Steel Guitar Builder

I am excited about building a pedal steel , just having difficulty finding any drawings .
I am trying to look at the photos everyone has posted and scale them to get an idea on the dimensions but hate to scrap out $$$$ aluminum due to being off on my dimensions.
I have started machining the keyhead and am about 50% finished with it . But when it comes to the changer assembly , bell crank etc. I am unsure about the dimensions .

Did most of you buy a steel guitar and reverse engineer the components when you first started building ? I even thought about buying one bell crank , changer etc. so I could get dimensions to machine the rest . I have been trying to locate the Gluck CD but it seems its no longer being sold ? Amazon isn't carrying it anymore .

Is anyone working on plans / blueprints to build a pedal steel ?
I for one would pay a fair amount for a good set of plans . I have the machining background and my own shop , just would be nice to have dimensions to machine to and not guess . Just want to build a " proven " design .


Thank You

Some important dimensions to consider before you design the changer:

Body thickness 1/2" - 3/4"

Height of strings above body 1 1/2"

Height of strings above neck 3/4" (making neck thickness 3/4")

Scale length 24" - 24 1/4"

String spacing at changer 11/32"

String spacing at nut 9/32"

Distance from front of steel to centre of changer 2 5/8" (don't make this too small, as you might have problems mounting the changer side-blocks)

From this data you can see that there is about 2 1/4" from the top of the changer to the underside of the instrument, and the pull rods need a bit of clearance from the underside (3/4"?), so that might give you some idea for the design of the changer finger.

Having seen those dimensions, Richard, I had a look on my Williams. Result? 2 5/8" on the nose. I'm guessing that these dimensions are pretty much constant from maker to maker. Once due allowance has been made for all the operating dimensions, I'm guessing there is little room for variation.

Will

Sound advice, Richard. Why 9/32" string spacing at the nut? I thought 1/4" was the standard, or ok anyway. Did I miss something?

Bent,
I took the measurements off my Emmons push-pull.

Some more measurements:

Nut rollers 5/16" diameter with 1/8" diameter axle

Changer finger top 3/4" diameter (3/8" radius)

Centre of pickup slot to centre of changer axle 1 7/8"

Leg angle (double body) 10 degrees

Keep these dimensions coming .
I appreciate all the information so far .

Bent, Rich is pretty much correct with 9/32 nut spacing, some older Buds I heard were 5/16 at the nut and 3/8 at the bridge

So did most of you get your start building pedal steels by purchasing one and then reverse engineering it and trying to improve upon it ?
Did anyone on here build there first without actually having a guitar and or parts of the guitar to copy off of ?

Makes sense, Richard, in that it makes the string run at less of an angle. The straighter the better. Of course perfectly straight would be the best I assume.
However, the 1/4" on my guitars work great as well

Glad to hear the Gluck CD-ROM is out of print!