I’ve wanted to attempt this for a while, and a few ancient Dell laptops were recently donated to PS1, so I removed a few circuit boards and got working.

Ingredients:

1. •An old circuit board you don’t need anymore (boards with surface mounted components are easier, but anything works)
   

2. •Clear coat or polyurethane spray.
   

3. •Heat gun (soldering irons work too, but heat guns are faster)
   

4. •Leather or heatproof gloves
   

5. •Scroll saw, band saw, or hacksaw
   

6. •A guitar pick (a template)
   

7. •A flat head screwdriver, needle nose pliers, or other tool for removing the components.
   

8. •File, sand paper, anything to do final shaping and cleanup.
   

9. •Eye and breathing protection (circuit boards are made from fiberglass, don’t inhale fiberglass dust)
   

Directions:

Step 1: put on gloves and use the heat gun to desolder the components - take them off with pliers or a screwdriver if you need to.

Step 2: trace your template and cut out the rough shape of the pick. Use eye and breathing protection on this step.

Step 3: sand or file the edges to achieve your final shape and round all corners. Use breathing protection on this step.

Step 4. Clean the pick and spray with a light coating of polyurethane. Use breathing protection on this step (or do it with lots of ventilation).

Step 5. Play some Stairway.

Update:

Now that I’ve had a chance to play with this pick for a while, I have a few notes:

First, it’s got some nice texture, so it’s easier to hold than your average plastic pick.

It’s also pretty rigid - definitely a heavy pick, which is good if you really want control.

Finally, due to the texture, it has a bright sound: it grabs the strings a bit when you strum, and it’s a pretty efficient transfer of strum into sound.

Update 2:

I’ve made a new set of these picks using a new technique: I’m cutting the circuit boards with tin snips instead of a scroll saw - this gives me better control and a much nicer end result.  I’ve also finished the pics with a coating of spray lacquer.

This set were made from memory and motherboards: