Cutting a Rondo in Half-Need Ideas-Help!

Dave Sky · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

I am thinking about (This is an early stage delusion at this point) cutting a Rondo lap steel in half to make a travel guitar that will fit in carry on luggage.
My first idea is to cut it in half at the neck and use 2 drawbolts to keep it connected. This would give me two 17 inch long parts.

I would appreciate any ideas, suggestions about this before I pull out my trusty Japanese pull saw and make firewood.

or
How would you make a travel guitar out of a Rondo?

Thanks for your ideas!

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

The Rondo lap steel already fits in the airplane overhead compartment with no modification. I have carried one on flights with absolutely no problems at all. I don't see the need to ruin such an instrument just so it fits in your suitcase.
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Dennis Brooker · From: Iowa, USA

Dave - I was waiting for someone else to say something first and now that Brad has I would think the best course of action would be not to cut it in half - If you really wanted something smaller then I'd consider making something with a smaller scale length and a small body and maybe a headless design - It sounds like a fun project to me, but again that's just me - DB

Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

You could cut the guitar into many parts then buy a pair of cargo pants and put a piece into each pocket....cut a guitar in half and expect it to be worth a crap with just some bolts holding it together....geez!

Mark Mansueto · From: Michigan, USA

Dave, would you have to clamp the strings down somehow to keep from having to re-string each time you broke it down?

I've thought about constructing a no-frills travel steel before. Basically a simple box with aluminum angle at each end that the strings would stretch across, string through at one end and headless tuners at the other. The girth could be the size of a 2x4 and no more that 2' long but could be shorter depending on scale. For practice only I probably wouldn't add electronics but I'd cut a sound hole.

Small, light and easy to make.
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chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

i'd like to see pictures after you butcher it.

Dave Sky · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

Well, smarter folks than me gave me the choice to leave it alone, get cargo pants or buy/build a travel guitar.

I think a new travel guitar is in order!

Thanks everyone for helping me with my delusions!

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Cut it in half, length-wise! Put a piano hinge on it.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

There's simply far too many "wanna-be mechanics" that for whatever reason, have allowed their minds to wander aimlessly.........to the point of willfully destroying a gift.......in the form of a fabulous musical instrument.

Over the years many of us old timers have haplessly witnessed the sawed-up, screwed-up remnants of Fenders, Gibsons, and even BIGSBYs.....that some individual has applied his tormented mind to.

It should be a punishable CRIME to deface or destroy a valid musical instrument. Only in the steel guitar world have I heard of individual's willing to destroy a work of art just to make some kind of jury-rigged piece of crap.

Whatever happened to tradional values? Whatever happened to musical integrity? Enough ABUSED steel guitars have appeared on eBay and elsewhere, to make any musician worth his weight in talent, sit right down and cry.

Mark Mansueto · From: Michigan, USA

Ray, you make a good point. Who would have thought 30 some years ago when Japanese instruments and gear were thought of as cheap or inferior that some of those would some day be highly prized collectors items.

Maybe someday someone will look at a cut-in-half Rondo and wonder who could have destroyed such a fine instrument Smile

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Dave Sky · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

wow- I wonder what the response would be if I was going to cut a vintage Fender in half?

Folks, I have not cut the Rondo. It is sleeping in its case. No Rondos were hurt in this posting. I just asked the question about making a travel guitar.

At this point, I will check on building or buying a travel lap steel. There is another post about headless lap steel design that gave me the information I needed.

The issue is that airlines are starting to enforce the length limit of 24 inches.
I fly in Regional jets and they have small overhead compartments. There is legislation pending that will limit all bags to 24 inches long or less for carry on baggage. I was just trying to get ready for the future.

I wasn't trying to offend your sensibilities. I just wanted your input on a travel lap steel.

Don McGregor · From: Memphis, Tennessee

As a rescuer of feral steels, and a founding (okay, so far, only) member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Steels, I think that cutting a perfectly good instrument in half is but the first step down a slippery path that can only end with the actual clubbing of baby steels.
I run a nice, clean foster home for mistreated and abandoned steels, and am always happy (though my Wife is not so much) to make room for another poor, deserving instrument. So, all you tinkerers out there, don't butcher that steel.
Call the SPCS, and we (okay, "I") will be happy to have it shipped, rehabilitated, and played a lot.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Hopefully some astute Forumite with a really good memory will come to your assistance by referring your to the exact Hawaiian Steel Guitar Assn., photo (??), of a steel guitar that was displayed awhile back, that was not more than 12 inches long, 8 strings-I believe, and was called "a practice g'tar" I think it was?

That should help you with your dilema, or atleast more so than an on-air phone call to radio personality Dr. Laura Schleisinger (sp??????)

Please don't think I was coming down on YOU, but I have seen so many totally disasterous 'works of art and imagination' that it no longer is funny to a serious musician. Good Luck to you!

I really appreciate the post about the steel guitar RESCUE HOME. Keep up the good work!

Michael Maddex · From: Northern New Mexico, USA

Dave, back in the 1970s there was a folding guitar offered as the Fold Axe. A Google search for 'fold axe guitar' will turn up a few pics. However, it occurs to me that there might be a reason why these didn't catch on.

IMHO, people should go ahead and butcher a few Rondos, Rogue resos and what-have-yous. Maybe The Next Big Thing will come out of it. When the stars do it to fine instruments, they get signature models named after them.
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chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

i'm planning on buying the $12 million pf x 2 franklin....then i'm gonna paint it day-glo flourescent pink/orange/green and just keep an 8 string tuning non/pedal on it and use the rest of the parts to make a cooking grill for cinco de mayo and a bow and arrow. i'll cut down the legs about halfway to keep from being hit by low flying ufo's.
no really!

Dennis Brooker · From: Iowa, USA

Chris - Let's hope NO ONE stops you from your artistic and creative efforts - After all this is AMERICA Very Happy

- DB

James Mayer · Posted 1 Aug 2009 10:16 pm **Re: Fold Axe**

James Williamson · From: California & Hawaii

Hey comeon guys, they've got that guitar out now (forget it name) which does exactly this same thing and I'm told that it sounds pretty good and works very well.

Granted its not necessary for a Rondo due to its size, but it's not an idea from the funny farm either...

You might want to check out that guitar for ideas if you're really going to persue this.

james

Keith DeLong · From: Dartmouth NS Canada

My good friend George Keoki Lake has a Tradewinds dual 8 that fits in a suitcase, I think the builder is Elva West in California.

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

Gary Boyett · From: Colorado

For what it's worth Dave, I have traveled with my Melobar well over 100,000 miles and have never had a problem. You will have more problems with the bar, picks, etc. than ever with the guitar. My steel is about 32" long and about 8"wide.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

I wouldn't describe the folding modification as butchery. It's a Rondo, for heaven's sake. You can buy 'em for under $100. Besides, it's your guitar and your right to do anything you want with it. Probably cost all of $30 to make in asia. I've got an old Electromuse I've been thinking of doing this very thing to.

With some forethought and a little ingenuity, I believe this could be accomplished to perform well and look good at the same time. The biggest problem I see is how to lock it together after folding it out. Drawbolts would work if you fold it forward on top of the strings. Might be a little uncomfortable though. I can envision a socket/ bushing type assembly with a square pin, like maybe key stock, that would slide in from one side of the neck.

On a lighter side, how about a hook and eyelet like on a screen door Question

Or this: just put a hinge on the back side and let the string tension hold it together? Lay it on your lap and you could bear down on each end with both hands 'til the strings explode Exclamation

The ultimate string bending machine. Infinite and micro tuning. Why you might even invent a brand new way to play without even using a bar. I can easily see 3-4 step bends Exclamation

Seriously, I think your idea is a good one and can be done quite handily as evidenced by the photos above.

I can appreciate the guys concern for the instruments they love, particularly if there is some history behind them, but first and foremost they are tools and useless to me if all I can do is look at them.

I just can't see the Rondos or Rogues as being big collector's items or museum pieces in the future. Can you?

Matt Berg · From: Pennsylvania, USA

I have biked on a folding bike and canoed in a folding boat. Neither was satisfactory in their ability to travel straight. This informs my questioning how rigid a folding steel would be in terms of its ability to stay in tune.

Ryan Barwin · From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Although it's been done before with guitars, it would be very difficult to make it stay in tune after it's been cut in half. It's worth a try though, even as an experiment, if it doesn't end up working.

Maybe just cut off the head, and make something to attach the ball-ends of the strings at the end of the neck. Then you could put some kind of keyless system (like a Steinberger system, or even just tuning pins like on a harp) on the other side of the bridge. That might take off enough length without cutting the whole thing in half.

Though it may not even be necessary. I've flown with my National Dynamic a bunch of times, and never had a problem bringing it as carry-on luggage.

Tom Pettingill · From: California, USA (deceased)

Well ... the MacGyver side of me can think of a couple ways to do it and have a solid and stable join. How practical it would be in the end is certainly debatable.
And another issue with a folding / 2 piece design is dealing with the attached strings.
Keeping the strings from getting tangled, coming loose and or marring the finish would need to be addressed.

In the end, I think a compact design like Sonny Jenkins guitars with the keyless assembly would be a much better solution in the long run.
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