Steel Guitar Builder

Bent,

You say you use 3/16" SS round for the pedal rods. There's SS and there's SS. Some grades are really hard to cut threads on. What grade do you use, and do you have to use anything special to cut the threads for the spherical joints at the pedal end? I asked this on a separate thread, but no-one seems to be looking.

Will

Will, I use 306 SS. I use an expandable die- the one with a small screw in it to let you expand the hole ever so gently. Without it, it is darn near impossible. I sand a VERY slight chamfer on the end of the rod. I have the rod horizontally in the vise, turned down very tight. Then with a work glove on one hand I push the die onto the rod and start turning the handle very slowly with the other hand, keeping the die straight on the rod. Once it grabs, you're home free.
I do the same with the pull rods but they are easier

Excellent, thanks Bent, I always wondered. The surface is so damn hard....

Will

Will, yeah, harder than Japanese arithmetic..