The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm looking for some ideas or pics of homemade lap steel stands. I have a Rickenbacher B6 and am looking at making something that might fit on an X frame synthesizer type stand. Thanks

Steven,

I'm building one now. Basically a board that I'm covering with speaker cab carpet and adding legs to. Actually just setting it on an X frame as you say would work just as well but then I may have to make it a little longer. I'm going to add a little sew on velcro to some elastic bands to slip over the bodies of the steel(s) to hold them in place. If that doesn't work I'll use stick on but I hate to get glue on the finish if you know what I mean.

It will be multi-level for two laps. Sorry no pics yet.

Rich

One caution about stands for lap steels: DON"T leave the cord plugged into the guitar and walk away!!
Murphy's law will have someone trip on the cord and.....disaster. A bakelite will likely not survive a drop like that.
Had it happen way back in 1951.

Oh Bill, you speak the truth. I almost did this to my own Fender Deluxe 8 in my living room running to catch the phone. I was able to catch it before it hit the floor.

I have since got one of those cords with a magnetic attachment (Snap Jack) and use it on all my steels so I don't get it dumped over. The silly thing cost $40 but is well worth it to me.

Thank you for bringing this up!

Best,

Rich

Here is a good one.

http://bsgsteelguitars.com/lapsteelstand.htm

Thanks Rich for your reply, I look forward to seeing a picture of yours when it is finished.
Bill, I hadn't thought about tripping over the chord either. Thanks for the reply.
Thanks Gary for the website on a fine looking stand. A little pricy for me right now however it looks to be well worth their price.

That bsg stand looks great to me. I'll put it on my list.

Gary, you should tell that avatar squirrel of yours to quit going around town showing his S.

I have tried but he is an exhibitionist.
He says the women love it...

It must work, you should see his nuts!

Here is a lap stand for my Chandler that I made out of a $10 folding stool.

Paul, Interesting idea.

I use an ON STAGE folding keyboard stand that fits my cheap lap steel perfectly and you can also raise it so you can stand and play as well. They are avaialbe at ZZ Sounds for about $30-$40 and can hold 300 lbs. Just my humble opinion is all! Keep the faith!

I prefer playing on my lap..But, awhile ago I aquired a d6 that is just to unweildy for lap play. I had a folding, x type, keyboard stand and that worked great...for standing. But, my stool I normally use was too short even when I lowered the x stand all the way...
...I don't want to stand and play, as I use a volume pedal and frankly, prefer to play seated.

Sooo...I went looking for a cheap stool that was a little higher than my old stool.
I eventualy bought a wooden bar type stool, not to high, not to low. It worked well in conjuction with the keyboard stand...BUT...it was uncomfortable as it is flat hardwood...

Then I had an idea:

...I put a non slip pad atop the wooden stool, then put my D6 on the non slip pad and found it's the perfect height for using as a stand while seated on my orginal folding (and padded) stool.

..the keyboard stand is back in the closet.

Jim Strawser wrote:I use an ON STAGE folding keyboard stand that fits my cheap lap steel perfectly and you can also raise it so you can stand and play as well...

...and...

John Burton wrote:...I had a folding, x type, keyboard stand and that worked great...for standing. But, my stool I normally use was too short even when I lowered the x stand all the way...

...not much to add. I also use the scissors-style keyboard stand. My only addition is that I bought some of that industrial-strength velcro tape. I put a strip on one arm of the stand and another across the back of the guitar and it stays put. It's never fallen off or threatens to. Works very well.

Craig

P.S. This thread is kinda like Heloise... where they have me set up my gear the stool legs sometimes sink into the grass/mud. So I took four of those little plastic cups that you get with the little fruit salad paks and put them under the stool feet. Keeps 'em high and dry!

Here's a stand that I started a couple of years ago and never finished up. Maybe one of these days I'll get back to it. The base is the above mentioned On-Stage folding X stand. I got a lower height out of it by swapping a top and bottom arm and turning it sideways. The board is just some 1x6 with a pocket in one end for picks and the bar. The bottom of the pocket is lined with a scrap of old jeans. The steel has three non-skid furniture leg pads on the bottom to keep it from sliding around.

I had planned on a little trim, maybe a couple or cleats or brackets underneath to hold the board in place on the stand, sanding and then some black paint or stain. I abandoned the project because everything seemed too light and flimsy to me and the X was real close to my legs. Perhaps some heavier lumber would have helped, at least for the main board. Anyway, even though this didn't work out for me, maybe you can get some ideas here.

Go to your local Goodwill store or any other thrift store. There are always some aluminum fold up walkers there for $10 and less. Get the one with the flat top and start modifying it to suit your needs. Best cheap lap stand you will find.

Audio video tables. These are sometimes found at school auctions. Hold 250 pounds. Nice flat small table with four legs that clip to the table for storage and screw in for mounting. One of the best stands you can find, sell for about $250 new...auctions about $10-30.

There is a folding keyboard stand that is not the X type Onstage KS7150. It makes a flat rectangle on the top and the legs fold under. Nice stand for a larger multi neck guitar.

http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/sc/from- ... =9_23_2008

Here is mine which is a combination of an old oahu stand and the bottom part of a Gretsch cynbal stand.
The old Oahu stand was very wobbly and my Rick B-6 fell from the stage. Luckily it got a very small chip
at the edge of the body. I use this stand for both my B-6 and D-8 Aluminum steels.

Michael's idea is what I had in mind, however the KS7150 stand looks more intriging that Bill showed, more leg room, inexpensive and you can still build a wooden top to hold what steel you might be using. I have tried to find the stands like Jozef showed however they are hard to find and fairly expensive. Great ideas.

Shop around for the On Stage stand. The link I put up there was just to show what it looked like. If anyone finds a great sale on it please post a link here.

I think you could really make a nice stand for a bigger multineck console type guitar from this stand. As you stated, you could fit a removable wood platform or padded platform to it very easily. It is a heck of a lot cheaper than the other portable platform type stand shown.

I like it better for stability than the Xtype keyboard stand. You might be able to attach a pair of folding legs or maybe just a center leg that would angle forward and make contact with the floor and then give some even greater stability if you pushed forward on the guitar. Just a thought. Something very light and simple.

I have a stand with a steel car wheel for the base. There's a square steel tube that comes up, and a steel brace that the guitar sits on. A friend with welding skills made it. it's kinda heavy to carry, but you reall don't have to worry about it tipping over, and you can wind the cord around it so nobody trips on it.

Sorry I don't have a better shot of it. It's in storage right now.