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Topic: Anyone here ever built their own PSG? |
Andy Zynda
From:
Wisconsin
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 10:37 am |
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I know that there are pro builders here on the SGF, but I'm curious if any of you player/gearheads have ever built their own pedal Steel?
I have the itch. I've built my own pickups, electric guitars, amps, racks, speaker cabs, recones, Hammond organs from parts, Leslie Cabinets and Amps, and a few lapsteels.
When I say that I have the itch, I mean to play. Not really to build, but when I get that itch, I usually scratch it one way or another. I'd rather buy, but a players PSG starts in a price range that my wife considers grounds for castration...
So... anyone here done it? Hated it? Loved it? Success or Sucks period??
I'm from Wisconsin, and winter here is dark, cold and long. And I just built a new shop!!
-andy-
[This message was edited by Andy Zynda on 25 September 2004 at 06:41 PM.] |
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Mark Herrick
From:
Bakersfield, CA
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 10:44 am
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I think it's pretty much guaranteed that by the time you finish building a pedal steel guitar you will have spent as much in materials as you would have by purchasing a used one...
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Ed Naylor
From:
portsmouth.ohio usa, R.I.P.
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 11:29 am
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| There are lots of Do-it-Yourselfers out there. I have lots of photos that people have sent me after they built a guitar. It does require some mechanical knowledge and other skills but the end results are what people want. When someone calls me for parts I always tell them to KEEP IT SIMPLE especially if it is their first project. You don't need 14 pedals and 12 knees to start.Ed Naylor Steel Guitar Works. |
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Larry Phleger
From:
DuBois, PA
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 11:36 am
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| I built my first pedal steel. It was on the line of the old Sho Bud Maverick. It was very limited s to what changes I could get. Considering everything, it sounded really good, but I ended up wanting more changes than the instrument could deliver. There are a lot of reasonably priced instruments out there that you won’t outgrow, and the end cost will probably be comparable.IMHO. |
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Ron !
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 11:47 am
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Andy.
I am in the process of building one.
It comes with 4and6.I can recomend building your own steel.But be carefull....it cost you more then a new one.But you can tell all the people that YOU build it.
Ron
Nikaro SD10 4x6[This message was edited by Ronald Steenwijk on 25 September 2004 at 09:05 AM.] |
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Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 1:16 pm
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Burnin' the midnite oil at the millin' machine. That's what it's all about.
(Oh, and a grinder and a lathe and a bandsaw and a drill press and a press brake and an ironworker and a LARGE inventory of steel (for mistakes) help too. |
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Jim Phelps
From:
Mexico City, Mexico
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 1:25 pm
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| . [This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 09:05 PM.] |
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Brian Henry
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 1:46 pm
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Ronj,
Did you actually "build " this guiitar or did you get parts from linkon and others and merely "assemble" it. I have assembled a couple buty I've always wondered what it wouild be like to build one. |
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Farris Currie
From:
Ona, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 4:55 pm
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ANDY,i have built 6 single 10s thru the years
first,i own a country machine shop.2nd,i could never afford a factory steel.I machined
parts for a company which had a foundry,they
taught me how to build a pattern,so i had my
end plates casted.looked like hell when i got
them.man lots of work,and trying to get the
legs straight is fun.then drilling for legs,
drill,counter bore flat spots,then taping threads.also i built some plates for pullers
10 slots like sho-bud.alum.gums up when machined,if not careful it will cut slots way
oversize.Pullers,another story!got to buy a whole sheet of alum..102 thickness i think it
was,then you gotta have a shear to shear it to size.I COULD go on and on. as JEFF NEWMAN
TOLD US,spend your time practiceing and let the guys that are equiped do the building.
Just some good advice!!GOOD LUCK. farris |
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Savell
From:
Slocomb, AL
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 6:36 pm
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| . [This message was edited by Savell on 29 May 2005 at 07:00 PM.] |
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Ron !
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 11:28 pm
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TB.
The endplates.changerunit,neck,gearhead and telescopiclegs are from Linkon...except the neck and endplates(Emmons).The rest is made by myself..
Ron
Nikaro SD10 4x6[This message was edited by Ronald Steenwijk on 25 September 2004 at 08:56 AM.] |
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Farris Currie
From:
Ona, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 2:18 am
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SAVELL,your right,thats why i say i'm a country boy!Ilived in sarasota for 2yrs.;man i stayed in trouble.People in town don't like me shooting my shot gun,mowing yard at night,racing my truck motor,welding,popping fire works,burning trash in back yard,bring in a tractor and disking the yard at night.
i could go on,them people don't know how to live.They sure did hate my chickens to!
RON,thats cheating,buying parts !i always found the parts more than i could stand.but kinda like JOHNNY CASH said,one pc.at a time.
Guess i was like the beverly hillbillys in town,except,POOR.Tryed to shoot the ground and strike oil.i went wrong somewhere!! |
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Hook Moore
From:
South Charleston,West Virginia
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 3:36 am
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I built my own pedalbro about 13 years ago.
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HookMoore.com
Allen Moore
[This message was edited by Hook Moore on 25 September 2004 at 01:04 PM.] |
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Pete Knapton
From:
Otago, New Zealand
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 3:40 am
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| Thats funny! |
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Pete Knapton
From:
Otago, New Zealand
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 3:55 am
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| Hook, Farris' reply is funny, not your Pedalbro. Interesting concept though. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 4:16 am
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Great thread topic. I'm always interested in seeing what projects individual folks take on. There's usually ingenuity and creativity involved because it's a love of labor.
Hook, please tell us about your Pedabro. How does it sound and work? Would you change anything if you were to do it again?
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Per Berner
From:
Skovde, Sweden
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 4:23 am
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Saving money by building your own? No way. Getting a guitar with reasonable resale value? Nope. Getting a better playing guitar? Hardly. Getting a better looking guitar? Maybe, if you're really good. Having loads and loads of fun planning, finding parts and materials, machining, finishing, setting up and then seeing your own shiny handiwork every day? You bet!
I'm about to start building my own right now. I may be a bit foolish, but I'm not stupid, so I choose to buy the important parts that decide the playability. Doing so allows me to concentrate on the design and the woodwork, which are the really fun parts of it. If that's cheating, then every major manufacturer (of anything) is a cheater too.
I'll get started as soon as I get price quotes from Ed ( still waitin'  ) and a few other possible sources!
This is what it will look like - until I change my mind. The emblem on the right side is an ancient alchemist's symbol for steel.
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Emmons Legrande II D10 8+5, Goodrich 120, Peavey Nashville 1000[This message was edited by Per Berner on 25 September 2004 at 05:24 AM.] [This message was edited by Per Berner on 25 September 2004 at 05:26 AM.] [This message was edited by Per Berner on 25 September 2004 at 05:28 AM.] |
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Farris Currie
From:
Ona, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 4:45 am
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but PER,you haven't lived until,you make your own wood pattern,carried it to the foundry,and had it cast,then bring the ugly pcs.home.and go to work on them.Man that is a real challenge!!HA,then you can always be ready to do another one.get mike stands,cut them off,machine plugs,press them in tubing.
part of the challenge!!! |
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Per Berner
From:
Skovde, Sweden
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 5:12 am
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Farris - that's what I'll do on my second or third attempt, maybe. That one will have all the bells and whistles: keyless, all aluminum body, adjustable polepieces, individually height adjustable roller nut, snap-on aluminum legs and much more. Trying all that at once would be way too much on a first guitar.
I started building electric 6-string guitars the same way – first a kit, next time I built the body myself, next time I did the neck from scratch as well, etc, and someday I may even wind my own pickups. The deciding factor is that as an amateur with limited workshop resources, I can actually make a more luxurious body/neck etc than the factories can offer, but to come up with a changer or tuning machines that work as well as or better than what's commercially available, I would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars in trial-and-error research - all for a one-off guitar. I don't see the fun in that. |
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Andy Zynda
From:
Wisconsin
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 5:22 am
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Thanks to all of you for the excellent advice, stories, warnings, and laughs!
I'm still in the planning stages, but I'll probably take semi-builder route. I'll do the wood, neck, pickup, electronics, etc.
The more complex and precision mechanical work I'll probably purchase.
Linkon is a source?
I'd love to hear/see a list of parts sources!
Thanks again y'all. This is a great place to get started on PSG, no matter how you go about it!
-andy-
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Steve Frost
From:
Scarborough,Maine
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 6:13 am
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I'm building a pair of U12s in my basement. The only finished parts I've bought are the tuning machines and the pickups. Most of the aluminum came from the scrapyard, though I did get some stock from McMaster-Carr, etc.I cut the pieces for the endplates, and farmed out the welding to a friend, since that's not one of my capabilities. When I started this process, a number of people told me that it wasn't an efficient way to get a steel, and that's certainly true. If you've got a deadline, I wouldn't recommend it . If you enjoy the process and the challlenge, however, and figure it'll be done when it's done, then it can be a lot of fun. I always think of Tim the Toolman saying, "If you didn't build it yourself, it's not really yours!"  I don't totally believe that, of course, but there's some truth to it. This is a great exercise in precision work and organization.
My enthusiasm and energy for working on the steels comes and goes- I'll work furiously on them for a while, then not touch them for months. I'm glad I bought a steel to learn on while I'm building! I'll try to post some pictures, if I can find a place to upload them. |
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Farris Currie
From:
Ona, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 6:53 am
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WAY to go STEVE!!it's fun ain't it? you guys bout got me ready to do another one!I also buy the keys,pickups!i'm probaly going to try a double neck next time!twice the work!I do alum.welding to,so next i'll probaly build my own pedals.you bet scrap yard is a great place to buy material,new is very expensive.i built my own inlay last time,planed walnut to about 5/8 then put in in milling mach.sideways,drilled 3/8 holes about 7/8 in.apart.pressed 3/8 maple dowls allthe way thru about a 4'' wide board,then riped about 1/8 strips,dadoo slots in birdseye cabinet,hard but very enjoyable.
well, keep up the good work man. farris |
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Steve Frost
From:
Scarborough,Maine
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 7:41 am
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I don't know if this'll work, as I haven't posted images before. If not, I'll try again!   |
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John Lazarus
From:
Tucson, AZ.
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 7:44 am
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Our own forumite, Frank Carter is in the process of building his own guitar. Problem is, his full name is FRANKLIN CARTER.
What do you suppose he'll use as a nameplate on the his guitar?
Perhaps the contraction "FARTER" might work. |
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Ron !
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Posted 25 Sep 2004 7:50 am
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Steve.....
That's a superb piece of work..Is that laminated?Or is it just plaine wood?
Can't tell from here.And what kinda end-plates did you use???Sho-Bud's?
Anyway.....i like it a LOT.
Andy.
If you want to contact Wayne Link....use the url below...
http://www.linkonguitars.ca
Ron
Nikaro SD10 4x6 |
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