Thinking about building a lap steel

[DarkAxel]

Hey dudes, title says it all!

Been thinking about something simple, six strings, something cool, cheap, but not wonky, you dig?

anyone here built his own lapsteel? Anyone know about any good sites that are really helpful? Do you think it will be worth it?

[doommeow]

Haven't done it, but it's crossed my mind on more than one occasion. 30 seconds of some google-fu should get you plenty of advice and instruction.

If I was going to take it on-
- Gibson rather than Fender bridge. Will sit higher and require less drilling.
- buy a fretboard from eBay or something similar rather than trying to do accurate measurements with limited tools and experience.
- might consider an external / neck-mount style pickup to avoid having to route the body. Will also make it easier to experiment with pickup vs bridge location.

[Gone Fission]

Consider costs of bits you would have to buy to build one. Compare price to righteous vintage lappies going cheap on eBay all the time. Consider what your time is worth and whether you're really into a DIY project or just want a cool affordable lapsteel. If still on DIY project fun, consider maybe a fixer-upper/got-issues vintage steel.

[DarkAxel]

Problem is that most vintage lap-steels I see are on american ebay and I'm european

i mean UK ebay does get some vintage ones, but the prices are sorta funky

been digging a bit and i must admit that i might be better off with buying something vintage since i'm not the most handy guy ever, too

[KaosCill8r]

I built my own about 10 years ago and it was totally worth it. The wood was from an 80 year old or or there abouts fire place mantle from a building supply recycle shop. I put a vintage 60s Maton single coil in it an it sounds awesome. I'm currently giving it a re finish. I think in Europe you would find some real super vintage aged wood being part of the old world. Maybe something a couple of hundred years old. Give it a go. You will have a nice instrument at the end of it with its own unique sound.

[DarkAxel]

I actually found out that one of my close friends is going to take a class on guitar building-connected stuff and he also plans to buy a milling machine so the project MIGHT get postponed (i can just slowly gather my materials) but it might workout well

and yeah, hopefully i can find some old wood any pics of yours?

[KaosCill8r]

Don't have any pics at this time. But will post some when I finish the restoration. At a standstill at the moment. The cold weather here is holding me up from one final coat of Scandinavian oil. Hope to get a warmish day this week. I'm getting real impatient but don't want to do it till the conditions are ok.

[Mudfuzz]

a lap steel is a pretty easy build, you could make one out of a 2X6 board or even a "square" aluminum tube if you wanted.

[spacelordmother]

a "square" aluminum tube

With springs and a contact mic inside....

And an etched fretboard. I am scheming so hard right now!

[DarkAxel]

true enough, but as I've said - wouldn't want it too wonky at least some aesthetic pleasitude should be present

been thinking about one thing - might be interested in some really prominent filter instead of tone control. Something wah-ish even maybe. any way how to do it small and simple?

[spacelordmother]

http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=40692

[DarkAxel]

i know this crossed my mind

but i feel it might be more expensive than the lap steel might end up

[Mike]

Please keep us updated if you decide to build one.

I'm planning a build and collecting parts right now. I know you can get new or used ones for cheap, but I want to see if I can make one myself. I'm modeling it off of this.

[DarkAxel]

will do! that one looks nice, the shape is going to be super-easy to replicate, too bad about the specific things like the whole finish and the binding or the spefici hardware bits...

[Derelict78]

I think there are a couple ILFers in Hawaii, have someone send ya one. There are shit tons out there.