Members mrperson Posted July 17, 2007 Members Share Posted July 17, 2007 i love the headstock i think you should make a pointy shaped lap steel Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2007 i love the headstock i think you should make a pointy shaped lap steel Lol I actually have a somewhat V inspired shape I've been toying with.Just need to score the black limba for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 Some shaping done. Wet and dry pics for contrast . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 A couple more . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrperson Posted July 18, 2007 Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 actually i changed my mind thats turning out yummy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Puckman Posted July 18, 2007 Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 That is looking gorgeous!!!! You oiling it up already? Is the shaping done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 No oiling yet, just moistened with mineral spirits to show color and grain.Still some minor sanding and smoothing, but the main shaping is done. Now I need to figure out how I want to do the bridge, pickup, and controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Puckman Posted July 18, 2007 Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 What exactly is/are mineral spirits and what effect does it have on the wood (Besides showing off the grain)? Does it work as a conditioner/pre-treatment? For your bridge, i'm picturing Gibson style tailpiece/bridge for some reason. Seems to go with that shape better than a strat style bridge.You think you can fit 2 pups on there? Or just one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 What exactly is/are mineral spirits and what effect does it have on the wood (Besides showing off the grain)? Does it work as a conditioner/pre-treatment?For your bridge, i'm picturing Gibson style tailpiece/bridge for some reason. Seems to go with that shape better than a strat style bridge.You think you can fit 2 pups on there? Or just one? Mineral spirits are a generic solvent / thinner. Its just a handy way for a sneak peak at what the wood will finish like. I could see a stopbar / tunomatic type or maybe a wraparound. Only problem with those is they are radiused and on a steel, you want it dead flat.Maybe I'll build something for it, lots of options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Puckman Posted July 18, 2007 Members Share Posted July 18, 2007 Mineral spirits are a generic solvent / thinner. Its just a handy way for a sneak peak at what the wood will finish like. I could see a stopbar / tunomatic type or maybe a wraparound. Only problem with those is they are radiused and on a steel, you want it dead flat. Maybe I'll build something for it, lots of options. A good point about the radiusing. I always forget that these aren't guitars I'm afraid from the "flat" bridge point of view, your only options end up being the strat style or the tele style. unless you make one yourself...something ala acoustic maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phishmonkey Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 I love these threads. Have you ever considered selling lapsteels? You've got some really great designs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thurman Munson Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 No oiling yet, just moistened with mineral spirits to show color and grain.Still some minor sanding and smoothing, but the main shaping is done.Now I need to figure out how I want to do the bridge, pickup, and controls. Quarter. What is the reason for using several pieces of wood for the body and neck? Can a lap steel guitar be made with just one piece of wood? Just curious . Before you started making Lap Steel guitars were you good at wood working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 Gorgeous so far, Mr. Quarter!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 Quarter. What is the reason for using several pieces of wood for the body and neck? Can a lap steel guitar be made with just one piece of wood? Just curious . Before you started making Lap Steel guitars were you good at wood working? Sure, one piece of wood is fine. I just used multiple pieces for contrast, something different. I've always been handy with the tools and such, so that helped some, but its not required.At its bare bone basics, its not that hard to build a nice guitar if you want. Its just basic wood working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zepfan976 Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Puckman Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 The one quarter built for me was a one piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 The one quarter built for me was a one piece. Well, technically the birdseye fretboard counts as two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Puckman Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 Well, technically the birdseye fretboard counts as two We don't do "technically" around here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 We don't do "technically" around here! LoL ... Ok .. we'll call it an accessory then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 So how do you get the contours of both sides to perfectly match? Eye balling will get you close, but not a perfect match. There are probably a million ways, but this is how I did it. I rough shaped both sides to about where I wanted to be, then picked one side / half and refined the curves and shape to a "final" state. I then took a piece of paper and aligned the edge to my center line, and taped it down. With a razor knife, I trimmed to the edge to make a template. Once cut, you flip the template to the other side, the tape acts as a hinge and lets you accurately transfer the shape to the other side. Here is a pic that might help visualize the process. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrperson Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 So how do you get the contours of both sides to perfectly match?Eye balling will get you close, but not a perfect match.There are probably a million ways, but this is how I did it.I rough shaped both sides to about where I wanted to be, then picked one side / half and refined the curves and shape to a "final" state.I then took a piece of paper and aligned the edge to my center line, and taped it down.With a razor knife, I trimmed to the edge to make a template.Once cut, you flip the template to the other side, the tape acts as a hinge and lets you accurately transfer the shape to the other side. thats smart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 Thanks, but I owe it all to those McGiver re-runs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dsquared Posted July 20, 2007 Members Share Posted July 20, 2007 Can a lap steel guitar be made with just one piece of wood? Just curious . A lap steel can be made of just about any piece of solid construction debris you can scrounge up: (these are not me, btw) Homemade steel. In action. Quarter's builds are considerably better than that, although this one isn't turning my crank like his evil-twin art-deco steels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2007 LoL ... although a bit rough, that is a great example how fun even a simple steel can be.With a slightly better nut and bridge, I'll bet that would sound and play much better. In the interest of showing homemades in a better light, here is a homemade that sounds a bit betterhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=MhrrDb28dGg Bottom line is a steel can be very simple, easy to build, not break the bank, but still sound sweet.I'd encourage anyone wanting to have a go at building one to jump in and give it a try. Here is a great tutorial that walks you through the build of a very very simple, but solid steel. You can add some wood, change the shape, but just remember, it does not have to look fancy to sound fantastic.http://www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/lapsteel/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2007 I had these "Tele" parts sitting around for a future project, but thought I'd see what they might look like on this one. Better than I thought ...... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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