The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi,

I am a 60 year old guy from the DFW area, Garland for those that know the area. I am a woodworker who cut about an inch off of two fingers on my left hand over 10 years ago. I can still touch type and do most everything except for play guitar. I haven't sucessfully been able to form a chord since the accident,fingertips still very tender. I have been lurking on this forum for quite some time and am ready to take the plunge into lap steel building.

I have been looking at the Rukavina, Pettingill guitars on the site and am inspired to build a guitar that is both art and music. (Setting my standards high!) I believe that I have the skills to build a nice looking lap steel, but I don't have the knowledge of components etc. Without asking the same questions that I am sure have been asked over and over on the forum, is there a location here that rates pickups, tuners etc.?

While I am building my lap steel project I would also like to find a local (DFW) or online instructor. My musical tastes run from Country Gospel, Bluesy stuff (Stevie Ray) etc.

I hope that I can be as much help to others after a few years online here as you folks have been since I have been lurking on the forum

Welcome to the board David, if you haven't already heard of him (most likely you have) , check out Billy Hew Len, he lost his entire left hand from a planer accident and became an absolute legend on the steel.

David...our stories are very similar. I too am over 60, a woodworker (homebuilder), and in a job related accident (about 10 years ago) lost the entire ring finger of my left hand. The rest of my fingers and thumb survived but with limited range of motion. I was a guitar player as well and decided I should take the plunge into steel guitar as a way of staying involved in music. I started out with pedal steel which is a whole 'nother animal and I just had Tom Pettingil build me one of his masterpieces...we named it Angel. I love the sound of classic steel with the slants and all but have a lot of trouble manipulating and lifting the bar. I had Tom put one of those multibender bridges on Angel so that I can perhaps come close to getting some of those sounds without slanting. I know the purists frown down on putting levers on a lap steel but I don't care...and if I ever master slants (highly unlikely) I'll have the option of ignoring the levers. Sorry, but I can't help you with the component information. Tom P. took care of that and is very knowledgable about pickups, pots, bridges, etc and how they interact. Anyway, good luck with your project and your journey into the world of steel guitar.

Dave,

Welcome to the forum I am sure that you will find as I have that there are a lot of helpful people on here willing to share info and knowledge. Also seems to be quite a few of us baby boomers. I am very new to the lap steel and had Bob Allen build me a 6 string with a Fender Lace blue pickup which I am very happy with. But in reading your tale it got me thinking of a video I saw on Youtube and thought that not only does it touch on your missing fingers but also on your building skills... check it out and welcome. Tom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVh8W11JiiM

Welcome to the forum. Lots of good and helpful people here. TONS of information. Been a big help since I jumped from guitar to steel last winter.

Welcome to the forums David! Building your own is a lot of fun and can be a very rewarding experience.

My best advice would be to first draw it out full scale. Draw a center line and mark the nut and bridge for your chosen scale. Everything else you do is referenced off those three points.
If I can be of any help and answer any questions, feel free to give me a shout.

Welcome David ! Love your 'press on' attitude !

As for on-line instruction, I can highly recommend John Ely. He's a great guy, player and teacher and his rates are reasonable. Check him out ?

http://www.hawaiiansteel.com/lessons/lessons.php