The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello Friends,

The pedal bar of my 2015 Excel Superb U12 is in need of some maintenance. The majority of the pedals are squeaking, gritty, and in need of lubrication and the 8th pedal has gotten slightly bent. I'd like to dissemble the bar to clean and oil everything, but I can't seem to figure out how. The pedals appear to be held in place by aluminum blocks that fit between each pedal inside the square aluminum tube of the pedal bar. The only retaining screw of any kind is next to the 8th pedal. I have removed the screw, but nothing seems to have moved or loosened. Any Excel owners out there know how to break down and service the pedal bar?

I'm a brand new Excel owner. I don't know the answer but you might try contacting Mitsuo himself at info@fuzzypsg.com

I considered that option Scott, but figured it would be the slowest path to resolution. I was wrong. You were quite right. I asked him yesterday and he replied in less than 12 hours with a detailed explanation and a graphic to help. I'm all set now. I will post his details here shortly for future reference.

Mitsuo answered my question by explaining that there is a long, 3mm thick, stainless steel bar running through the pedal bar and held in place with stop blocks on each end. In my photos above, you can see the right end block with the retaining screw in it. It turns out, my left end block and screw was hidden inside the tube and I couldn't see it. He instructed me to place a thin piece of wood against this end block and tap it out to the left lightly with a hammer. This allowed me to pull out the rod and all the pedal parts. He also sent me this graphic for reference:

Once the end block and rod are removed, you can remove the pedals and slide the spacers out of the tube. Here is what the pedal bar looks like disassembled:




Once broken down, I discovered that my 3mm rod was slightly bent which was causing my 8th pedal to sit crooked. I was able to order a new rod from McMaster-Carr.

Interesting. Thanks for posting the construction and assembly method. 3mm. Wow! That's like 1/8 inch. Pretty small.

BTW, you mentioned McMaster-Carr, I just ordered some small parts earlier in the week and they delivered the next day! Can't beat that service.

Same here Jerry. Ordered parts yesterday, and they just arrived 5 minutes ago. Crazy fast. I also ordered some 3mm delrin flat washers while I was at it. I'm going to see if I can further smooth the pedal action by reducing some metal on metal contact points.