My first lesson learned with guitar building

Werner-Carstens · 2009-02-05T21:13:54+00:00

OK, so I decided to enter the world of guitar building/modification with a lap steel. It made sense to me to start with this as I do not have to deal with frets and truss rods and can learn the basics about electronics, scale length, bridges, nuts etc. Tonight I started with cutting the nut slots and managed to stuff it up within 15 minutes. The reason - not having the right tools. Lesson 1 then: "My son, get the right tools for the job". Nut files on Stew-mac $140.98 for 6. Are they crazy? Probably, but then you only file once since my set of needle files from the local hardware shop did not do the job... Do you guys have eny other lessons that you have learned that you can share with me as I have realised I am not going to stop with the lapsteel. I thought GAS was bad...

Manfred-Klose

How did you make those knobs Alan?

Seems like wizard is getting ready to customize his first strat...............

Wizard

Manfred Klose wrote Seems like wizard is getting ready to customize his first strat...............

?

They are nice knobs, aren't they?

AlanRatcliffe

Wizard wrote How did you make those knobs Alan?
Did you turn them on a mini-lathe?

Wouldn't be to hard to lathe them - just have to get some copper tube for inserts and some grub screws, but I was busy and ordering a bunch of stuff from Luthier's Mercantile anyway - and they have them quite cheap, so I ordered them (and a half dozen in ebony). The switch caps are quite tricky, so I got Roger at THG knobs to make me a pair.

g1

For my most recent set of knobs I used a plug cutter to get them the approx shape. Then put then on my dremel type tool and used sand paper. Although you'll need a fairly powerful drill press (as I found out) for the plug cutter.

Wizard

Pondering how best to do this.
Perhaps cut a long square cross-section piece of timbre.
Then dowel it (somehow) ...
Then cut off sections and work the rest by hand.
Could make a whole bunch that way, and share with friends

- just thinking aloud -

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