Steel Guitar Builder

thanks,

Can anyone help with the design of the pedal bar, or have pics on how its attaches up to the legs so I can come up with mine?

thanks in advance.

Alex

Hi Alex, here are a few pictures of a pedal board I am installing on a pedal steel I am working on.

Paul

yes thats exactly what I was looking for...lovely!

did you build the clips or buy them?

Im planning the same sort of set up with a wood pedal bar

Hi again Alex,

No I didn't make the brackets, they are part of an old guitar I purchased that was built by someone else. I am currently in the process of rebuilding this ole' thing. I replaced the wooden board with a piece of maple as the original had been varnished and painted black and the finish was cracking and looked like crap.

I gather you are located in the Toronto area. I live just outside of Sudbury, Ont. There are a few members on the forum here that live throughout Ontario. You will find there are a lot of people here willing to help. Just a suggestion, If you have questions regarding pedal steel guitar, post in the pedal steel section. You will get more results. Some of the folks on the forum are so knowledgeable it will blow you away.

By the way, I love what you have done so far. Just take your time, only work on your project when you feel in the right mood and you will do well.

Paul

Hi Alex,
I missed this thread completely - been rather busy with my latest project and other things. Paul is the man to stay close to as he is working on much the same project as you : a home-built re-build. It amazes me how many of these guitars keep cropping up! There are lots of good ideas built into these guitars as well, and my hat comes off to whomever had the fortitude to embark on a project...back in the day when info was not at all readily available.
I would like to help you get your pedal bar in shape and I would love to see the whole guitar.
Throw the thing in the trunk and come on down to London for a visit. We could set up a day and time that would suit us both.
If this sounds ok with you, just email/PM me thru the forum.
Good luck with your project!

Thank you Paul and Bent,

Bent, I might just take you up on that offer. As I see you have a full machine shop. Im amateur guitar builder so I only have wood tools so I cant fab anything from metal. Perhaps I could buy a pedal bar step up from you?

I already have the pedals, just dont have anything to attach them too... LOL.

Paul sounds like we are working on the same thing....

Do you have pics of the guitar in progress on here?

Hey Alex,

I have a few pictures in the Pedal Steel Section of the forum. They are posted under the title Changer Identification and Mechanics. The pictures are mostly of the under carriage and show what rough shape this old beaut was in. It seems like it was stored in someones basement without any TLC for many years. Also, the poor thing suffered some damage in shipping from Memphis, TN. One of the end plates was broken, as well as, one of the aluminum pieces on the pedal board brackets.

I to am a virgin when it comes to working on pedal steels. If you need advise ask Bent or post on the forum. I am a layman at this and would not like to steer you in the wrong direction. Bent has been a great help and has seen quite a few pictures of my progress as I have worked on this over the last 2 or 3 months.

If you are interested in building your own from scratch, I will tell you, you are gonna learn a lot from doing your rebuild. You will start to understand how the mechanics of the pedal steel works and as you look at what you have; you will start to see your inventive side come out and you will want to try different ideas. This is as addictive as Oxycontin or Heroin.

Starting sometime tomorrow, I will begin posting pictures of my efforts so far. I will more than likely start with the cabinet and upper portion of the guitar and move on to the under carriage later on in the week. I am short a few pieces in regards to rodding the guitar, but hope to find them or improvise some how. If you look at the pedal guitar section over the next few days, if you see a reference to Flipper, that will be me.

Paul

Hey Alex.

How are you fairing out on your restoration? Would like to see how you did with the pedal board. Post a few pic's.

Paul

Hey Paul,

I have been busy on a few projects... plus Christmas got in the way. I will be posting more pics very soon.

I have been busy polishing parts... I must say its a labour of love...

A.