Steel Guitar Builder

If you match the string gauge to the pitch and string length, there should be no problem with a C6 (or other) tuning at most any reasonable string length. There are plenty of string gauge charts in books, from the manufacturers and on the web. Here's one: http://www.hawaiiansteel.com/learning/gauges...

I've used a gas welding tip cleaner with good success in the past. This is a pack of short round files approximately the same diameters as guitar strings. These are available for a few dollars at any hardware or auto parts store that carries welding supplies. I've recommended this to others in the p...

Here is a recent short article on a lap steel build from start to finish: http://guitarmagazine.co.uk/articles.php?r=0d59f226-3443-11e0-a2fd-002215530376 I found this posted over on the Steel Guitar Forum. There is some good info here. This article can also be a reminder that building a lap steel do...

Ray, here's your URL: http://www.youtube.com/user/moonrakerduo#p/u/0/7udvLppQ104 Nothing fancy to figure out -- just copy from the address bar to your post. It looks like you have got a good two hours worth of building PSG instructional material up there. I just took a look at the first one -- very ...

Eldon, if you have an idea, or ideas, for an eight string copedant setup, I say go for it. I've got a Fender 400 (8 strings) with six pedals and no knee levers, and it suits me for much of what I want to do. If your interest is in playing conventional C6 or E9, then you should probably stick with th...

FWIW, Seymour Duncan is introducing a new 'Solderless Pickup Change System' using a screw-type terminal strip: http://www.seymourduncan.com/liberator/images/tech-details.jpg This does not address the issue of pickup mounting, only the electrical connections. Details here: http://www.seymourduncan.co...

Thanks for the tip. Just my 2¢: I made some mountain dulcimers back in the early 1970s. I got some inlay strips, and possibly some other materials, for them from Constantines. They were a good company to do business with then. I am glad to hear that they are still around.

This is not modern, but may be interesting or useful to some. The later, short-scale cable pull Fenders PSGs used a string through finger changer. f400-changer-top01.jpg Note that the ball end on string eight is not seated properly. The extra thickness at the end of the string to hold the ball is to...

. . . Isn't there some "commercial" guitar out there that uses that idea? Not that it matters too much. . . . I don't know about the modern PSGs, but I've got a c.1964 Fender 400 that uses the string-through finger. Here's a photo: http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu236/nmmichaelm/f400-changer-to...

Don beat me to it with the numbers, but here's a straight-on photo that might be an aid (along with the dimensions) for making a drawing:



HTH.