to 7 months) and then the spring and summer we get the thaw and it can get really damp down here. there is never any sign of pooling water or mold or anything but if i leave it go with out dehumidification for a few days, it can get very basement-y smelling / feeling. So i usually run a dehumidifier keeping it around 50% thru those months. The winters I rely on those little humidifiers you pop in your guitar cases to keep things relatively kosher for the guits. How would i mitigate that drying out risk in the winters were i to hang a few on my wall?

[muttley]

.................

@muttley humidity changes are huge concern of mine. My space is in a cement basement. We have forced air heat all winter long (6 to 7 months) and then the spring and summer we get the thaw and it can get really damp down here. there is never any sign of pooling water or mold or anything but if i leave it go with out dehumidification for a few days, it can get very basement-y smelling / feeling. So i usually run a dehumidifier keeping it around 50% thru those months. The winters I rely on those little humidifiers you pop in your guitar cases to keep things relatively kosher for the guits. How would i mitigate that drying out risk in the winters were i to hang a few on my wall?

I have to say that if you have wild swings in humidity or constant high or low humidity the best bet is to keep them in cases and use some form of local humidity control. Wood can tolerate extremes of humidity either way but what it doesn't like is rapid changes. Seasoned wood is a sponge. Remember, the hotter the air the more moisture it holds so simply heating your room in an otherwise cold season can dramatically increase the moisture in the air. Thats why you get condensation on cold spots and windows/single skin walls etc.

As an example, I have a massive maple butcher block in my kitchen about 9 inch thick and 24 inch square. It sits between two walnut counter tops and in the winter I can lift the thing out, in the summer it is wedged in there and no amount of heaving will budge the thing. Thats just from the change in the amount of moisture in the air and we hover around 65% all year round.

If you are worried keep your favourite babies in their case and rotate your other instruments round the hangers but keep an eye on them. Things to look for are;

Frets protruding = too dry
Frets popping or sitting high = too wet
Action to stiff = too dry
Action choking = too wet.

There are MANY other reasons for the above so be careful.

A good all round measure of how a guitar is handling the humidity is whether it stays in tune when it's sitting idle. If it does you are normally good other than your normal house keeping etc.

All our mileage will vary as we all live in varying parts of the globe.

[Greg_L]

A good all round measure of how a guitar is handling the humidity is whether it stays in tune when it's sitting idle. If it does you are normally good other than your normal house keeping etc.

All our mileage will vary as we all live in varying parts of the globe.

Maybe you can explain this one for me....

Here in my gulf coast empire I'm sure you are aware we are usually hot and humid. No problem, it is what it is. Guitars don't really seem to care. My last gig was outside and it was cold. I tuned up in the climate controlled dressing room about two hours before we played and I left my guitars out on the stand to acclimate to the weather. Right before our set I checked them again and they were all very sharp. Like almost a full half step sharp. Why is that? Seems like the cold would contract the wood which would make them go flat. The other guy's guitars did the same thing. We all went sharp.

[Lt. Bob]

maybe because cold also shrinks the strings which would make them go sharp and the metal strings prolly react more than the wood percentage-wise?

When I play at my gig which is outside, as the night goes on and gets cooler, my git steadily goes sharp and then the next day when it's warm it's always fairly flat.

[Greg_L]

Yeah maybe it is more about the strings than the wood.