Red Pine Lap Steel - DIY

[Guvna19]

Hi All, new to this site.
looking to build myself a lap steel (1st one)

wondering if there's any others here who have built or play lap steel?

got a large piece of old Red Pine I'm gonna use (wrong or right) which ill start hand carving this weekend.
don't have any parts yet. no power tools either which will make for a real nice challenge......

wish me luck and pass any advice my way....I'm gonna need it

cheers
Guvna

Early Days,
Old Red Pine mantle piece from a salvage yard, approx 70 years old, covered in lead paint and shellac stain underneath.
fortunately got hold of a power sander
Click image for larger version.



Also seeking advice on hardware, have been looking on ebay/gumtree for cheap parts as budget is v/low. im going to put an ad in the Trade/Swap/Unload thread to see if anyone has some 2nd hand parts they can sell me. so far have nothing and a bit unsure what sort of pickup works best for lap steel, All advice is appreciated, Regards Guvna

[wokkaboy]

Hey Guvna that cleaned up nicely. Hope you were wearing a suitable dust mask, that lead paint can't be good to breath in the dust. Sometimes a heat gun and paint stripper might remove the paint quicker than sanding it.
I've cleaned up similar looking pieces of timber covered in ugly paint found on verges.
How thick is the slab ? Should be minimum 35mm to put a jack and control cavity in it

Also Guvna save the image below for your avatar ! - just crop out the Mash Brewing. I thought that will look very cool !
Edit I cropped it for you

[Guvna19]

Hi Wokkaboy,

cheers for the safety message. Ive worked in the paint industry for over 30 years and have probally had my fair share of lead early on.
always happy to answer any paint enquirys too, currently working in paint lab as a technician - commercial, indutrial, automotive,domestic

anyways , slab is about 47mm thick, 200 wide and 1.4mtr long, so ill have to cut that down - extra length might allow for somthing fancy with the design

at the moment , sand sand and more sanding

[dave.king1]

Telecaster bridge pickup was originally a steel pickup without the slant and I suspect they may be available some place around here

[Guvna19]

Telecaster bridge pickup was originally a steel pickup without the slant and I suspect they may be available some place around here

I think wokkaboys steel has that tele bridge with slant? if so it looks sweet.
Dave any idea what a second hand one would cost me? Are they easy to find? i best start getting some parts organised sooner than later so i can lay out design once i get the body shaped up a bit

cheers Guvna

[wokkaboy]

no worries Guvna I'm sure you are aware of he safety requirements in all facets of painting ! There are often some tough paint questions on the forum so will be good to have an expert answer them !
Slab sounds like its plenty big enough, all good.
Where are you located Guvna ? I will check out what tele spares I have tonight, I should at least have a tele bridge and bridge pickup

[Fretworn]

I made my lapsteel out of reclaimed structural wood left out for council rubbish collection. The bridge and nut were made out of aluminium angle bracket. I bought a second hand humbucker on eBay. And I bought new Wilkinson tuners. I had a lot of the other bits floating around

[Guvna19]

Thanks Wokkaboy,
I'm in Adelaide, home of Coopers Pale Ale. i'm still considering you suggetion for the Avatar as i dont mind a pale ale or 3, specially at
5.6%

[wokkaboy]

no worries Guvna, I think the avatar will look cool. Mash Brewery are Perth based and really cracking the craft beer market here. I have been a Coopers fan for a long time, probably still Australia's best commercial beer brewer (way better than Tooheys, XXXX, CUB and Swan). I have driven past Coopers Brewey about 5 times but never had time to call in for a tour ! Been during a conference nearby Grundfos pumps for work trips.

[dave.king1]

Coopers PA is my preferred drop too and also love their Vintage Ale, I changed over from Boags when San Miguel bought them out and there was a hostile takeover attempt being made on Coopers so I figured I would do my bit to help ( I think they'd go broke without me )