The Steel Guitar Forum

hey guys,
I had a friend tell me about this site and I'm hoping that maybe someone on here can steer me in the right direction. My Sunday school teacher found an old lap steel and gave it to me. I have played and collected guitars for 20+ years now so he thought I would appreciate it. Anyway, to the best of my knowledge it's a 1954 Supro Airline. The problem is at some point the control plate along with the volume and tone controls and the input jack was removed. I have scoured the internet trying to find replacement parts with NO luck whatsoever! I don't have to have original parts. I would just like something to get this thing back into playing shape. I will attach a few pics in case I have misidentified the model. ANY help would be greatly appreciated!

Assuming the pickup unit itself is okay, that should be a relatively simple fix. All the parts and materials you will need are available from numerous sources, but Stewart-MacDonald should have everything you need if one-stop shopping appeals to you. There are even tutorials available on guitar wiring and tuner button replacement. All the tools and materials should be available from them online:

http://www.stewmac.com/

The model is right and the year is entirely possible.

As for replacements, I don't think you're going to find an original plate. Perhaps a member with an identical guitar could trace one for you and you could cut a new one out of Lucite.

Jack Hanson wrote:Assuming the pickup unit itself is okay, that should be a relatively simple fix. All the parts and materials you will need are available from numerous sources, but Stewart-MacDonald should have everything you need if one-stop shopping appeals to you. There are even tutorials available on guitar wiring and tuner button replacement. All the tools and materials should be available from them online:

http://www.stewmac.com/

I found everything i need except the Cover itself. that seems to be a tough piece to find!!!

Noah Miller wrote:The model is right and the year is entirely possible.

As for replacements, I don't think you're going to find an original plate. Perhaps a member with an identical guitar could trace one for you and you could cut a new one out of Lucite.

It would be AWESOME if someone on here has one that i could get that from! i already have everything else. thanks!

If you have a local plastics shop (such as the TAP Plastics chain), you could easily have someone make a replacement cover piece.

Here's a good sized closeup of the part you're seeking.

Spencer Ross wrote:

Noah Miller wrote:The model is right and the year is entirely possible.

As for replacements, I don't think you're going to find an original plate. Perhaps a member with an identical guitar could trace one for you and you could cut a new one out of Lucite.

It would be AWESOME if someone on here has one that i could get that from! i already have everything else. thanks!

I agree with Noah that finding the exact cover plate would be extremely unlikely. If somehow you were able to locate an original, it would likely cost nearly as much as a complete instrument. If you're patient, one may eventually turn up on eBay or elsewhere.

As Noah said, creating a replacement from a template of an original would probably be your best bet. You also could be very creative in your choice of materials and/or design if you're so inclined.

Good luck with your project, Spencer. Those old string-through Valco pickups sound awesome. Your instrument, aside from its missing parts, appears to be in excellent condition. Take a few hours to whip it into playing shape, any you will have a nice little guitar that's a real screamer.

Wow Spencer you hit the jackpot there...great guitar. I would definitely get a plate made for that out of whatever material I could work with or find somebody that could work with and get that thing playing! Thin wood veneer or thin plyboard would even work fine. Model airplane shops sell some very nice 1/8 inch ply that could be cut out sanded and stained or painted. If you wanted to take the time you could cover the backside with thin foil of some sort to add a little shielding, but if everything is grounded correctly this probably isn't necessary.

Look here under Supplies / Wood / Plywood

http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmart.e ... html?E+Sig

Another thought...if you have a local sign making shop they could possibly cut you one out of plexiglass.

I wonder if Warmoth could help. They sell a gigantic variety of pickguards made from different materials. I don't know if they do custom work, but maybe they can cut out a control plate from a tracing. At the very least, they could probably sell you the correct color.

http://www.warmoth.com/

There are a lot of black pickguards for sale on e-bay. I'll bet you could take a Stratocaster pickguard and cut it down to size.

Terrapin guitars has made custom pickguards for me for several years. Their work is top notch. Contact Mary Newell through their website www.terrapinguitars.com or
Terrapin Guitars LLC
Terrapin Island
PO Box 11565
Eugene, OR 97440

541-461-0877

Robert Allen wrote:Terrapin guitars has made custom pickguards for me for several years. Their work is top notch. Contact Mary Newell through their website www.terrapinguitars.com or
Terrapin Guitars LLC
Terrapin Island
PO Box 11565
Eugene, OR 97440

541-461-0877

Thank you, Robert! This is exactly what I need. Finding a replacement has turned out to be impossible!!! Thanks to everyone. All of you guys were very helpful. I'm sure I'll have some more questions when I start trying to wire this thing back up!

Hi Spencer. I have an identical '53 Supro. If it would be any help, I could remove my cover this weekend and make a tracing of it for a template. It's just solid black plastic, not tortoise or pearloid. I could also check the potentiometer and capacitor values while I have it apart. This is my first post so I haven't tried the private message stuff yet but you could PM your address if you want me to send a tracing.

Spencer, I got your PM and I'll be sending you a tracing of the cover. I'll try my hand at posting a picture or two of the pot layout. The forward pot is the tone pot and is apparently a 50K with a .05ufd capacitor. I couldn't tell the value of the volume pot because it was interacting with the pickup and I don't really want to unsolder it for a reading.

This is perfect! Thank you so much, it is greatly appreciated!