Steel Guitar Builder

I'll make you some if you want, Geoff - just give me the dimensions! Pivot pin diam, outside diam, thickness, string gauges.

Dave, you might consider the Grizzly G0704 - has the attributes you list, and definitely up to milling those endplates.

Will

Ron, those little retaining springs that hold the rod ends in the bell-cranks look like the Williams style - or are they made to Bent's pattern?

Will

Mac,

That is looking lovely. Where do you get those elegant little changer finger return springs with the tapered end?

Will

Just thinking out loud here, Mac: the lower stop corresponds with the "split" screws on the top-end all-pull changers. My Williams has them, for example. Lovely positive lowers. And the pedal stops are great on the raises. I seem to remember my old pull-release Marlen felt spongy until I had some pe...

JC, not to be picky, but if you press your B pedal, 3 & 6 should raise, not lower. Are you thinking of your 5 string lowering when you press the B pedal? If so, I think you will find everyone has the same experience. It's called cabinet drop. When you pull down on the bellcrank with the pedal rod, i...

This inlay thing is an art form. I got a really good book on it. An excellent tip was to score around the edge of the piece of cut inlay with an Xacto knife, then rub chalk dust into the cut so you can see it. With a depth stop, just rout it out until you get to the line. You can rough most of it, i...

Jon, I follow Richard (Burt)'s thinking but it does look robust enough. I was going to suggest thin roll-pins to fix the ends in the square tubing. I was thinking of how to get the hole precisely centred down the middle of the square section rod. Those who use a hollow mill usually use a slotted tub...

When I was doing the conversion of my old Marlen to all-pull I got a spring balance to gauge the degree of tension I needed, but there was still some guesswork because I wasn't replacing like-for-like. Fortunately I interested a local springmaker in the project, and we got it right on the second bat...

Dammit, I had to pay four times that for a set of 10....
Wish I'd known of this outfit before I ordered.