A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:09 pm
A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.
Ya, me know...maybe it don't look much but me see instruments
~ all prebent and sculpted by mother nature herself. Apparently its about 25 years old and was in the back of the wood pile and they was gonna burn it. Ya right! Boy did the Padma luck out this time.
So the other day my pulled a few of the boards, laid them on me work bench and low and behold me sees this real funkie lap steel starin back at me...
Ya, thats is a blank fret board sitting on top. So the whole top and back will be carved archtop style .."f' holes, and thinking that the fret markers will be treated as a carved design element on the top plate or maybe even an inlaid treatment...probably with a west coast native Haida totem pole quality to it. Don't know...me ain't there yet.
A violin type backward scrolled headstock of birch.
See purfelling that yard stick and clamps...well is how me design me builds...much of it is derived from what the wood she be saying to me...~ What your wood sayin to you?... DO you listen to her?...Do you call her by her name? You talk with her? Me do. Is true.
Anyways...
Yup...me gonna now plane them two boards down to 1/4 inch on the ends... and then bend the lower bout and tweek above the upper bout to fit the neck block Which is joined at the 5th.
Thasts right...joined at the fifth...hey its a slider remember.
Regarding calculations...me try to not get too many of them cuz, well me can't be bothered writing them down and me memory ain't what it use to be...after all me is due for me 70 year over haul ya know. Here you can see the penciled out very short neck as it is joined at the 5th and the reverse violin scrolled head stock penciled in on a chunk of birch....but me will probably use some figured maple for the neck...Me seeing a reverse traditional violin scroll carving covered in small flowers, but then me has seen a lotta stuff in the life on dis here planet....is ok...20 - 30 more years n me get to go 'om' again...Till then me doin my part of harvesting the planet by making sawdust...me gettin pretty gooder at it if me don't say. What you think?
Ok in dis pic you can see just how much me gotta plane down to a 1/4 inch on the ends to be able to bend... Yes 0.25 is really really thick but then me gotta leave some meat left in them ribs for the carving treatment.... oh ya ...sorry..me forgot to mention ...the ribs gonna get carved....in fact the whole build gonna be carved...so stick around...you ain't seen nuffin yet....But don't go be holden yer breath ether...If'en the spirit ain't moven...me ain't builden.
Blade to the wood...
Yes that is an assortment of planes ...convexed and flat finger planes,
low angle blocks and an old Stanley Jack. Whatever gets the pig clean eh!
One face planed ...now to thickness it...and no me don't go be use no calipers other than them wooden ones you will see in the bottom pic. ...yup me just use me fingers to caress and feel the wood while talking with her and letting her know where me needs her to bend, and then me listens to her be telling me were to shave some off here and there...you hearing what words me babbling?
Ok pretty much finished dressing up the ribs...they are NOT flat,!...obviously... nor are the edges straight! in fact there ain't a right angle or straight line any weres nor is there gonna be....so that means the plates are gonna have to be custom fitted to the rim of the box. Is true. Me no lead you down the garden path. So Stay tuned cuz them plates ain't no piece of cake carving coming up next, right here on dis loofers guitar forum place.
Questions?
Blessings
duh ?adma
The longest journey is from the head to the heart.
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