Lap steel repair in LA area

Will Yardley · Post by **Will Yardley** » 28 Sep 2006 2:59 pm

The caps on the tuning pegs of my ~ '54 Supro lap steel are coming off. According to the guy who replaced the first one for me, they are (or were, before they started totally deteriorating, at least) worth some money.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for someone who could do a good job of replacing these for me in the Los Angeles area.

Mike Fried · Post by **Mike Fried** » 28 Sep 2006 10:22 pm

Will, if your Supro is like mine and has 3-on-a-plate sealed tuners, direct replacement tuning keys are available that will drop in without modification. They work smoother than the originals and allow you to keep the originals unmodified. They're available online fron Allparts.com, Stewmac.com, and wdmusic.com. If you're unsure about going that route, I can recommend Jim Foote at Music Works in Lawndale. I've known him 25+ years and can vouch for his honesty and ability. You can reach him at 310-379-5194. <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Mike Fried on 28 September 2006 at 11:24 PM.]</p></FONT>

Mike D · Post by **Mike D** » 29 Sep 2006 10:44 am

If you're talking about the plastic knobs themselves they can be replaced so you can keep the original tuners.

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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 29 Sep 2006 11:07 am

Don't know how far you want to go (or how far Oceanside is from you) but you might consider Jim Palenscar at Steel Guitars of North County:
http://www.stlgitr.com/

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 29 Sep 2006 11:12 am

You should be able to have those keys"rebuttoned"...I had it done when I bought my"panda"Rick...didn't want to...but the keys were crumbling,and I wanted to use it every day,so...

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http://home.comcast.net/~steves_garage

Will Yardley · Post by **Will Yardley** » 29 Sep 2006 11:18 am

Anything to look out for when buying a set of tuning keys? Anyone know the part # of a set or sets that are pretty close to the originals?

Mike Fried · Post by **Mike Fried** » 30 Sep 2006 12:05 am

Wil, if you can post a picture of the keys, I'm sure they can be matched with a current replacement set.

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 30 Sep 2006 9:09 am

You don't need a steel guitar repair man for that. It happens to any stringed instrument with tuning keys. Old mandolins and old guitars have that issue all the time and plus the tuning machines are all from the same few manufacturers.It's a very common fix. So take it to somewhere like McCabes - they'll handle it for you.