The Steel Guitar Forum

I bought thi new back in 1974, played the heck out of it for many years and put it away in my closet for the past 25 years. Last August I got the bug to play again and set it up. Dang, it was filthy! I tuned it up and found it didn't want to stay in tune, the combination of old strings and filthy mechanics for sure. Here's some pics right out of the case ... sorry, these ain't pretty ...

The underside was even worse!

I'm not sure what some of the stuff growing there was ...

I am a new member to the forum, I had read much about 'cleaning' things up and getting things working again. I knew the fingers were sluggish and dirty. I had read about using lighter fluid, carb cleaner, etc. to clean things up. I have to say the idea of running anything like that through my changer didn't thrill me.

So I contacted James Morehead in Oklahoma, I had read his posts and seen his excellent work. The results of his steel guitar rebuilding was stunning! James said, "You got one of the best instruments that ShoBud ever built, I'd take it apart and clean it up good. I'll even walk you through the process." I was sold ... the following are some pics of the break down ...

Strings removed and starting to remove the rods



Removing the fingers






Yep, plenty grungy alright

Everyone is different, I guess for me being a rookie at this I needed to keep things organized. I had 1" Styrofoam insulation sheets that I kept thing organized in ...




Everything was either tagged/labeled or organized per cabinet location.



I removed every screw and metal part and hand polished everything. Below are the polished Grovers.

The cabinet needed a good scrubbing too ...









As did all the aluminum ...






Dirty Grovers ...

The pull rods and pedals were pretty nasty too ...

Before ...



After ...



Before ...

Lots of elbow grease and labor later, the parts start to look better ...










Lots cleaner and wax and ... looking much better.

Keep the pictures coming - this is great to see!

Putting it all back together ...



I sent the end plates, key tuners and finger mechanism plates to James Morehead in Oklahoma for "mirror polishing" ... WOW is all I can say ... oh, and thanks James !!!

End plates installed.



Rods coming along ...






Looks better than new!

Replacing the fingers. (sorry ... out of sequence ... LOL )







I sent all the springs to James Morehead ro cleaning too ...

Reconnected wiring - added new micro toggle switches

Shines like a new penny she does ... Thanks to James Morehead for the parts & the moral support. I don't think I'd have tried this without him !!!




Mirror polished ... Yesssss ...

I can't say enough about my friend James Morehead, he's had a bit of a run with health issues lately but seems to be fighting his way back. Do not hesitate to contact him regarding parts and pieces ... "He da man!"

Nice job. Pretty instrument. Bet it sounds wonderful.

Thanks, Ken, I does sound terrific! Now the only thing I can blame my playing on is me ...

The guitar is working and looking supurb.

Wow!

Yes! I just love seeing old instruments getting a new lease on life. Great Job - Enjoy it!!!

Beautiful!

Amazing! Great work.

Wow! That guitar looks great!!

Man that looks so good. Wish mine would turn out that good!! Stupid bar dings and lacquer checks!!! Ahhhhhhh!

Great job! She's beautiful!

Will you detail my truck for me?