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Topic: A tool bag with your steel? |
Jade Mandrake
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 7:31 am |
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Hi,
I am new to playing the steel and have come across some a few incidences when traveling that required some tools. once my rod hooks (mysteriously) became bent inward when i unpacked my steel and they wouldn't fit in the holes...i had to find a hammer and hammer them back out. which worked  ...and last night i couldn't get one of the rods off the pedal without pliers - it became really stuck...and a few things like that.
my question is ...do any of you carry around a little bag of tools for instances like this? if you do, can you tell me which ones, etc?
thank you ! |
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Ron Wright
From:
Modesto,CA
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 7:52 am tools
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I can't imagine the rods getting stuck ,but I do carry a set of ball driver allen wrenchs,3/16 nut driver, phillips and flat head screw drivers along with a flashlight,extra nylon nuts and pedal rod assemblies just in case.and of course alot of strings, picks, bars and cords RW
_________________
MSA S12 Classic XL 5/5
NV 112
NV400
Peavey Special 130
Ovation
Gibson 330
boss DD3,DS-1,TU-2,PS-2,Behringer rotary rm600
Goodrich 120,BoBro,RV2,Hilton Vp, Steeldriver3 |
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Mike Ester
From:
New Braunfels, Texas, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 8:27 am
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| I keep a Leatherman tool in my pac seat. |
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Ulf Edlund
From:
Umeå, Sweden
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 9:34 am
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_________________
1983 Emmons D10 SKH, Carter SD10, Nashville 112, Session 500, ProfexII, Lapsteels, GT-Beard reso, guitars of all kinds...
http://www.myspace.com/ulfedlund |
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Ron Wright
From:
Modesto,CA
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 9:37 am
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great idea thx
_________________
MSA S12 Classic XL 5/5
NV 112
NV400
Peavey Special 130
Ovation
Gibson 330
boss DD3,DS-1,TU-2,PS-2,Behringer rotary rm600
Goodrich 120,BoBro,RV2,Hilton Vp, Steeldriver3 |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 10:48 am
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if you don't, you're new at it. you can't just call road service and have it put on your credit card.
wire cutter, needle nose, other small pliers, allen wrenches, baby crescent, assorted screw driver devices, prophylactics and antacid. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 11:19 am
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| In addition to tools, I usually pack a few headache pills. Nothing like starting off a 4-hour gig with a splitting headache. |
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Steve Norman
From:
Seattle Washington, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 11:41 am
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all the above plus allergy pills. Not only do they prevent allergy attacks, they help you sleep when your mandatory sleep appnia having band-mate tries to snore you to death in the van. Diariah meds help too,,damn popeyes chiken....
_________________
GFI D10, Fender Steel King, Hilton Vpedal,BoBro, National D dobro, Marrs RGS |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 12:23 pm
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I carry wrenches for the different nuts (pedal rods, knee lever adjusters), allen wrenches for every size in my guitars (don't carry a whole set as I don't need every size), a torx driver for the bell cranks (pull bars) in my Carter, a screwdriver type nut driver that is the size of the nylon nuts (in case I lose the little George L driver, a small ratcheting screw driver with various tips, pliers, a string winder/cutter, extra nylon tuning nuts, and of course extra picks and strings.
I also carry different meds I might need. |
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Jade Mandrake
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 12:40 pm
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thank you everybody. for the advice and the humor 
i am wondering what type of leatherman is most handy for the pedal steel? all this is new to me.. |
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Bryan Daste
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 12:40 pm
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| Same here...ibuprofen, 9V batteries, Allen wrenches in the sizes I need, spare fingerpicks, spare bar(!), wrench for tightening the nuts on pedal rods, the almighty Leatherman. And let's not forget a few guitar picks for when the guitar player goes, hey man, I can't find my pick... |
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David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 1:38 pm tools
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| "Musician's Friend" carries a neat little tool kit that contains about every item you may need for minor on the spot repairs. It comes in a handy zippered pouch that fits neatly in your seat or gig bag and is relatively inexpensive. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 30 Aug 2008 7:08 pm
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| I've got a zippered vinyl Shure mic pouch overfilled with accumulated tools & odds & ends. Every time another glitch comes up or another nightmare scenario pops into my head, another tool gets crammed into it---it really is too small at this point. And after carrying my guitar and rig across 75 yards of sand at Coney Island tonight (no dolly or cart wheels will get more than two feet into it before getting buried) I am now trying to find space for my anti-gravity machine which is next on my list of things to make when I find the time. |
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mike nolan
From:
Forest Hills, NY USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2008 1:21 am
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Jade,
I have different tool kits that I take, depending on which steel I am playing..... The Emmons kit is a whole different thing than the Sho~Bud kit.
Jon..... anti grav....... mmmmm |
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Jade Mandrake
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 31 Aug 2008 12:00 pm
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thank you bryan and david and mike...
and jon- where and with who did you play at coney island...i would've loved to have caught that show! |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 31 Aug 2008 1:11 pm
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Mike---it seems pretty obvious to me that the only reason anti-grav does not yet exist is that nobody with the combined portfolio of physicist and steel guitarist has yet to try to carry their rig acoss a mile of beach. Well, I've got half of those qualifications and how hard can the other half be? So with my ball peen hammer, a couple of two by fours and a trip to Radio Shack I will soon have a working prototype, I expect.
Jade---I was subbing with two bands on a line-up that was part of a Rockabilly festival. Covering for Bob Hoffnar with Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers (with whom I played steadily for over two years, a few years ago so this was a reunion of sorts) and covering for Skip Krevens with The Jimmy Nations Combo with whom I've done a bunch of subbing--it's a favorite gig for me--hillbilly bop/swing/jump.
An interesting afternoon/evening---we were supposed to play outdoors next to the boardwalk but for reasons I couldn't find out, after a few bands played (but before my two sets) the promoter was forced to abort and move the show indoors to the bar Cha Cha's (this was after I had carried all my junk across the 'beach' and now had to carry it back out). The great news was that the sound inside was far superior and also that there was a music/burlesque show scheduled for the evening that we ran way over schedule into, resulting in a large and captive audience. Splendid time had by all. |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 31 Aug 2008 8:38 pm
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I agree with Mike Nolan, Sho-Buds (and all AP's) have different wrenches than PP's.
For the Emmons I have several 7/64 hex wrenches for tuning the guitar, and a couple 5/64 wrenches for the bellcranks and swivels. I also carry a 3/8 open end wrench for the pedal rod connector nuts and a 1/4" nut driver for the pedal rod retainer strip.
In addition, there's two Phillips/blade screwdrivers (one large, one small), a 5" adjustable wrench, and a 5" needle-nose pliers/cutter. Also a 9v battery, a small cord checker, some volume pedal string, and a ground lift.
It's really not a lot of tools and it all fits in a soft vinyl bag that once housed a Remington electric shaver, about 4" x 6"
Whatever all-pull guitar you have might require a few different size wrenches, but not enough that it couldn't fit in the same bag. My bag also has tools for a Sho-Bud Professional and a Fessenden. So no matter what guitar I take to the gig, the bag in the packseat remains the same.
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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Bobby Boggs
From:
Upstate SC.
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Posted 31 Aug 2008 9:45 pm
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| Quote: |
| A tool bag with your steel? |
Never in 40 years. I do carry the allen wrenches the builder includes with a new guitar. But if it ever gets to the point, I feel I need to carry a tool bag for my guitar. I'll change brands.
If I were going out for several months. I might throw a bellcrank and a return spring in the pack-seat. But that's it. But to each his on....bb |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 1 Sep 2008 9:18 am
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| bobby...hope you don't ever have to change a pot in your pedal! |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 1 Sep 2008 9:32 am
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A) I 100% believe that not carrying a toolkit of some sort (and I advocate carrying as much as you can) is like driving a car without a jack in the trunk.
B) I regard the idea that the need for an emergency kit means a guitar is bad as utterly absurd.
C) I consider a vp repair to be beyond the scope of bandstand-side maintenance. I carry a spare pedal. Man, I would hate to dick around with that string in a dark bar. |
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mike nolan
From:
Forest Hills, NY USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2008 1:22 pm
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I have only needed the toolkit once or twice, but I am carrying it anyway. My guitars all get regular check-ups so I don't expect to have problems. One time I did need the toolkit to fish out a broken string ball end..... with out some needle nose pliers, a screwdriver, and a flashlight, I would have been in big trouble.
I actually had to fix a VP string on stage once..... left the spare in the car. It broke after the first verse..... I managed to repair it in time to play the last couple of choruses. There were some steel players in the audience. I got a lot more comments on the mid song VP repair than I ever got for a hot solo......  |
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Bobby Boggs
From:
Upstate SC.
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Posted 1 Sep 2008 8:36 pm
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| Quote: |
| bobby...hope you don't ever have to change a pot in your pedal! |
Me neither. I don't change em at home. Sure not going to change one on a gig.
John, I do carry a spare tire and even jumper cables. Having a flat tire or a stalled car on a busy highway would be a real pain. It's also dangerous. I know two people that are now crippled for life. Just because they stopped to help a stranded motorist. Playing a gig without a volume pedal, a button off your shirt kind of thing in my book. I play D-10's. So, if somthing should go wrong with one neck. I would just finish out the nite on the other.
Sorry, didn't mean to upset anyone.The man ask a question. I just gave an honest answer.  |
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Jade Mandrake
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 2 Sep 2008 9:47 am
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| Thank you so much everybody...i still can't get over how great this forum is! i am very appreciative for all the help and advice. |
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