The Steel Guitar Forum

Big day today, lots of progress.

Finished the C6th Changer
Cleaned and clear coated the body
Reinstalled both wood necks
Reinstalled both changers and all springs

still up:

clean and reinstall both fret-boards
reinstall both key heads
semi polish both aluminum ends
clean ,inspect ,semi polish pedal rack

then:

strings and setup

Soon grasshopper !

Tony, you're doing great work. Following this with interest, and can't wait to learn how it plays when you're done.

thx DAN ! I'm gettin' stoked as well now that the end is in sight ! Couple of days is what I am thinking now.

I'm expecting it to be pretty darn nice , these 2 up / 1 down / 2 hole puller guitars are all pretty consistent . The last one I did was a Pro III, same vintage , it had a sweet spot up around the 10th fret that just jumped out. The WOW factor caught me by surprise on that guitar.

I'll run a track and post it when all is done

Continuing progress, this morning.

Key Heads and Fret Boards installed.

After all this time , not one screw left over !

Great job Tony!

I put a lite polish on the end caps, not too much as I don't want them to shine like new. Legs are going on this afternoon as well as the pedal rack clean , inspect , lube and slight polish.

then rods

then strings

well the day has arrived, today is the day. This morning I lightly polished the pedal bar, the pedal rods and the rod connectors. I also took all the pull rods, removed the nylon hex nuts, cleaned them and wire brushed the pull rod threads. 25 rods ! Overkill ? probably...

Reinstalling the pull rods, the pedal rack and pedal rods then strings tuning and setup.

Looking forward to seeing it Tony...Carl

well, I'm in the E9th setup mode, a quick and dirty tells me this may be the best Sho Bud , tone-wise , I have ever owned !

Major setup is required, each of the E9th pedal rods need to be shortened by 1/4 of an inch at least, the pedal stops need complete re-adjusting as well. There is some sort of a lift added to the legs for the pedal rack, thats coming off. Maybe the previous owner was taller than me, no surprise there


I moved the E lowers from RKL to LKR, a hard stop is missing on LKR, I did purchase two different stops from Michael Yahl so there is no issue there. The Steel has no 2nd string half stop so it will be a full tone 2nd string lower. Everything is functioning just fine, as expected.

Initial test playing has me convinced this will be a great Steel, tone-wise its killer ! Tomorrow will complete the E9th set-up.

OH ya gotta put Michael's Half stop on there bro.....I've probably done close to a dozen of his...and LOVE IT.
https://www.psgparts.com/1-2-Stop-Assembly-107-060.htm
Ricky

Ricky Davis wrote:OH ya gotta put Michael's Half stop on there bro.....I've probably done close to a dozen of his...and LOVE IT.
https://www.psgparts.com/1-2-Stop-Assembly-107-060.htm
Ricky

well ok ! Will do !

I've been playing the guitar now on and off for a few hours , both E9th and C6th. There are still some setup issues that I want to address. A few stops need to be re-adjusted , again. Plus I need to add the 2nd string raise E9th, 9th string lower E9th and the 3rd string lower on C6th as the rods are missing, as in , NOT HERE and never were ! These 3 changes are a Monday morning project as I need to fabricate all 3 rods .

I borrowed the C6th 4th Pedal string 8 bell crank and moved it over to the E9th 2nd string raise on RKL, along with the 1st string raise.

Its a very bright Steel , nice action, like an old Sho Bud ! This week I'll run a track once set-up and additional changes are complete. Overall, very pleased, I'm definitely addicted to its tone !

This baby has come a long way over the past 45 years, no reason for it to not go another 45 !

Hours invested, I woulds say +/- 30 with a few still to
go.

She’s fine looking Tony...a job/labor of love done very well, thank you! Yes, a few notes/chords for a listen would be great. Congrats...Carl

July 12, 2020, I have decided to leave the Steel configuration as it was from the Factory. I have also decided to offer the Steel for Sale as I have my eyes set on yet another ! Currently listed in the Forum For Sale section.

Tony that’s a excellent Sho Bud restoration congratulations. I love the scotch bright finish
That finish 0n aluminum parts looks like the new $10,000 dollar SIERRA STEELS finish.

LABOR of love is a understatement! But the satisfaction of knowing you brought back this instrument to be enjoyed by you or the next owner is good karma for the soul!

KUDOS ON THE JOB YOU'VE DONE....I have aquired an ldg with checking on the finish like I notice on your project...cracks all over, not really noticeable unless you hit it with a light from the side..I can try to upload a pic,..but I think you get the idea...my first PSG and I polished all the metal,..and finally got everything set up with help from the forum..but I would like to do something about the finish,..the green is still bright and not faded...any tips for a solution??Im assuming the finish is original,but can I be sure its laquer?...I tried laquer thinner with a rag on an inconspicuous place, but it didn't seem to affect it?
..I am very grateful for the forum...for rookies, it's the best!!!