McGregor Steels

[Don McGregor]

I'm building this in my spare time, what there is of it, and I'm hoping to be able to find a time soon to devote a couple of days to putting the whole thing together.
The body is a solid slab of African Mahogany, with a half inch piece and a one inch piece laminated to it to confer a stair stepped bank for the necks. The necks are Lacewood, all cut out of the same plank. The bridges are three matched, nickel plated, 30 brass, wrap around units made by my friend Ryan Rukavina. For this one, I am using recycled keyheads from a pedal steel. Brass nuts are planned, inlaid wood frets, and Jerry Wallace single coil TT-8 pickups. Pole pieces, bridges, and nuts are all made for 3/8" string spacing. I am going with a 22-1/2" scale. Grover tuners. I intend to install volume and tone pots, a neck selector toggle switch, and a stutter switch. I am still playing with all the exact control placements.
The picture here is a little out of date, as I now have three matched bridges for it, and I will soon have three matched pickups. My next step in woodwork is to do some shaping of the body, mostly some rounding over of edges, and the same on the necks. Now that I have the bridges, I can go to the drill press, and drill their mounting holes, and inlay the frets and markers. I'm hoping to figure out all my wiring channels and cavities, and do my routing and drilling before I attach the necks.
I will also be cutting down the keyheads to suit 8 strings.
The electronics end is not my strong suit, so here are some things I'd like opinions on.
Right now, I wish to entertain proposed ideas for control layouts.
1;One volume, one tone, and a three way toggle, with the V&T knobs behind the first neck's bridge?
2: Three separate T&V behind each bridge w/toggle between 1st & 2nd necks?
3: Other layout?
4: What value and type of pots and switch(es).
5: I want to add a "stutter switch" somewhere, just because.
6: Any pros or cons to different electronic layouts and designs?
Thanks, Don

[Allan]

That is quite some project Don. What an amazing slab of wood you have at the bottom there. What kind of numbers are you looking at as regards weight? Will you be chambering the slab to make it lighter?

Please keep us up to date on that lovely piece of wood.

Regards, Allan.....

[Eldon]

Don,

My tendancy would be to go with this option you'd be able to texture the sound of each neck a bit.
"2: Three separate T&V behind each bridge w/toggle between 1st & 2nd necks?"

What is a stutter switch??

[larry]

Don,
Great to have you here!

Man, that is one BEAUTIFUL hunk of wood!!! Very, very cool project. I'll look forward to seeing this one develop along.

I'm learning that choice of pots for volume and tone and choice of caps is much a personal thing but also has a lot to do with the rest of the gear in your setup. I built a small, simple external box that I use to test the components before I commit to installing them. It's basically just a Hammond box with an input and output jack, and a spot for the pots and a cap. It's saved me a tone of wasted time in trial and error. The quality of caps and pots also varied wildly, to the extent that I found some weren't use-able.

For caps, I prefer the Mojo Tone Vitamin T and I use a .047uf. It's their take on an oil and paper cap. Not cheap, but loads cheaper than the nos or even the Russian paper in oil. Much warmer to my ears than most of the others. Second choice for me would be the Orange Drops. For pots, I usually stick with 250k or 500k and the choice has more to do with what the other gear is in my rig and how much (if any) of the highs I need cut. For the brand, I tend to stick with CTS or occasionally Bourns for some special projects.

[Don McGregor]

I apologize for getting sidetracked for a few days. These are hectic times.
Okay. The slab of African Mahogany is 1-3/4" thick at present. I originally bought several boards, and had them milled to this thickness because I had fantasies of building Les Paul Jr style guitars. Never did, but I've hung onto three of the 6 & 8 ft. boards that are 18" to 22-1/2" wide. I have to steel myself to cut one of these boards in two.
I'm not planning on going out on the road any time soon, so weight ils not really an issue.
Now that I'm suddenly playing in Nashville two nights next month, I'm starting to re-think that.
(Looks like I'll be in Nashville the same night as Bob Hoffnar is in town playing with Wayne Hancock, so hope I'll get to see him and his Clinesmith!) I will be playing an humble '65 National Grand Console Double 8.
I've been researching designs over the last couple of years, and designing this steel as I go along. Right now, I'm leaning toward shaving some off the bottom to lighten it up. Chambering could be a good idea, but I think there is a lot about how it affects resonances that I don't know. This is also something I could theoretically do after it was built if I thought it necessary.
Now that I have the three bridges at hand, I will put everything on the scales this weekend, and see how heavy she's going to be.
A stutter switch is an intermittent button (like a door bell button that cuts off the sound when it is pushed) that allows you to, for instance, do a long, fat, chord slide up the neck while rapidly tapping the button, making a wonderfully cheesy machine gun effect that I will probably over use every chance I get until the new wears off, and the band threatens to strangle me. It's sort of like a "booh-wah". You don't need it very often, but when you do, it can be very dramatic, if a little wacky.
Thanks for the info about caps, pots, and all, too. I've saved the details.
I'm also leaning toward separate V/T controls, too, as the different gauges of strings make for a different sound on each neck. It would be nice to be able to tweak all three tones, especially.
Thank you all.
I will keep ya'll posted.

[GeorgeBoards]

I am seeing this Completely Dressed Out Like a Fancy Table.

Exectutive Molding around the edge of the big plank - possibly around the Necks too.
4 Turned Legs with front to back turned spreaders another across the side to side up front.

A Deluxe Carved Front Skirt between the legs 6" tall with ornate cutaways or overlays.

Same deal on the back side, a little less tall to accomodate the players legs.

May as well go all the way and do the sides too.

You have the makings of a True One of a Kind Art Piece of Museum Quality.

MR.Boards

[Don McGregor]

Well, I am overwhelmed by your exuberance of design.
I have been thinking of a table-like design, with skirts and all.
I also used to do some pictorial intarsia inlay many years ago, and am not opposed to intricate details.
However, on this, my first build, I'm pretty much sticking with the big-chunk-of-wood-with-some-hardware-bolted-to-it motif.
My next one may get fancier.
I have some experience with furniture building and cabinet making as well as inlay work, and I wonder how well bindings or inlays around the edge of a solid chunk of wood like this will hold up. When building a skirted table with a solid top, the skirt is usually attached with screws in some sort of loose slots so that the top can expand and contract without splitting and pulling itself apart due to changes in ambient humidity.
Wouldn't this big piece of Mahogany like this tend to expand and contract a good deal, possibly damaging an edge inlay?
The same with my Lacewood necks. I would love to put something decorative around the edge, but I am worried about how well it will hold up.
Of course, if this is something that I will only have to worry after the instrument is 30 or 40 years old, then I'm not worried. I am 59.

[GeorgeBoards]

If you want to keep it relatively simple , Rockler on line and in the retail stores sell these 1/4 tall 36" long strips , that only require a simple channel you can hand router and glue them in with Super glue or epoxy. I use a straight Rabbit Bit on a little chepo table router set up and stand the Board up on it's edge. The Depth is very shallow to accept the band.

I've done hundreds of these and never had any issues with expansion or tear out.

Same goes for the necks , Sho-Bud has this sort of inlay on all of their wood. I do some refinishing for Vintage Sho-Bud Restoration , and we - Strip - Water /Bleach - sand and so on with no problem of tear out or reactivation of what ever glue they used. Most of their rebuilds are 30 - 40 years old.

I would seriously reconsider using typical lap steel legs on this project. -- what you have is so extra cool, it would really cheep-en the look. This is a small piece in over all size , skirting or adding some premade cornering fancy , won't give trouble over the years. For that matter you could add some of those premade beading strips and such goodies , all of which will be really easy and make for good looks instantly.

You have taken this project so far now , go for it !!! That Lacewood is Yummy.

Please take this as encouragement.

Have a great T-Day Holiday

George - io

[Bent]

George, great tip for straight inlay work! It's another one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" moments.
Since especially it is quite hard to get uniform inlay strips and extra hard getting a pattern bit for the router that has the exact depth of cut with the pilot bearing.

But what do I do if I want to inlay on the neck where we are dealing with curves? As far as I know a pattern bit is the only solution..lay the board down flat and have the bit rout the edge as you run the board against the bearing.

Are there any simpler tricks to this? Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Scott Howard]

I bought a router bit that has a bearing on top and cuts a perfect groove for the inlay, even when following the curve of the neck. I am not good at woodworking and here is my first try. Set the hight and go . I used just the bit and a old used router table. The body was already done . I was doing the neck to match.