Looking for Some Help

[Paul Lafountaine]

Hi Guys, I am looking for info to build a changer. I need some info on building changer fingers. I would like dimensions and drawings if possible. Thanks,

Paul

[Bent]

Paul, you might have a hard time getting plans and drawings for a changer. I think that is because the few of us that have actually made our own changer just flew by the seat of our pants and actually didn't make any drawings with actual measurements. I know I didn't. I studied pics of changers and actual changers in the flesh. One helpful aid is to go on the patent sites.
After my studying changers, I drew up a whole steel guitar in profile on a large white Bristol board. This was helpful.
I will however help you all I can to get you making a changer of your own. I will send you pics of a changer finger assembly so you have something to go on. We can stay in touch on email (or here if you prefer) when questions crop up as you go along.

As an aside...is your location far from London? If fairly close, it would be very enriching for you to come and spend a day with me to see first hand how I make them.

We got Wayne Loucks going on his changer and he is doing great. No reason why we couldn't do the same for you.

[Paul Lafountaine]

Thanks Bent, I appreciate the offer of help and your response. If I lived closer I would take you up on your offer to spend the day. I'm sure I would learn much more and faster than all the reading can provide. I was looking at the pictures of the brass changer finger you made and hope you could provide some rough measurements off of that, just to kinda get me going. I'm curious about the thickness of the material you are using as well.

I live about 40 Km east of Sudbury. Your a good 5 hour drive from here depending on how heavy the foot is.

Once again, thanks EH!

Paul

[Bent]

Paul, that I will gladly do. First quiet moment i get, I will trace the finger and put in all the measurements.
Yeah - Sudbury is a bit far. I should drop by your place next time I go visit friends up in Elliot Lake.

[Paul Lafountaine]

Anytime you want let me know. As my dad would say " your as welcome as the flowers in May"

Paul

[richard37066]

Paul -

Sorta hidden in Bent's post is something that I have found to be of great value and that is to check out the patents on the web. GoogleOnlinePatents are a great source. You won't find actual dimensions. However, if you were to assume, say, the diameter of a changer axle then - with a short metal scale - you could pick off the dimensions of the rest of the component parts and come mighty close to the real thing. I've done it and it works. It, at least, will put you in the ballpark. An added advantage of attempting to "steal" some dimensions is the fact that one gets a real education as to how things work. This approach will at least get you headed in the right direction even though you may end up using a design of one of our builders for your first instrument.

I truly admire the work of Bent and others on this forum but I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that virtually every part on their instruments has undergone some modification from their first model. I think that it is called "evolution" and they'd be the first to admit it.

Is there anything wrong with "playing it safe" and copying another's work? Lord, no! It's one of the processes by which we learn. In the design that I'm working on, I've stolen a bunch of stuff. I've also made minor modifications to some of the things that I've stolen - being a smart butt and thinking that I knew "better". We shall see.

In the meantime, I feel quite certain that other members will provide you with concrete designs so that you'll be off and running.

Do your homework. It'll pay off in the long run.

Richard

[Paul Lafountaine]

Well Richard by posting my question here I feel I am going to the pro's. Who better than you folks to school this young feller in his search for knowledge. The info I am looking for is general and basic, just to sort of get me started. If I see a few different things I can pick the best of each that works for me. My collection of tools is not great and simplicity is what I am looking for.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Paul

[Paul Lafountaine]

I guess I should have been a little more specific on my changer finger requirements. My request for help was very vague. I am actually looking at simplicity for this first build. I'd like maybe 2 or 3 pedals and possibly 1 knee lever. I want to have the pedals and knee leaver raise only 1 or 2 strings each depending on the copedant. There will be know lowering of the strings. I have not decided whether I'll use a C6 or E9 tuning. This will be a project for the summer, just to play around with and to get some of my own ideas. So feel free to post your thoughts and your own ideas. Hope to hear from lots of you steel builders.

Paul

[Bent]

Paul, no offense, but that one was even more vague. I take from what you are saying that you are new to both playing and building. Therefor, I feel it my duty to Tell you what you should do in terms of building and playing. The following is my opinion only and you might get a variety of opinions from the membership.

E9th is by far the most popular tuning - 95% of what you hear on songs with steel is E9th. Therefor I recommend you concentrate on E9th as a first build.
The all-pull changer we have been talking about is made so that every string can be raised and lowered.
For E9th there are certain changes that are by now so standardized so that we can say that you need those. There is no E9th guitar that has "no lower" as you state. In fact, the utmost of simplicity would be to have one knee lever lower the 4th and 8th strings E to Eb and another knee lever lower the 2nd string
I do suppose you could get away with only two pedals - the A and B. The C isn't 100% necessary, although it has become very standard and for any player it would be quite disabling to not have the 3rd pedal that raises the 4th and 5th strings a whole tone.

Having said all this I would strongly recommend that you build a guitar with the standard 3 on the floor and at least 2 knees.

My opinion, buddy. Hope it helps.

[Georg]

The minimum on an E9...
http://b0b.com/tunings/bobshilling.html
...IMO. Can easily be accomplished on a two raise / two lower All Pull changer, which I think is the minimum a changer should have no matter the tuning.