first off, just wanted to say that i've been poking around here for a while, and i finally decided to set up an account! after several years of telling myself i wanted to build a lap steel, i finally got myself into gear a couple weeks back and i'm about to start my first build in a couple days! i'll post a more thorough introduction to myself in the appropriate forum, but i figured i get this up here for now. anyway, here's how my build is going to (hopefully!) come together...
i've settled on basically a Fender Champ-style design. because i'm going to be limited to hand- and small power tools (drill, jigsaw), i wanted something with mostly straight lines, but still more interesting than the "strings and a 2x4". i'm not even going to have access to a router for this one, which is why i didn't want a design with a lot of curves. one of these days i'd really love to build an EH-150 style out of a really nice wood like sapele, but i don't want to risk spending that kind of money on nice wood without at least a router to use with a template. because the Champ shape is mostly straight lines, working with planes and rasps to square up the sides should be pretty easy (time consuming, sure, but not difficult.)
i was originally planning on using poplar because it's inexpensive and easy to work (also: i'm getting my wood from Home Depot for this one.) but when i was looking around my local HD and putting together a parts list, i came across Radiata (aka Monterey) Pine and decided to go with that. it's much harder and denser than most other pine species, and at least according to wood hardness charts that i found, comes pretty close to alder and poplar as far as working properties go. it's got a nice tight grain, isn't warpy, and is a joy to work with if my test scraps are any indication. it's also appearance-grade (no knots or splits) and comes S4S, which is another bonus. oh, and it's a little cheaper than poplar: a 1x8x6 piece is only $15.
since the wood actually measures out at 3/4" thick, i'm going to cut the slab in half and sandwich the pieces together to get a 1.5" thick body. this actually works in my favor, since i can cut out the pickup hole and have access to it all the way through for easy rasping and filing and general pickup-hole-shaping before i glue the body together.
i've already made a bridge and nut out of 1/8" thick aluminum angle from HD (they're completely finished, although i'm waiting until i drill the mounting holes before i give them their final polish.) i know this stuff is a fairly soft variety of aluminum, but it seems like it'll work for now. the only potential problem that it might have is galling from the strings, but if i have issues with it down the line i'll get some stainless steel or brass angle to replace it. i just didn't want to order metal online if i could avoid it, because shipping would cost three times as much as the metal itself. for the time being though, i think the bridge and nut will hold up just fine.
the scale length will be 23" (i rounded it up from 22.5" mostly to make my life easier in the math department), and i'll finish it off with a reverse-painted plexi fretboard. for the pickup, i was originally going to use a Tele bridge pup, but in the interest of making the route a little easier to cut, i'm just going to go with a Strat-size pickup. i haven't chosen a specific pickup yet, but i'll probably go with an inexpensive import...as long as it's got AlNiCo magnets instead of ceramic, that'll do (i can't stand ceramic magnets in single coils, and i also don't want to deal with the extra height that ceramic magnets usually add to the bottom.)
for a finish, i'm going to try a Mary Kaye white/blonde sort of thing. the Radiata pine has some really cool grain that would look nice with that color. if all goes as planned, i'll probably use the Minwax whitewash pickling finish, with Tru-Oil as my clear (it's my all-time favorite clear finish.)
at any rate, my build will hopefully start on Thursday, so i'll be sure to post updates and pictures!
New member, new lap build!
Re: New member, new lap build!
Hi Cat , sounds like you got a plan , looking forward to see what you build . Russ (azureskys) 
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catdumpling
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:11 am
The build starts!
picked up my wood and the rest of my supplies this afternoon. also stayed up all night (till about 9am this morning!) finishing up my pattern. let the build commence!
i'll try to get a few photos up a little later, although tonight is mostly just glueing up.
i'll try to get a few photos up a little later, although tonight is mostly just glueing up.
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catdumpling
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:11 am
Re: New member, new lap build!
well, i had planned on posting pictures yesterday, but i had a major setback: i wasn't aware of how "warpy" pine can be, and about five minutes after i laminated the two body halfs together, the whole thing cupped in a pretty spectacular way. in fact, it was so bad that as the pieces pulled away from each other, the spring clamps i used were no match for the force of the wood. i'd also placed screws and washers around the perimeter, and it pulled a bunch of those apart as well. i wasn't aware of just how hygroscopic pine can be, even properly kiln-dried and S4S stuff. of course, i read all about this...after the fact. when researching all the wood that was readily available to me, apparently this was one issue i never actually heard about.
so what caused my disaster? a spilled cup of water? humidity? nope, just wood glue. yup, the wood glue alone was enough to make to perfectly flat boards expand and distort like one of those little sponge capsules that expands into a dinosaur when you toss it in the bathtub. i love distortion with my guitars...just not this kind.
i did learn a couple lessons though: first, spring clamps shouldn't be used as primary clamps (i only had 4 c-clamps, although i did have quite a few washers and wood screws near the edges and down the middle of the neck area. some held, but a surprising number of screws did not.) second, dead wood sure is strong-willed! third, i'm going back to my first choice of wood, poplar, for this.
because of some quick thinking (which was surprising considering how dead-tired i was), i was able to get the wood apart before the glue completely cured up. it took a little coaxing, but luckily there wasn't really too many spots where it had made a good bond. i'm going to turn a some very irritating lemons into lemonade and cut down this pine and make some clamps out of it. that way i'm not wasting anything and i'll be able to properly clamp up Attempt #2. besides, proper clamps cost a few bucks a piece, and i figure if i get at least three out of the wood i've got, i'll break even (and i should get more than that.)
now...who knows how to get dried glue off of wood?
so what caused my disaster? a spilled cup of water? humidity? nope, just wood glue. yup, the wood glue alone was enough to make to perfectly flat boards expand and distort like one of those little sponge capsules that expands into a dinosaur when you toss it in the bathtub. i love distortion with my guitars...just not this kind.
i did learn a couple lessons though: first, spring clamps shouldn't be used as primary clamps (i only had 4 c-clamps, although i did have quite a few washers and wood screws near the edges and down the middle of the neck area. some held, but a surprising number of screws did not.) second, dead wood sure is strong-willed! third, i'm going back to my first choice of wood, poplar, for this.
because of some quick thinking (which was surprising considering how dead-tired i was), i was able to get the wood apart before the glue completely cured up. it took a little coaxing, but luckily there wasn't really too many spots where it had made a good bond. i'm going to turn a some very irritating lemons into lemonade and cut down this pine and make some clamps out of it. that way i'm not wasting anything and i'll be able to properly clamp up Attempt #2. besides, proper clamps cost a few bucks a piece, and i figure if i get at least three out of the wood i've got, i'll break even (and i should get more than that.)
now...who knows how to get dried glue off of wood?
Re: New member, new lap build!
To get the dried glue off either sand it or scrap it off , a fun task lol, sounds like your wood is not dry and you positioned the grain of the wood the wrong way, i suggest you read up on some wood working and glueing techniques befor you attempt anymore , itll save you alot of problems down the road and at present , grain oreintation (did i spell that right lol)is very critical for stability with wood , never place the grain of the wood of both pieces going in the same direction , thats why it cupped and like i said it s probly not dry enough , hope i explained that right so you understand what im saying , not being hard nosed here we all had to learn at one time on another , keep working at it you ll get it . Russ 
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catdumpling
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:11 am
Re: New member, new lap build!
azureskys,
i've definitely had woodworking experience, but it's been quite a while since i made anything other than simple book cases and other "box"-shaped things. i think the wood moisture content played a small part, but ultimately i think my problem was 1) i didn't check the grain of the wood before glueing (and you're right, they were going in the completely wrong direction), and 2) i didn't have nearly enough clamps. i kinda thought the lack of clamps might come back to bite me, just not as bad as it did. also, upon reading up more (after the fact), i discovered that pine has a tendency to cup like that because it's so porous and because of how much glue is required for laminating pieces like that. by the next day, both pieces were flat again and had i used way more clamps, it probably would've worked out.
but, i was able to get the pieces apart before the glue totally dried (and boy, that Gorilla Wood Glue label isn't kidding when it says the pieces can be unclamped after 20-30 minutes! the parts that stuck together were already REALLY stuck together!) i cut down some of the wood into 1"x9" "sticks", glued them together in pairs for rigidity, and with the addition of some nuts, threaded rod and washers, i was able to make several large and robust clamps for attempt #2. now there won't be more than 1" between clamps on the next glue-up, and it will be virtually impossible for the wood to cup (obviously this requires me to check the grain orientation as well this time;) i'm also using poplar this time, which should be a little less prone to warping than the pine.
it was annoying, and there was much swearing, but ultimately i'm kinda glad it happened. it showed me a few things that i'd overlooked, i ended up being able to salvage most of the wood for some much-needed clamps and gave me time to realise that there was actually a measurement flaw in my design (nothing too serious, but much easier to fix with a pencil and eraser rather than a couple hours with hand tools.) it also gave me the chance to tweak a few minor design issues that had started to annoy me over the past couple days. overall, i think i ended up gaining more than i lost, aside from having to wait a week before i could pick up some new wood.
anyway, tomorrow is "new wood day". first thing i plan on doing is marking the pieces so i don't forget the proper way to orient the grain this time! then i'll probably let it sit around for a couple days so it can acclimate before Round 2.
i've definitely had woodworking experience, but it's been quite a while since i made anything other than simple book cases and other "box"-shaped things. i think the wood moisture content played a small part, but ultimately i think my problem was 1) i didn't check the grain of the wood before glueing (and you're right, they were going in the completely wrong direction), and 2) i didn't have nearly enough clamps. i kinda thought the lack of clamps might come back to bite me, just not as bad as it did. also, upon reading up more (after the fact), i discovered that pine has a tendency to cup like that because it's so porous and because of how much glue is required for laminating pieces like that. by the next day, both pieces were flat again and had i used way more clamps, it probably would've worked out.
but, i was able to get the pieces apart before the glue totally dried (and boy, that Gorilla Wood Glue label isn't kidding when it says the pieces can be unclamped after 20-30 minutes! the parts that stuck together were already REALLY stuck together!) i cut down some of the wood into 1"x9" "sticks", glued them together in pairs for rigidity, and with the addition of some nuts, threaded rod and washers, i was able to make several large and robust clamps for attempt #2. now there won't be more than 1" between clamps on the next glue-up, and it will be virtually impossible for the wood to cup (obviously this requires me to check the grain orientation as well this time;) i'm also using poplar this time, which should be a little less prone to warping than the pine.
it was annoying, and there was much swearing, but ultimately i'm kinda glad it happened. it showed me a few things that i'd overlooked, i ended up being able to salvage most of the wood for some much-needed clamps and gave me time to realise that there was actually a measurement flaw in my design (nothing too serious, but much easier to fix with a pencil and eraser rather than a couple hours with hand tools.) it also gave me the chance to tweak a few minor design issues that had started to annoy me over the past couple days. overall, i think i ended up gaining more than i lost, aside from having to wait a week before i could pick up some new wood.
anyway, tomorrow is "new wood day". first thing i plan on doing is marking the pieces so i don't forget the proper way to orient the grain this time! then i'll probably let it sit around for a couple days so it can acclimate before Round 2.