New build - lap steel

[Karl Wicklund]

Here's a lap steel I just finished stringing up last night. American Elm body, Black Walnut fingerboard and pick guard, finished with Tru-Oil. The bridge and nut are 1/2 aluminum angle stock. The rest of the hardware and the electronics came from an online vendor - "economy" stuff, but it's doing the job.

I teach high school English. In 2013, we were asked to come up with creative rewards for students - I offered an afternoon session making a cookie-tin banjo. The student who chose this asked if we could up the ante a little. After some consideration, we settled on lap steel as a project doable in a couple of weekend sessions. Nearly two years later, this one is done!

The project grew in the making. At first, we figured we'd make a bone-head simple one out of 2x6 construction lumber. But the shop class had taken down a dying elm, and we were given a plank of that to make two guitars. Wood grown on the school grounds, milled and seasoned on site - couldn't pass it up for this project. Then I happened across some walnut scraps that were just right for the trim. And then, and then...

If I'd known how far this would progress, I would have done many things differently. Design problems and small blemishes and that seemed fine for a slapped together weekend project are pretty apparent on the finished instrument. Still, I'm proud of this. I've built a few other "real" instruments in the past ten years with the help of a good (sadly, deceased) friend, and a few cookie tin banjos and such. This is the nicest build I've done completely independently.

I don't post here often, but I read almost daily. Thank you for the support you all didn't even know you were giving me!

[Karl Wicklund]

Here we are with our finished instruments. This guy is a bit of a wunderkind - built animatronic homecoming floats; designed a virtual computer; got huge scholarships to study theory & composition next year. On top of that, he's a wonderful kid to work with. I feel lucky to have had him as a student.

[Jason Rodgers]

Very cool, Karl! I'm a teacher, too - middle school band and choir - and sometimes I wish I could share my woodworking skills with my students. Unfortunately, like many schools nowadays, we're missing a big component: shop class. I've all but designed a cigar box ukulele project, mostly using basic woodshop chops, but our district doesn't even have a shop, much less my site.

Good on ya!

[Karl Wicklund]

We still have a shop, but no shop teacher. It falls more or less under care and guidance of our Ag teacher and a few of us on staff who are shop savvy. We began this in the school shop, but when the scale of the project became clear, we moved to my home shop. With parental permission slips of course.

[Allan Midgley]

Nice build, thinking of my own, but designing up a 10 string. Can you please tell me what string spacing did you use on your 6 string lap steel, I am just trying to work things out.

Thanks Allan

[Karl Wicklund]

Allan,

Sorry, I didn't respond earlier. My spacing at the nut is 53mm, at the bridge is 64. At the moment I don't recall exactly where I came up with that. It was rather arbitrary; probably just came from spacing on my Gibson Dove. (Well, the Epiphone reissue). I assure it it had nothing to do with being "correct," but it seems comfortable to play so far, at least for a hack like me.