DIY guitar capo?

[RoamingFrancis]

I lost my guitar capo a while back and am looking for a DIY solution. I have been able to improvise with a pencil and a bunch of rubber bands, but I'm looking for a longer term solution.

Any thoughts?

[basuragomi]

My first thought is to steam-bend a trio of disposable chopsticks. Basically one step up from the pencil. Sandwich the acting arm between two backing arms and secure with a pin drilled through the flat base.

You could maybe tension the capo with some kind of notch/pin arrangement filed/drilled into the distal end of the arms.

Wood can't quite bend to the small radius of a guitar neck so it might look a bit awkward sticking out to the sides of the neck. Chopsticks should be pretty soft, flexible and unlikely to damage your instrument though I guess some felt or rubber could be glued on too.

[RoamingFrancis]

That sounds like a great idea! I have never steam bent anything before - there's a first time for everything!