The Steel Guitar Forum

I have a problem with my left leg, and I could really use some advice. I am in the process of buying a friends Carter S-10 (my first steel!), and I love it except...I need to get a lifter kit, and see if I can extend the LKL knee lever.

Does anyone know of a place where I can find an extender or pad or something for a knee lever? My problem is that I have great difficulty in reaching the LKL lever in its current position. If I could extend the lever a little towards me (the player side of the cabinet) then I could reach it easier.


I thought of trying to weld a piece of metal on to the existing lever, but I don't want it to look junky if I can help it. This Carter is in near mint condition.
Open to any suggestions.

Carter sells extender kits to raise the instrument in various sizes. They extend the legs and the rods and are not that expensive. They come in various lengths and you could use them in multiple if you needed. Check on the Carter website.

One solution I've seen to extend knee levers is to slip soft polythene tube over them. If the Carter you have is a Starter maybe the best solution is to replace the levers with longer ones.

If the lever's not mounted near the rear apron, it may be possible to move it there. Of course, you can always add a plate (extender "flag", as they're sometimes called) to the existing lever. I'd recommend you find one that mounts with screws, so it could be removed later, if you so desire.

When I had a Carter, I had to extend the LKL, and I was faced with the same problem of not wanting to do any permanent alteration to the steel, not even drilling a hole.

My solution was to get some stock aluminiun, 3/4" x 1/4", cut it to the length I required, and then I re-shaped two 'O' clips (see photo) to a rectangular shape and used them to connect the new piece of aluminium to the existing knee lever.

Donnie, where can I get an extender flag? That sounds like what I need. Thanks!