Steel Guitar Builder

Dave, thanks buddy! Although the bearings are an extra outlay of $75 per single guitar, I feel it is worth it to have this part trouble-free. Less friction, no maintenance. I once saw a ShoBud finger where it was metal against metal. The raise finger had chewed through the chrome on the string finge...

Maxi, that is a BIFF (Better Idea from Ford). Bill, very graciously gave me the drawing to this invaluable tool. It is a pedal rod bender for the hook that goes into the pedal crank. As with the rivet tool, you have very good control over your work and it is done accurately and fast. Thanks to Bill ...

Burt, Chicago screws were great. But I ran out of supplier for the stainless steel ones. As with this riveting tool, the Ch screws were controllable. I would put red loctite on the thread, then turn with a screwdriver til I got it just right and leave it to harden for 24 hours. I must say, the rivet...

Don't know if there is a standard, but for me, I make the pad match the height of the C6 strings if they had been there. In other words, the top of the pad sits 1/4" below the level of the E9th strings

So named by his new owner, Roger, from North Bay Ont., this BenRom will be born wrapped in a nice birdseye maple cabinet. I have most of the parts made. There won't be any new earth shattering features, just your regular BenRom style with the usual 4 and 5 and split tuners and neutral stop screws wh...

Right you are. A large mill really shines for those 2 things alone. Other drawbacks with a smaller mill is the need to make smaller cuts with smaller cutters to lessen vibration. My old TOS is worth it for the lack of vibration alone, plus it feels nice to hog out an end plate by making a 1/2" wide ...

Scott, that is entirely possible, with a bit of patience and elbow grease. An interesting point here would be to tell you that I made the bell cranks, KL brackets etc for steel # 2 and 3 with the table saw.

Scott, If they are not cast, I believe the most widely used material is 6061T6 Aluminum
You usually get them from another builder with a mill. I have made keyheads for a few people

But boy is it hard to going from long table travel to short. I am having some issues with the lead screw on my TOS mill, enabling the table to move only 16". I am used to milling out a 32" pedal bar in one setting.

Dave it will be drop dead gorgeous like all the others