New Lap Steel

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Nov 2006 6:07 am

Just finished my lap steel and wanted to post up a couple of pictures. This is the first guitar I ever made and I used only hand tools, with the exception of a drill to drill the tuner peg holds.

It is made from some kind of ceder and jacarandá de Bahía or Brazilian Rose wood.

I have a Wallace True Tone in it and it has a real sweet sound!

M.[This message was edited by Matthew Prouty on 23 November 2006 at 06:08 AM.]

Randy Reeves · Post by **Randy Reeves** » 23 Nov 2006 6:13 am

wow. you should be proud. that eight stringer is a looker!

Ron Victoria · Post by **Ron Victoria** » 23 Nov 2006 6:41 am

Wow, very nice job!!!!

Ron

Roman Sonnleitner · Post by **Roman Sonnleitner** » 23 Nov 2006 6:54 am

Wow, great looking lap steel, congratulations!

Rick Collins · Post by **Rick Collins** » 23 Nov 2006 7:23 am

It's very nice Matthew.

With the TT pickup, I'm sure it sounds great.
What is the scale length?

Rick[This message was edited by Rick Collins on 23 November 2006 at 07:24 AM.]

Herman Visser · Post by **Herman Visser** » 23 Nov 2006 7:43 am

I like everyone else here can only say
WOW!!!!!!!
Nice work.

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Nov 2006 7:43 am

I used a 22.5 scale, which is the first that I have ever played. Since I use Don Helm's E13 I am use to breaking the G# sting. So I wanted to try this shorter scale to see how it sounds and works out. I have not broken a string yet and since it is thru the body strings the sustain is acceptable. Above the 20th fret its not what a longer scale guitar would be, but I can live with that. Also slants are so much easier.

Thanks for all the comments.

M.

Mark White · Post by **Mark White** » 23 Nov 2006 8:16 am

Great job! Looks like a beautiful finish. How did you get such a nice gloss?

Bill Leff · Post by **Bill Leff** » 23 Nov 2006 8:17 am

Beautiful!

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Nov 2006 9:13 am

That I will confess, was not my work. The only thing I had to pay for was the finish. I discovered that I allergic to finishing agents and break out like I rolled in poison ivy so I took the guitar to this luthier:
http://www.vellozoguitars.com.br/

And had them do the finish. I have no idea what they used but its nice and slick looking.

M.

Gary Stevenson · Post by **Gary Stevenson** » 23 Nov 2006 9:29 am

Matt: I also build lap steels. I was wondering what you used for the pickup plate and bridge?It sure is a great looking L/Stl.

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Nov 2006 9:48 am

I used stainless steel plates for the pick cover. They are the type of stainless that can be chemically polished. The underside is actually mirror finished. I left the top brushed. The bridge and nut are made from stainless steel square stock and I cut and formed them by hand with a file. I do not think that I will do that again as it was a lot of work to do by hand.

I bought the SS stock at a recycling plant in town.

M.

Stephan Miller · Post by **Stephan Miller** » 23 Nov 2006 10:12 am

Really fine job, Matthew, a great-looking guitar. Could you describe your use of the cedar & rosewood?

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Nov 2006 10:44 am

I used a quaruba-cedro (Vochysia maxima Duke), its a common cedar here in Brazil. This site talks about several tests done to prove this wood is adequate for instruments:
http://www.ibama.gov.br/ambtec/pagina.php?cds=350&cdp=520

This is a Brazilian government site that works desperately to try to stave off the deforestation of Brazil.

I used this wood for the body of the guitar. It was very easy to work with a chisel and rasp. Sanding was also very easy. It is fairly light in weight. So the finished guitar is not real heavy. It has a decent weight but nothing like mahogany.

The fret board is made from a piece of Brazilian Rose wood, or Jacarandá de Bahía. I picked up a wide piece that had 80% of the width almost black like ebony and a thin 20% strip of beautifully stripped. I cut this thin strip off and glued it to the head stock in three narrow strips. I worked it down until it was a thin laminate on the headstock, maybe 2mm thick. The picture does not show the stripes but they are very beautiful and add a lot of character to the guitar. This wood is very hard and took a lot of work to shape and finish it. The frets are inlays of wood taken from excess of the body.

M.

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 23 Nov 2006 11:02 am

Matthew, you built a beautiful guitar there. what kind of tuners did you use?

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Nov 2006 11:20 am

Thanks for the nice comments Andy.

I used Kluson tuners. I had to buy two sets of them naturally. They were in a Gibson package, however I am not sure what guitar they were for. They were the nicest I could find, and naturally the most expensive. They look like they might go on a Les Paul.

M.

Peter Cummins · Post by **Peter Cummins** » 23 Nov 2006 12:10 pm

Professional job done there Matthew.
Any plans for selling in the future, sure looks like a beautiful,quality instrument.

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Nov 2006 12:56 pm

I was seriously considering making a few and seeing if I can sell them. I am limited with time right now so that wont come to furition until at least next year, wait it almost is next year. Lap steels have become all the rage here in Brazil so who knows. Maybe I can sell a few. The going price for locally made 6 stringers is $700.00 so after labor and costs you do not have much profit left... Only time will tell

Thanks for your comments.

Oh I also make tube amps. I use a mid 50's Fender Pro with twin speakers.

http://www.proutyworld.150m.com/amps.htm

M.

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 23 Nov 2006 1:54 pm

If you were to make more of them and made them as beautiful as that one, you'd have a winner! That's a real beauty which anyone would be proud to own.
CONGRATULATIONS !

Randy Reeves · Post by **Randy Reeves** » 23 Nov 2006 7:10 pm

Matthew. that hand file work IS labor intensive. the results are sure worth it for a one of. it sure would be daunting to do that all the time.
that finish is killer. those guys did an amazing job.
building laps is addictive. my problem is I havent settled on a design I would care to repeat.
SS is really nice on a lap steel. your decision to have a brushed surface makes sense.
your design is very pleasing. are you sure you havent done this before!?

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 24 Nov 2006 1:46 am

Randy - This is my first lap steel and first guitar of any kind I have ever made. My wood working expericence goes way back, starting with a key holder, paper towel holder and a shelf all made from pine back in high school wood shop. The next experience I had wood working was working a lathe turning out wood wind instruments as an apprentice to a luthier. That was totally different from this job, but I guess I might have carried a little knowledge over from that experience.

Thanks for the nice comments.

M.

Randy Reeves · Post by **Randy Reeves** » 24 Nov 2006 7:45 am

Matthew. my first lap steel is trash worthy after seeing your first. seriously, you did a very fine job. you have inspired me.
building a lap steel is a great project.
simply it is a pickup between a nut and saddle at 22 1/2" with some soldering .
however, the artistry is the hard part.
I think you have a terrific design and have reaped some satisfying rewards.
I bet it was a thrill when you plugged it in and saw the needle on the tuner move.
it sure was for me.
be proud.

one question. your fret board is very handsome. what method did you use to make the fret lines? for me, the fret board is the hardest thing to decide on.[This message was edited by Randy Reeves on 24 November 2006 at 07:48 AM.]

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 24 Nov 2006 10:09 am

Randy - Thanks for the comments. I sure am proud. Now I just got to learn to play it.

Just recorded a little Christmas toon with it and it sounds nice, if amatuer. Got to really work on those slants.

www.proutyworld.150m.com/Silent Night.mp3

I worked this tune out this morning! The slants are pitchy, its out of meter, but it sure does have some sweet tone... maybe I will get that metronome I have always wanted (and needed) for Christmas!

The Fret board design I choose was an inlay design. The dots are Mother of Toilet seat plastic. The abalone is too hard to find so I went for the plastic dots (hard to find here in Brazil). The fret markers are inlayed with wood strips that I cut down with a really sharp chisel. I marked off the fret lines with a pencil. Measured thrice and then blocked one side with a piece of wood and butted the saw up against it. I placed three fingers agains the saw blade causing pressure on the blade agains the clamped wood block (like a chef does with a knife using the finger nail to push instead of the meaty tip) and pulled the saw in one direction until a nice groove was laid. I then adjusted the inlay thickness with some sand paper. Once the inlay would slide into the grove I filled the grove with glue and put the inlay in. The inlays were the thickness of laminates. I then let them dry and used the sharp chisel to preen off the excess. I then sanded them down and polished the wood again. It was really inexpessive and adds a nice touch since I used the same wood as the body.

M.[This message was edited by Matthew Prouty on 24 November 2006 at 10:18 AM.]

Randy Reeves · Post by **Randy Reeves** » 24 Nov 2006 11:30 am

thanks Matthew. very nice. nothing like fingertips as a saw guide. I do that all the time.
I have used a thin blade cut-on- the-pull saw. they cut clean w/o chipout or 'fraying'.
couldnt hear you clip. maybe that's better, as Im all done with the compliments.

I gotta get to work.

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 24 Nov 2006 11:55 am

Matthew, I fixed your link to Silent Night. Great tone on that guitar Matthew. How long have you been playin? Those slants can be tricky for sure but keep at it, your comin along just fine.[This message was edited by Andy Sandoval on 24 November 2006 at 12:27 PM.]