My 6 String Lap Steel

[BillyJ]

Just thought I'd show my 6 string Lap Steel I made awhile ago. I made it from a slab of Basswood, it has quilted maple laminated on the top and also on the face of the headstock. The fretboard is ebony with fake MOP position markers. A friend (painter) painted the frets on with a gold/bronze paint. Even up close they actually look like fretwire. He put very small cuts in the frets then filled the cuts with the paint. 22.5" scale length.Bone nut. It looks like it is angled in the picture but its not. Pickup and all hardware is GuitarPartsAustralia.com (hope I can mention the business name here) stock. Logo is a decal I made. Only picture I have of this guitar at present. I have since made a 7 string version using a brass nut made by forum member here Russ (azureskys) Will post that soon. I called the steel "Sofala" after a little old town that was an old Australian gold rush town. The happiest times of my life were the times I camped and prospected for gold there with my Dad years ago.
I love playing this using C6 and A6 tunings mainly

sofalaLapSteel.jpg (32.62 KiB) Viewed 2809 times

[azureskys]

Very nice steel there billy, looks like a pro job you did on it the maple is outstanding, sure like to hear it played . Russ

[BillyJ]

Thanks Russ. I've had a bit of practice making solid body guitars. I just love the look of maple. I like transparent finishes too over flamed or quilted maple.

[ljs]

Billy,
Very Nice!! I've recently posted some of my previous projects too but I do say yours is outstanding. Post more pictures as you get them.
LaVern

[BillyJ]

Thanks ljs. Sorry I didnt reply sooner but we had a burglary here and the offender took off with some power tools and some guitars. One was the 7 string lap steel. However, he tried selling them at a local pawn shop and cops got him pretty fast. No damage was done to the guitars. The 7 stringer was actually sold to a guy that paid me to build it for him and I had it packed and was going to deliver it the following day.
I saw your previous builds and must say, I liked the nut setup you did on the slotted headstock. Looks good

Billy

[ljs]

No problem Billy. Hope all works out on your end with the burglary. Thanks for you remarks on my slotted head. I too like the nut set-up and will more than likely continue to use it in my future builds. I'm getting started on my next project which will be a long scale 8 string. I posted a picture of the rough cut-out of ash for it a few days ago. I hope to get back to that one in a few weeks after some recuperation from surgery I just had.
Again your guitar looks fantastic and shows some very nice craftsmanship.
LaVern Skarzenski

[rbrat]

great looking lap steel! how thick is the body? i read you like the C6 tuning i do too but i'm having problems with my 5th string breaking i might try A6. What strings are you using?

[BillyJ]

Hi rbrat, thanks for your comments. The body is 1 1/2 inches thick. I've been using D'addario strings in the following gauges .014 .017 .020 .026w .032w .038w for C6. Now making and selling 6 and 7 stringers here in Australia. azureskys has been supplying me with nice brass rod nuts and just received a nice 8 string keyhead and bridge from him. I've attached a photo of the 6 stringer and the 7 stringer with a brass rod nut that Russ (azureskys) made. A6 has a nice tone but I use c6 more. The strings sit 1/2" above fretboard and 3/8" spacing

[Steel Freak]

These look like a million dollars. Top notch craftsmanship and clearly build by someone that knows what he is doing. These look so good that I would consider building and selling them.

Great job Billy,,,,,, I really like them and I wish I had your skills. You have any prices on them?

[BillyJ]

Thanks Steel Freak. I am selling the 6 stringers for $489AUD and the 7 stringers for $600AUD

Cheers
Billy