Tom Pettingill's P6 Deluxe Lap Steel

[Tom Pettingill]

I haven't posted a project in a while, but just finished this one up and thought I'd share. I've always loved the classic B6 Bakelites and a B6 style build has been on my to do list for some time now. As luck would have it, a customer and I got to chatting and we decided to give it a go. Needless to say, I'm pretty tickled, but also sad that Lollar will not be making any more of the Horseshoe pickups. I've got one more Horseshoe stashed, but beyond that, it looks like the P6 Deluxe is going to be a very limited issue.

Some of the particulars
24" scale
Lollar Horseshoe
curly maple body
African padauk plates
padauk and aluminum 3 ply inlay
padauk set bridge with bronze saddle
custom etched nickle silver logo / badge
Grover Deluxe vintage style tuners
Tru Oil finish

.

[Art Davila]

Very cool.
Question does the horseshoe pick up sound much different?
If so, how does it sound compared to other pickups you have used in lap guitars?

Is this the same type of horse shoe pick up used' (I think) on 50's Rickenbackers

[Pete Halliday]

OK, tell us how you made the etched logo badge please. The instrument is beuatiful, obviously.

[Tom Pettingill]

Thanks Art and Pete!

Art ... The Horseshoe pickup first showed up in the early 30's on Rickenbacker's Electro Hawaiian, aka the Frypan. Like most pickups, it has its own subtle voicing differences, but I'd generally describe it as a full and rich single coil that is very articulate with a sweet and airy aura to it. This particular reproduction was made by Lollar before Rickenbacker threw a hissy fit and shut him down. I'm all for respecting someones IP, but we are talking about something they have not made in many years and a 1936 patent that ran out on a long time ago. While I'm sure Jason would prevail if he chose to pursue it, no doubt the legal fees would be more than any potential profit from such a low volume product.

Pete ... Being that nickle silver is a copper alloy, I basically followed some of the DIY tutorials out there on etching PCB's / circuit boards. You basically print out your artwork reversed and inverse on a laser printer and use an iron to transfer the toner to your metal. The toner acts as your mask and you use ferric chloride for the etch. Thats the over simplified version, but like I mentioned, there are tons of tutorials and YouTube clips that cover the process and its variables in great detail.

[Keith VanDen Heuvel]

Where did you source the Nickel Silver metal for your nameplate?

[Tom Pettingill]

Where did you source the Nickel Silver metal for your nameplate?

It was part of a larger order from an online metal place, but because their minimum shipping cost is obscene, I would not recommend them for just a smaller quantity to play with. A jewelery supply place like Metalliferous might be a better option http://store.metalliferous.com/departme ... ?dept=3105

[Art Davila]

I was thinking of using a place called billet badges,

http://www.billetbadges.com/

to do a few things I want to do in the near future but, as yet I have not used them.
Now after seeing your name plate I might try your method.
I would like to inlay it and use a strong glue to hold it in place.

[Tom Pettingill]

Some cool stuff from Billet Badges.

Though I've not tried it yet, aluminum is another metal that can be etched with relatively home brew methods. Aluminum and zinc plates are a favorite amongst some artists for creating one offs and or plates for printing. With aluminum being cheaper and more readily available in lots of different sizes and shapes, it opens up a lot of possibilities. Here is a discussion about using a mixture of copper sulfate - (root killer), sodium bisulfate - (ph down pool chemical ), and table salt as an etchent http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=1084582