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A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:09 pm
by padma

A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.



Ya, me know...maybe it don't look much but me see instruments

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~ 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.

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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...

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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.

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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.


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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?

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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.


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Blade to the wood...
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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?


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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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Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:24 pm
by johnnparchem
nice! Did you split the side pieces off of the wood? I like how you can use the natural shape.

Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:25 pm
by padma
Thank you,
ya sliced / split off using a frow for making cedar shakes.

Natural ohmmm...just duh way duh loofers built long ago in our ancient past with stick, twine and gourd, turtle or armadillo skeletons, maybe even a human scull e-lectric for the punker wantin to get tribal like his ancestors dancing neekid round the fire way back when, once upon long ago, there lived dis her Padma dude well him sorta the old Mr.Natural kinda duder. Yay Mudd!

Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 6:32 am
by tippie53
love this project. As eclectic as this is , it will show the beauty of using what nature gives us. I will follow with interest.

Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 5:20 pm
by padma
Here it is after talking with the bending iron.
Funkie shape eh... not quite sure if me likes it or not...

and I got one rib little too thin for doing a relief carving in it.

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Here she be with her linings

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Me cut and jointed the top and back plates...really nice 6 year old red western cedar...and blew the cuts...if you ever built an archtop ...and considering those plates were 30inches long, you have a rough idea of how much $$$ me just wasted....well maybe they will make a dulcimer or a mando. Boy was me sissed off.

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So...prepped and glued up another set late last night.
Here be side view pic...notice the bend to the body...
which follows the grain lines in the wood. Once the Neck is added with its reverse curved head stock scroll,
the sucker will look like its drooping over the pickers lap...well hopefully it will.
This ain't no easy carve dudes.

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The yardstick is to help you get a handle on the bend and
represents the string line...remember its an archtop with a violin type bridge...
so thats the big gap your seeing.

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Questions, comments? Feed me ego...says something!


Blessings

duh Padma

Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 6:29 pm
by johnnparchem
I do like the shape of the rims. I imagine the top will have an arch closing some of the gap. Dd you work out the size of the bridge you want and set the gap or do you get the gap close and make the bridge to match. I am looking forward to follow how you work with the plates. I have watched other of your builds. I have a mandolin planed and the fear of carving the plates is probably my biggest inhibitor keeping me from starting.

Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 7:50 pm
by tippie53
I love the way you make these things. I think you can make a nice suspended bridge on this.
Have you ever used catalpa?

Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 6:58 pm
by padma
Catalpa....sorry no work catalpa...maybe next time.

Here be the neck roughed out. You can see the penciled lay out for the ovular reverse scroll.

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flipped over view

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Yep she be a bolt on. Even though the heel will looks like she be joined at the 5th, the long mortise / tenon actually runs to the 8th for more support. and cheap insurance.

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me been listening to
cello sonatas.... well really just the cello
and pondering...
how me gonna carve the plates
to get that
dark low
"C"

Well me thinks about it while whittelin away at the neck.
Cleaning out the peg box...notice the end vice with me name carved in it....Its got a hand carved wooden screw.
Me tell me kids, when its time to plant duh Padma...don't go be spendin no monies on a grave stone...just
pull out the wood screw and use the face of the vise. That way me and the wood can both rot and
that'll be that.

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Sawing the lines around the scroll can be trickie, one wrong cut and the piece is garbage,.

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Must pay very close attention to the depth of each cut as the depth varies from one end to the other.

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They say the first cut is the deepest...but then they say a lotta things.

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The carving is done. Now me starts the cleanup scraping and sanding before moving on to carving the plates.

Don't go being shy...post some comments, me like to hear your thoughts.

thanxs
duh Padma


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Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 7:12 pm
by tippie53
Not only are the instruments unique and cool I just noticed your bench. Love it

Re: A Funky Lap Steel Slider build.

Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 7:19 pm
by johnnparchem
I like your pictures of carving the scroll. I am very interested in seeing how it is done. have you made a different shaped scrapers to clean up after the carving.