The Steel Guitar Forum

Well as most of my friends here know I had a finger joint replacement about 6 months ago and it has gone well,,,to say the least. I had started 4 more of my keyless lap steels,,(several people asking for them) before the surgery and I have literally struggled to get one finished. The other three are doubtful but,,,maybe someday. Anyway,,since I had wound up without one, I figured I really needed to get at least one going for myself,,,,boo boo's all over it but at least I will have one to play (IF I can ever get this finger to doing what it is supposed to do!!!!,,LOL). May be another 6 months before I get the hardware on it,,,luckily I hade some bridges and tuning keys sets made up.

Wow - beautiful wood!

beautiful guitar!

folks may not realize how hard on the hands making instruments is. im 70. i still play gigs on underarm guitar. i have to balance out my guitar building with my playing and not abuse my hands too much.

consider letting your hands rest for a while to let what seems to be a successful surgery settle in. you didnt mention which hand it was on, but if its on your stronger hand, then let your other hand take up as much slack as you can train it to. i try to do that. im right handed. i try to work with my left hand as much as i can to balance out the hard work. takes a while, but its worth it.

look forward to seeing and hearing your "final" guitar.

Beautiful Steel Sonny
Joe Elk Central Ohio Do a major rest and KEEP THEM COMING!!!!!!

Beautiful work, and hopefully not your last!

Thanks guys,,,not sure why the wood took stain so unevenly,,in a way that's good,,keep me from selling it,,,LOL. That's how it all started,,about 50-60 guitars ago I made one for myself,,,sold it,,,pretty much the same story other than the custom orders. I know I have sent them to Germany, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, England, Canada,India, Brazil,,,hummm? Paul Franklin even used one on a George Strait cut,,,,Maybe it's time to quit.

Unfortunately it is my right index finger,,,hurts to even pick my nose (among other more personal task,,LOL) I think the cuts were not made square,,throws all the complex mechanism in the finger out of alignment, which in turn keeps things irritated. Going for second opinion next week but I don't expect anything good from it,,,they all stick together. I know,,and told the DR, I would have been ashamed to send anything out of my shop like that.

Sonny Jenkins wrote:Thanks guys,,,not sure why the wood took stain so unevenly,,in a way that's good,,keep me from selling it,,,LOL.

if you are staining right on raw wood....thats a tough one. i just tint the lacquer and spray that. the color is easier to control when its the lacquer.

get your finger back in shape and keep making them!

Yes Bill,,,I use a tru-oil finish,,,ala Tom Pettingill,,,remember him,,,he set the bar high? Just keep rubbing that wood til it shines like a polished stone,,,LOL

Like I said,,I've 50-60 of behind me,,Proud of every one,,,,I've had my rewards.

Hi Sonny, I hope your hands heal. I bought your maple walnut 12 and I love the guitar I am not that good on it yet but I am persistent out of curiosity out of the guitars you have not finished are they 8,10 or 12 string?we have been planning to come down around your area for a while I'm outside of Paris tx

Hey Raymond good to hear from you,,,my family on both my mother and daddy's side were from Lamar county, Paris area,,,My great grand uncle was postmaster and store keeper in Powderly.

The 12 string you have is the only 12 string I've ever built,,,the past 18-20 have all been 10 string. The first 2-3 that I built were 6 string,,,then I started 8 strings and seemed like it opened up a whole world for non pedal,,,then I started 10 string and it seemed that it expanded the world even more. The ones that are not finished are 10 string. I've often thought I'd like to have a 12 string, but I have my 12 string uni pedal steel.

Great to hear from you my friend,,,Sonny sojen1@gmail.com

Building Steel Guitars is like the Black Hole, the more you try to get away , the more it sucks you back in.

I've been a huge fan and supporter of Sonny's fine work, ever since that Red One Rick bought in Dallas 2009.

Sonny has done a lot more than wood work, his machining is both quality and innovative too.

Congratulations on a life time of Dedication to this Rare Art Form.

Beautiful guitar,Sonny! I hope your finger gets with the program and heals well and soon! We'll be waiting to see those other 3 guitars when they're done.

Sonny, sorry to hear about the finger issues, but you did great work with your steels. They will be around longer than all of us.

Oh man,,,such kind words from such good and well respected FRIENDS,,,I'm a blessed man for sure. Thank ya'll so much,,,those sentiments mean more than all the $$ I ever made building them!!!

I'm trying to do some exercises to gain more function in my finger,,and pick blocking (or attempting to!) seems to be helping. I think Mike or Doug B or someone had some pick blocking exercises tabbed out at one time,,,anyone know who had those or where they could be found?