I need a some help identifying some pedal steel parts.

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Hi, Y'all!

I inherited a whole bunch of random pedal steel and non-pedal steel parts, and I have no idea what some of them are. I have tried to put similar parts together, and some I think are "in-progress" pieces for instruments that were never built.

I think the left one is a Sho-bud headstock, and the one on the right is a Linkon. Is this right?

I have absolutely no idea what these changers are from. The black one is broken, and there is a whole one in another picture. The middle one is pretty roughly cut, with uneven spacing. The last one has been well-used, but it doesn't seem to match anything else that I have.

I'll try to get some more pictures on here soon.

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Sorry this is so fuzzy. This is the headstock and the complete changer. They seem to match, in that both are a bit ugly, and neither seem to be the highest quality.

Pedal racks. The one closer is a Linkon II, and I have no idea what the farther one is.

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Knee Levers and cross rods. I wonder if they are from the same guitar as the far pedal rack and the headstock and changer that match.

And this is where it gets interesting. This is what I have been able to assemble from the pieces that I received. A 12-string with folding legs, with no changer fingers, headstock, or anything underneath. Any ideas what this is?

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Changer from top, front.

The best picture I have of the changer end view.

Underneath. I have no cross-rods at all for this, but I have a bunch of nylon bushings that I could use if I did.

Underneath, opposite end from the changer. I don't know why the strange piece of aluminum angle was necessary, but all the holes line up.

So, what I'd like to know is this: What did these parts come from, and what would it take to get a playable machine from what I have? Is it worth the time and effort getting this going?

Thanks for looking!

Charlie McDonald · From: out of the blue

The frame might be a Sierra.
_________________
Those that say don't know; those that know don't say.--Buddy Emmons

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

I believe that Charlie is correct on the assembled frame. To the best of my knowledge, Sierra was the only builder to experiment with folding legs.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Changer 3 in picture 2 is MSA Classic.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Bill Moore · From: Manchester, Michigan

The knee levers and undercarriage parts look like MSA, or possibly Linkon. The keyheads look pretty old, I don't think that's a Sho-Bud, on the left. It looks like someone copied a Sho-Bud keyhead. I agree, the body is a Sierra.

Ross Shafer · From: Petaluma, California

I think the legs and leg brackets on that body are Sierra, but not the body/frame....unless it was a prototype/one off of some sort. Sierra's had a full extruded aluminum body/frame that got covered with Formica. They also had angled front and back aprons, with rails bolted perpendicular to the top to facilitate the cross rod pivots. The changer in that body is definitely not Sierra.

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks for your help, gentlemen. I wonder if someone was trying to reverse-engineer some parts, because there are two more bodies/frames under construction, and loads of little parts in plastic containers, like bell cranks, pedals, and a wide assortment of keyless tuner parts/ideas. I'm beginning to think that the guy before me just got overwhelmed. Shocked

Anyway, is there a way to ascertain whether the legs and body actually were supposed to go together? I assembled them because they fit, and because they are somewhat polished, while nothing else is. I don't mind if the end product is not a Sierra, but I don't want to create a Frankensteel if parts are available that actually belong.

It would also be worth knowing for sure if the headstock in question is a Sho-bud or a copy. What would I check?

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

The Gumby just doesn't look right.
Unfortunately Bud didn't use jigs for hole placement, so I'm not sure underside pics would help much.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

As previously stated, if the legs and body fit together, they both are most likely (almost certainly) Sierra. Other builders employ threaded leg sockets in the endplates and there would have been no available screw holes for the leg brackets to attach. Sierra changed this design after a short run in favor of the 'Session' series in which the legs insert into the endplates and are held by locking levers...FWIW: I own a Sierra S-10 similar to yours with the folding leg design and after repeated use the leg bracket pins loosened and the legs would not hold in place well, possibly the reason for the design change.

Ian Worley · From: Sacramento, CA

The legs appear to be modified Sierra items, but I don't believe anything else is. The reason Sierra aprons were angled was to allow the legs to fold flat against the body - the pivot axle was perpendicular to the leg itself. The legs in the picture will protrude when folded unless there is secondary pivot in the bracket that allows them to fold in when the big wingnut is loosened. I had one with the plastic wingnuts, several of which eventually broke.

Ian Worley · From: Sacramento, CA

Also as Lane said, Sho~Bud keyhead/nut were one piece since way back, and thicker where tuning post goes through. Here's one from early 70s:

Ross Shafer · From: Petaluma, California

Now that I'm in my office and only a few feet a way from a Sierra with the folding legs...I see that the swivel brackets on your rig are different in a few ways. There doesn't look to be a counter bore for the locating pin and the pivot (where the big knob is) looks like its closer to the top of the leg than on the Sierra. The big and obvious diff is that the angle of your legs comes from the machining in the swivel bracket since the pocket the leg sits in is not parallel to the bracket face that contacts the body. On the Sierra, the pocket is parallel to the back face of the bracket (as Ian also noted), the splay angle of the legs being created by the angled sides of the body.

Maybe David Wright will see this post and check in....he might know if this is an early Sierra proto that his Dad, Sierra's founder (RIP Chuck!) worked on.

Paul Norwood also used folding legs on his steels....way funkier though. The Sierra design is much nicer than Norwoods, but its still iffy at best. The locking pins did not hold up too well and the aforementioned plastic knobs not only broke, but just plain hurt if one tried to get 'em really tight.

Sierra has offered machined aluminum replacements that work much better for a few years now. The knobs are easier to use and get tight but that doesn't fix the design issues the folders are saddled with.

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Interesting. Thanks again, gentlemen.
Is it "Sierra" enough to try to keep it that way? Or does anybody care if it ends up with Sierra legs, Unknown changer, and Random undercarriage?
Is the thick acrylic (I think) neck any sort of clue? Looking at pictures of other Sierra guitars, especially Crown models, I wonder if it was originally covered in formica to match the body.

Ross Shafer · From: Petaluma, California

Sierra used wood necks with formica.

Phillip Ogle · From: North Carolina, USA

the 3rd pic is definetly msa and some of the other parts as well. Are any of them for sale.

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Some of them will surely be for sale. There is another gentleman who spoke for some of the MSA parts already, so I'll need to make sure he gets the first swing at them.
First, I need to figure out what I can use, and what I can't.

Dan Auldridge · From: Poteet Tx. USA

if you have any thing left get hold of me and chances are ill make you a deal on all that is left...Dan Auldridge

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