Another Image Test Post ... or ... Lap Steels Rule :-)

[Tom Pettingill]

Here is a fun one I recently finished up

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[Charlie Schultz]

Hi Tom and welcome! Very nice work. Mahogany and BE maple?

[Tom Pettingill]

Hi Charlie and thanks! It is birdseye maple and some African mahogany / khaya. The inlay for the fret and position markers is aluminum and black fiberboard. Here is a little better pic of that.

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[Andy Barth]

Very nice Tom. impecable wood selection. Good clean work!

[Mark Swanson]

I like the two benders! Good job!

[Craig Bumgarner]

Nice work!

Can I ask a question about images? The posted images here show without a boundary boxes and are not linked to a larger version. In a picture I recently posted elsewhere here, the image appears in reduced size in a boundary box, caption and is linked to the full size version (74kb). I used "upload attachment". What accounts for the difference?

CB

[Charlie Schultz]

The images here are links to his photos on photobucket.com instead of attachments. For useful discussions, we prefer attachments because they will stay with the discussion where as linked photos are likely to disappear over time.

[Steve Senseney]

So, would you tell me about the fret ?

I have looked around for aluminum, but most seems to thick, or too thin.

And, I think your work is really well done, with impeccable taste!

[Tom Pettingill]

Thanks all

Steve ... the fret marker strips are laminated from some .016" sheet aluminum from the hobby store and some .030" black fiberboard. The bezels for the dots are cut from 9/32" OD and 7/32" OD aluminum tubing also from the hobby store.
Here is some .032" hobby store aluminum and 9/32" tubing.

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[Steve Senseney]

Thanks!

[Pete Halliday]

Tom--is the bender your own design or is that something commercially available?

[Charlie Schultz]

Hi Pete and welcome!

[Tom Pettingill]

Tom--is the bender your own design or is that something commercially available?

Those bridges are nice little units and made by Dusenberg. I wish I had a little mill as I'd like to experiment with a couple ideas of mine and in particular, an 8 string version.

[Celeste Hall]

That is a real beauty. Not to mention several wonderful ideas, but I think we need a ruling from the officials on if that is really a lap steel, or a non console hand operated pedal steel

[Roy Richard]

Beautiful guitars, how about a full shot of the second one you posted?
Have you ever tried the Hipshot Trilogy tailpiece tuners? They are available in 6 and 8 string models.

[Tom Pettingill]

Thanks Celeste and Roy

Roy ... That one was the prototype for my Teardrop style. I had this hunk of khaya with the grain running running amok so I ripped it in half, flipped one side, and glued it back together to get that chevron pattern going.

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And here is a later Teardrop in black walnut, quilt maple, and MOP fret and position markers.

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And an 8 string version

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[Scott French]

Some very good looking instruments. I especially like the lines and dots on the first. Are these things completely solid? Looks like a lot of wood, they must be fairly heavy, eh?

[Bill Mayer]

What did you use for the finish?

[Tom Pettingill]

Thanks Scott! These are all solid body, though I do have a couple chambered models / versions. Weight can vary a lot, but 8 - 9 lbs would be pretty average.

Bill .. these are all in Tru Oil. There are certainly easier ways to go if doing a flat high gloss, but I just love how Tru Oil looks and feels under hand.
Here is a maple topped Belle in Tru Oil

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[Peter Wilcox]

Tom - When I built a lap steel as a project here about 1 1/2 years ago, I must admit I used the pics from your photobucket album for some of my design ideas. Not as nice as yours, but satisfying to me.

Just wanted to thank you - "imitation (theft) is the most sincere form of flattery."

Anyway, thanks for posting all those pics. You've made some beautiful guitars.