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Topic: build a lap, wood advice |
Dion Stephen
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 17 Sep 2007 10:01 pm |
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| could i use poplar or should i stick with a hard maple or maybe something else? |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 18 Sep 2007 3:22 am
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| Personally, I would not use poplar or alder, I prefer Mahogany for it's tone and beauty and Maple for the same reason- even though it sounds and looks entirely different. That's all taste though, you might like poplar best! The great thing about gear is that there are lots of different looks and tones, or to quote my grandpappy " there's a butt for every seat". |
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 18 Sep 2007 4:14 am
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poplar is a very good hardwood. it is usually painted because the grain and color varies so much within one piece.
Fender uses alder on it's electrics often. so tone wood argument could get interesting.
I prefer mahogany. great looking wood nd quite easy to work with.
sanding out saw marks is very easy.
hard maple is much harder to sand. |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 18 Sep 2007 9:57 am
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Depending on what tone and look you are going for, there are lots of great options.
Poplar is a nice wood to work with. It machines well and has a very neutral open tone.
Often it can have a greenish tint to it so it is usually painted.
Though, you can find nice looking poplar for a natural finish.
Maple is a nice wood with a brighter / snappier tone. It can be a little tough to work with hand tools, but is not that bad.
It has a tight closed grain that takes finish well.
Ash is another good wood for steels. It has a nice balanced tone, not too bright but still warm.
It has a very open grain that will suck up the finish.
Mahogany is a nice wood to work with.
It has a full warm tone with pronounced lower mids.
Though, there can be a lot of variance from piece to piece, some being brighter and some darker.
It has a lot of open pores and can take some filling to get a glass smooth finish if thats what your going for.
Like I said, it really depends on what your going for. Hardware choices can make a big tonal difference too.
_________________
Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 18 Sep 2007 11:09 am
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I realize there is a lot of difference in opinion on which woods are best for building a lap steel guitar.
My thinking is just pick out a decent piece of hardwood that many guitar makers are reccommending and go to work and make something that looks nice and is functional. If it is your first try it will be a good experience at the least. If you do a good job it will probably sound pretty decent whatever wood you pick.
I do think the pickup has a lot to do with tone and sustain. My pick up is an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).---I wound my own and had Rick Aiello install a neodymium magnet and make a housing for it. Rick makes these for some of his guitars and also sells them as well as several other designs he makes, using his neodymium magnet system. They can't be beat in MHO.
Once you have a guitar made you know what it takes to make the body and it would be easier the next time to just build another body. You will already have the parts and know what to do next time.
I had some nice Wild Cherry given to me that had been in a garage loft for around 50 yrs. So I just used it.
I laminated two 3/4 inch pieces together with
Elmers Exterior carpenters glue.
I designed and built a tuning changer for it as well. It came out nice, functions well, and sounds good. 
I'm starting another one that also has a tuning changer in it. I have some more rough sawn Wild Cherry left. I liked the way the first one came out so I will use it again. Mainly because I have some of it. 
Best of luck in your building project and do let us know how it progresses. |
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Dion Stephen
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 18 Sep 2007 6:19 pm
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| thanks guys, i can always count on someone coming through on this forum. |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 18 Sep 2007 6:44 pm
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Like everyone here sez, there are a lot of types of wood you can use. I have an old lap steel made of Gum wood, and it has a nice bass oriented sound. I built three identical guitars using three kinds of wood;Honduras mahogany, black walnut, and white ash. I would have to say the ash model is my favorite of the three, with the walnut being next. The mahogany model didn't seem as good for harmonics, but every piece of wood is a little different, even in the same species. I have a blank body I haven't finished yet with 3/8 inch layers of hard maple and purple heart laminated together. Should be interesting.
You can always build two with different wood, like mentioned here. If you do two at once it's a time saver. |
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