Joe Delaronde
From:
Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted 1 Feb 2005 4:30 pm |
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Sir Geo
We will see you on that Thur evening for sure.
This year I am building a steel using a skateboard, less the wheels. Not a new idea. Someone else built one, but left the wheels on. I didn't build this as a novelty. The skateboard is one tough piece of board. 5 ply apoxy laminated hardwood. The board is contoured on the top for max strength. It is natural wood and already finished.
I am using a Bill Lawerence L500 dual blade pickup which has the 4 wires and ground. This was given to me compliments of my good friend Dean Neeley, Aiken, SC. It will sport a volume control, 5 way rotary tone control, parallel/series switch, phase switch, and an audio taper pot for a fast acting tone control, like a Wah effect.
The tuners are made by Steinberger. These are not the conventional style tuners which wind the string around a post. On this style Steinberger, the string is pulled down into the tuner shaft. They look something like a Scruggs tuner. They are mounted upside down, on the board. This was Terry Farmers idea. The strings pass over the nut and are threaded straight down through the board and then branch of towards the tuner lugs. With this upside down installation, the tuning knobs are located on the top of the skateboard. Making it more convenient to tune. These were sent to me compliments of my good friend Terry Farmer in Albequeque.
The Skateboard has 9 strings in the space of a conventional 10 string spacing, and the nut is the same ratio.
The strings at the bridge end are threaded through the board, from the underside, and over the bridge, so the strings in reality are secured to the body on both ends.
The string height is 7/16" and the frets are printed on decal material which lays flat on the board.
The scale is 22 1/2" long.
The underside has a flat 1/2" MDF board 6 1/2" wide and 26" long which is rounded on both ends and covered with black felt Mat-tac. It is mounted to the skateboard with the aid of three wooden pedestals which are moulded to the underside curviture.
I believe this little steel will sound good and the skateboard cabinet configuration will prove to be a worthy effort.
I will be using a standard 6th with a high ??
Anyone want some pics, email me.
I would like to thank my good friends Dean Neeley, Terry Farmer, and Billy jones for supplying the pickup, tuners and advice. Without them this little project would still be in my mind. Which isn't very good these days.............
Joe |
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