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Topic: Panda Plates |
Steve Marinak
From:
Man O War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 11:51 am |
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I just pulled my first batch of Panda plates and knobs out of the mold. I'm pretty happy with the results.
If anyone wants a set or a particular plate or knob, let me know.
Over time I will have a complete set of plate molds and knob molds.
I did this just to fix up my Panda's that have broken plates. But if others need them too I'd be happy to oblige.
See pics.
 [/img]
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Steve Marinak |
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Bill Groner
From:
QUAKERTOWN, PA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 12:31 pm
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WOW! Those look sweet Steve. 
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Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40 |
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Bob Womack
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 12:52 pm
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Those look great! Got any idea what you would charge?
Bob
_________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "
Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring
THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (My Little Website) |
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Steve Marinak
From:
Man O War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 1:19 pm
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Bob, it'll be fair whatever it is. I would just recoup material cost, shipping. Right now I'm still working to get this down to where I can just cast them and they are done. I went to install the vol/tone plate just now and realized that I needed to router out some meat from the underside. The original plates had a convex underside that allowed the pots to protrude through easily. I'll try to figure out a way to mold it with a cavity for the pots. Also gonna figure out how to mold the knobs with a shaft hole so I don't have to drill them. Cast it and done. No machine work is the goal. I'm not making this a business, just did it to restore my Pandas and figured others would want some plates. Stay tuned as I get better at this.
Pic of installed vol/tone plate.
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Steve Marinak |
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Bob Womack
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 3:30 pm
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They look pretty cool and I appreciate your willingness to help others! Will you be doing the rest of the plates as well? Will you be drilling and tapping the knobs for set screws or are you going for a different approach? My B6 has those knobs. Put me down as very interested and let me know as you work it out.
Bob
PS. In a funny way this reminds me of the orphan Alfa Romeo community in the U.S. when the company pulled out. You could buy an Alfa for pennies but you couldn't get parts! As a result, people hoarded parts and shared them and there were mechanics who would talk you through repairs. Hilarious tales of survival!
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "
Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring
THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (My Little Website) |
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Steve Marinak
From:
Man O War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 5:53 pm
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Bob, my dad had an Alfa Spider in the mid 80's. Before that a Fiat Spider. I seem to recall both had issues!
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Steve Marinak |
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Bob Womack
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 6:06 pm
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We started with a '63 Giulietta. We got it really cheap but had to take a spare body, three spare engines and transmissions, three sets of trunks, hoods, doors, windshields, mirrors, instrument clusters, steering wheels, you name it, off the guy's lot as well. We eventually moved through an Berlina to a GTV6. Alfas were performance vehicles, they called it "passionate engineering." Usually around 35,000 you'd get your first failure that took them off the road. There wasn't a dealer in our area so that meant a four-hour flatbed ride to the nearest dealer. After flaunting their cars around town, the owners would sometimes just put them up in the garage when they died. A year later they would show up in the classifieds for cents on the dollar. That's when my dad would pounce. We did most of our own repairs.
The alpha logo:
The joke was that it represented: "My God, these repair costs are eating me alive."
Fiat? an acronym: Fix It Again, Tony.
Bob
_________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "
Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring
THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (My Little Website) |
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William Rosen
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 6:49 pm
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Montreal owners understand.
Bill Rosen
Seattle |
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William Rosen
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 7:01 pm
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At least the ones who play steel guitar do.
Bill Rosen
Seattle |
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Matt Berg
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 10:34 pm
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| William Rosen wrote: |
At least the ones who play steel guitar do.
Bill Rosen
Seattle |
A Montreal is like a doubleneck under the hood! DId you really drive one of those 8 bangers? |
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David DeLoach
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Steve Marinak
From:
Man O War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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Posted 29 Jun 2020 3:48 am
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Dave, OK will do. I'm going to finalize a good master set of molds. Once that's done, I can easily bang them out. I want to tweak the vol/tone mold a little. I noticed that the original shrunk slighly, so my new replica's holes don't line up perfect. I'm going to try adding material to the new replica, file/sand it down, re drill, fit it, then re-cast that plate again for a new mold. Also want to mold the underside cavity for the pots to fit in without me having to route out the backside custom each time. I'll get there...
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Steve Marinak |
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David DeLoach
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 29 Jun 2020 4:43 am
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| Steve Marinak wrote: |
| Dave, OK will do. I'm going to finalize a good master set of molds. Once that's done, I can easily bang them out. I want to tweak the vol/tone mold a little. I noticed that the original shrunk slighly, so my new replica's holes don't line up perfect. I'm going to try adding material to the new replica, file/sand it down, re drill, fit it, then re-cast that plate again for a new mold. Also want to mold the underside cavity for the pots to fit in without me having to route out the backside custom each time. I'll get there... |
Cool Steve - no rush! Just let me know when you are ready and how much. Really glad you are doing this!
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https://www.MasterGuitarists.com/ |
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William Rosen
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 29 Jun 2020 5:39 am
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Matt:
Once in a while.
Bill Rosen
Seattle |
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 29 Jun 2020 3:44 pm
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| I don't need them, but I think this service just the coolest thing! |
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Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
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Posted 1 Jul 2020 6:26 am
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| Beautiful!! |
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Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
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Posted 1 Jul 2020 6:30 am
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| Beautiful!! |
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Bob Womack
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 2 Jul 2020 6:39 am
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Hey, Steve!
i was looking at your molds and a picture of a mid-war Rick with celluloid panels and realized that your example is molded off of that celluloid era. I'm wondering if it might be easier to model an earlier steel panel because it doesn't have the raised flat spots with all their sharp corners and with their increased need to be hollowed out to fit the controls? I think those were there to bolster the fragile celluloid. Here's an early wartime example with steel plates:
Bob
_________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "
Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring
THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (My Little Website) |
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Steve Marinak
From:
Man O War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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Posted 2 Jul 2020 12:06 pm
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Bob, I agree with your thoughts on a few levels!  I actually have another Panda with metal plates, but it's a few hundred miles away right now. So I'm re-creating the celluloid plates for now. The metal would also be a perfect fit as they didn't shrink like the celluloid. I'm finding I have to modify the plates after casting a replica in order to create perfect fit. Then I'll re-cast the new plate that I made that fits.
I have 3 pandas here to choose from right now all with celluloid plates. What I'm discovering is it seems the Post War Panda plates are just a bit longer, at least on the lower bouts. They must have had different molds for the bodies. Eventually, I'll have plates for every size. I'll even copy my metal plates when I get that guitar. The metal plates will have a different look though, my guess is they are not exactly the same convex shape as the celluloid. (not that anyone would complain..but what the hell, I'm on a roll). Making 3 more plate molds and one more knob mold today.
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Steve Marinak |
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Bob Womack
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 2 Jul 2020 12:26 pm
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Very cool, Steve. My, what a lot of Pandas you have!
Bob
_________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "
Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring
THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (My Little Website) |
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Steve Marinak
From:
Man O War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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Posted 2 Jul 2020 12:48 pm
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I have two pre-war 7-strings. I'm rehabbing them back to life. Probably just keep one. I started off by taking apart the tuning machines, cleaning them and getting them back in good working shape. One set of tuner buttons crumbled right off, so I put new buttons on the original tuners and got them going. The quality of old USA steel is way better than the newer replica tuners I believe. I bought a set and sent them back. First I soak the old tuners in a glass bowl of Naptha, crud just fills the bowl after a while. Then I get rid of any rust and polish them up, straighten shafts, etc. Then I put them back together with TriFlow lube. You don't want to tighten up the gear too much or the tuner will not turn easily. They look great and work great. The old tuner buttons that don't crumble off, I just clean with toothpaste and an electric toothbrush, (my wife loved me for doing that!) They come up nice, still have the old patina, but without the previous owners DNA schmootz.
I also have a Pre War B6, and a Post War B6.
In the end I'll have 3 different guitars, as I suspect I'll sell one of the 7 stringers.
The Post War B6 was a basket case when I bought it for $450, but not too bad. Tuners came back to life. Pickup was actually put in there reversed (bass on treble side) and the plates were mostly gone. I have it setup right now with Feet Rogers tuning and running it through an old Harmony 303A tube amp; I put a new Eminence 6" speaker in there and it sounds really nice. Very much like the tone on his Lanai Sessions recordings. The Post War guitar and the Harmony 303A amp match up well. I tried my Pre-War guitar with the bigger horseshoe pickup with the Harmony amp and it just over-drives it too much. The PreWar guitars I run through an old Fender Silverface Champ with an 8" Eminence speaker and a recommended mod from Rick Aiello. He turned me on to the Eminence speakers. He really is the authority on these old Rickenbacker lap steels.
The PreWar B6 is the one with the metal plates that I'll cast later on when I retrieve that guitar.
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Steve Marinak |
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Mike Schway
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 2 Jul 2020 12:55 pm
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| Steve Marinak wrote: |
| ...an old Fender Silverface Champ with an 8" Eminence speaker and a recommended mod from Rick Aiello... |
Do you recall what the amp mod was? |
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Steve Marinak
From:
Man O War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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Posted 2 Jul 2020 1:07 pm
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He'd have to tell you the specifics.
But I recall taking out the "negative feedback" thingy...and we added a "Mid" knob. I had the knob installed where the 2nd input jack goes so it didn't affect the faceplate with any new holes.
It sounds fatter and has a little more bite. Definitely sounds better than my stock Champ. Has a wonderful tone reminiscent of the early guys like Dick McIntyre, and matches up really well with PreWar Rickenbacker pickups. This Fender amp works well with any of my steels. The Harmony I previously spoke of, is sort of a 1 trick pony.
I don't do amp mods myself. I need to learn more about electricity and caps before I allow myself to put my fingers in there.
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Steve Marinak |
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Mike Schway
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 3 Jul 2020 10:10 am
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| Steve Marinak wrote: |
...I recall taking out the "negative feedback" thingy...and we added a "Mid" knob. I had the knob installed where the 2nd input jack goes so it didn't affect the faceplate with any new holes.
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It sounds like you have another Champ, so having one in your arsenal with a bit more bite and touch response makes perfect sense, and since it's reversible, you're not going to end up in hell for it. Those SF non-vibro champs can sound fairly reserved in stock configuration. (Paradoxically, they're often tamer than the vibro-Cs.) |
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Bob Womack
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 3 Jul 2020 10:34 am
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I've got a great little '63 Gretsch 6150T amp which is in really good shape and is really swampy. So far it seems like the B6 is a little bit powerful for it - by the time it is coming alive the B6 seems to push it into distortion. It's good for that sound only, but that sound is pretty cool.
I haven't brought home my '71 Champy from the studio but I think I will. It has a little more headroom than the Gretsch.
Bob
_________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "
Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring
THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (My Little Website) |
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