$100 local materials challenge, David Frassetto's lapsteel (Completed 4/13/12)

[david frassetto]

For this challenge I'm going to build a lap steel in the time honered Red Bank NJ style (Danelectro). Since I'm still rercovering from the medical issue that kept me away from the last challenge and I still haven't been cleared to drive, all my materials will come from my pile of stuff here at home.

I have a poplar 1x2, some masonite scraps from a previous build, a sheet of acrylic, and all the guitar parts from will come from my stash.

[david frassetto]

I got started last night and after sketching a plan cut the parts out for the frameand glued it together.

[david frassetto]

Then I glued the puzzle together.

[david frassetto]

This morning I glued on a block for the bridge to anchor to and cut the excess off and rounded the corners to finish the frame.

[david frassetto]

The top plate was glued on yesterday. Then I used a flush trim bit in the router to clean up the edge. I cut the hole for the pickup and drilled the holes for the controls.

[david frassetto]

I also made the nut and bridge out of 1//2" aluminum angle stock (seen in picture above).

[david frassetto]

I got the back on and the control cover made. I also cut a hole for a Strat style output jack.

[david frassetto]

And then the first disaster. The fence slipped whuile routing the recess for the tuning machines. So I cleaned it up and routed it down so I could splice in a piece of poplar. After it dried I trimed it flush and reset the fence ( checking it 3 times ) and finished the tuner routing.

[Steven Wilson]

Very cool David, I'm thinking about entering a lap steel my self. So they grow masonite and acrylic near you?(wink)
And did any one else notice that curly maple in you first pic?

[david frassetto]

Thanks Steve, I'm defining locally sourced as the Home Depot 2 miles away. Thats as far as I can walk round trip now. Thats also where I got the curly maple you saw in the first pic. Sometimes they have some real nice pieces but it is all hit or miss. At $.97 a linear foot that 8' 1x2 was a steal (part of which I used for the neck of the rebec I made for last years challenge).

[david frassetto]

This morning I drilled out the tuning machine holes and the nut and bridge pieces. Checked the fit and alignment. Now it's time for the finish!

[Louie Atienza]

Cool! You'll be on number 4 by next week!

[david frassetto]

The fingerboard is made out of .090" thick acrylic plastic. After cutting it to shape and smoothing the edges I tape it on top of the plans. I used 3/32" wide pinstripe tape from the auto supply store to create the fret lines. I pull it tight and line it up with the plans visible thgough the board. Then press down and you get a nice straight line. After smoothing it out with with a glass slide I trim off the long ends with an exacto knife. The position markers are dots punched out of the extra piece in the pinstripe kit.

[david frassetto]

I'm doing another fabric finish on this one. I start by cutting a piece slightly bigger than the face I'm doing. Then I spray both the fabric and the body with a spray adhesive (Duro or 3M super 70)and press the fabric onto the body repositioning it and smoothing out any wrinkles. Tape is sometimes needed to keep the corners tight until the glue dries. Then I set it aside to dry a few hours.

[david frassetto]

After the adhesive dries I give it a good coat of Minwax water based polyurethane. This is left to harden for a few hours. Then the excess is trimmed and a second coat of poly is applied with extra attention paid to sealing the edges. When this dries all the holes are trimmed with an exacto knife and a third coat of polt ic applied.

[david frassetto]

The body binding is made from a window shade. I've used the same shade I bought for a challenge two years ago (24X60"). I made a slitting jig out of a 1x8 and a strip of trim to use as a fence. I stick an Exacto blade into the 1x8 the distance from the fence to match the width I need and slide the shade along cutting it into strips.

Then I use Loctite Stick and Seal adhesive to glue the strips onto the body. after the glue starts toset up I trim the excesss binding material off and clean up any excess glue. Its water nbased so it cleans off easily.

[david frassetto]

I'm gonna stick a fork in this one cause it's done!

[david frassetto]

A few more shots

[david frassetto]

And the numbers:

Poplar 1x2x8' $6.32
Masonite $1.41
Aluminum $0.65
Fabric $1.48
Window shade $0.60
Striping tape $1.50
Tuners $5.00
Pickup $10.00
String retainers $6.00
Plastic $1.44
Jack plate $5.00
Jack $0.97
Pots $5.00
Knobs $6.00
Polyturethane $2.82
Misc screws & glue$6.00

Total $60.19

Thanks and I look forward to your cheers, jeers, and gufaws.

[david frassetto]

One last look!