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Topic: Building my own. |
Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 22 Oct 2014 1:45 am |
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I decided to build my own lap steel after looking at what was available here. So far I have gathered up:
P90 pickup
Duesenburg multibender
Roller nut
Sealed machine heads
three tripod legs and fittings
Anodised aluminium lined "fretboard"
Dunlop DVP1 optical volume pedal
Boss Reverb/Delay pedal.
Time to dive in and do it, I guess! I'll post some pics when I get something to show. Probably going to be EBEG#BE with the G# lifting to A and the high B lifting to C#.
Last edited by Marty Forrer on 22 Oct 2014 1:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 22 Oct 2014 4:18 am
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| Dom, I think he's building a "parts' guitar. |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 22 Oct 2014 4:19 am
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| Seriously, Marty, we all wish you great luck with your build. You are at the right place for tech support. |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 22 Oct 2014 11:20 am
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| I've got a slab of swamp ash,it's nice and light and easy to work. I've thicknessed it and cut the basic shape, sort of like a torpedo with a stepped headstock to keep the strings pulling straight over the roller bridge. I've routed out the pickup cavity and the cavities for the tripod fittings. Once I get it sanded and sealed, I'll take a pic. |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 22 Oct 2014 11:23 am
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Building your own is a lot of fun and being from NZ, you have some great down under woods to chose from. If you are going with a P90, then I'd suggest some Tasmanian Blackwood. It is a great tonewood and a very close cousin to Hawaiian Koa.
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_________________
Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
Follow me on Facebook here |
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Keith Glendinning
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 22 Oct 2014 12:34 pm
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Hello Marty
Whereabouts are you in New Zealand? I live in UK but I'll be in Parnell, Auckland between the end of November until Mid February, visiting my daughter and family. I've built a couple of "Planks" this year and was thinking of picking up a good piece of wood while I'm there.
Regards,
Keith. |
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 22 Oct 2014 1:21 pm
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Hi Keith,
I was born in England, but I live in Napier the last 11 years. I was in Auckland a long time before that.
That's nice looking wood, but I've already got the swamp ash. |
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 24 Oct 2014 2:57 pm
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OK, routed, sanded, sealed and primed. First mockup of components. I will spray it metallic green when ready. Got a few little blemishes to fill first.
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 24 Oct 2014 4:19 pm
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| Lookin' good. Wacky shape. I like it. |
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Joe Naylor
From:
Avondale, Arizona, USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2014 4:57 pm looks good
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Looks like a great start. You are on your way.
Joe Naylor
www.steelseat.com
_________________
Joe Naylor, Avondale, AZ (Phoenix) Announcer/Emcee owner www.steelseat.com *** OFFERING SEATS AND Effects cases with or without legs and other stuff ****** -Desert Rose Guitar S-10, Life Member of the Arizona Carport Pickers Assoc., Southwest Steel Guitar Assoc., Texas Steel Guitar Assoc., GA Steel Guitar Assoc., KS Steel Guitar Assoc. (Asleep at the Steel) tag line willed to me by a close late friend RIP |
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 24 Oct 2014 5:07 pm
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| Keith Glendinning wrote: |
Hello Marty
Whereabouts are you in New Zealand? I live in UK but I'll be in Parnell, Auckland between the end of November until Mid February, visiting my daughter and family. I've built a couple of "Planks" this year and was thinking of picking up a good piece of wood while I'm there.
Regards,
Keith. |
Keith, I remember buying my wood from a little exotic wood supplier in Parnell. I dont remember their name but they were in the road to the right at the bottom of Parnell Rise. No idea whether they are still there. I got Tasmanian Oak and quarter-sawn American White Ash and some ebony at the same time. |
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Keith Glendinning
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 25 Oct 2014 2:25 am
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Hello Marty,
Thanks for the info, I'll definitely try to find the place in Parnell. I'm including a picture of an 8 String I made earlier this year. I finished it in Denim Blue with Gold sparkle. It had P Bass pickups and it sounds pretty good too. The fingerboard is off eBay from Bruce Wei Arts.
Cheers,
Keith
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 25 Oct 2014 11:10 am
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| Marty Forrer wrote: |
| OK, routed, sanded, sealed and primed. First mockup of components. I will spray it metallic green when ready. Got a few little blemishes to fill first... |
Looking goood so far, Marty. But, as Don quipped earlier, your accumulation list is incomplete. It will sound a lot better if you include strings.   |
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 26 Oct 2014 8:03 pm
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| Painted the body two coats of metallic green today, with two coats of blue metalflake in clear over that. On Saturday I'll spray maybe six or so coats of clear, then let it dry out until the following Saturday, when I'll block sand and compound it. Top it off with a good polish, then on to assembly. |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 26 Oct 2014 8:56 pm
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Dom, no it's just in my garage. Acrylic lacquer is so easy to work with. I got a couple of little bugs in the flake, but they'll sand out no problem before the straight clear goes on. Here's a pic of the roof on my 55 Plymouth I painted about four years ago, same flake but slightly different base coat.
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 30 Oct 2014 4:11 pm
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| Ended up spraying four coats of metalflake in clear, then six coats of top coat clear. I'll let that solvent dry out of that now, and with any luck I'll sand it smooth with 1200 up to 2000 wet and dry on Sunday. Then compound it and polish. Cant wait to assemble it and start playing..... well, learning.... |
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 31 Oct 2014 7:56 am
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| Hey Keith,,,,LOVE that fretboard!!!!! |
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Marty Forrer
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 7 Nov 2014 12:30 pm
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Update....
Lap steel is finished at last. Sounds great, I'm looking forward to delving into it. I couldn't find a suitable roller bridge so had to make my own. It's not wonderful, so I'll have to make a new one sometime.
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Lonnie Bennett
From:
Upstate New York
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Posted 7 Nov 2014 4:59 pm
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GREAT JOB! love the color.
_________________
Big Ben |
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