I'm in the process of building a Champion-style lap steel (the thread is around here somewhere.) i couldn't, for the life of me, find any PDF's or templates for any Fender lap steels online. I ended up finding a large, high-quality front-on photo of a Fender Champion and enlarged it in GIMP until it was the correct size. I kept track of known measurements that i WAS able to find (or already knew), like tuner post diameter, scale length, body width and length, etc. Once they all seemed to match up, i was able to get the rest of the measurements off of it. I used a pretty large hi-res photo, and i think i ended up blowing it up to about 127%. The quality didn't need to be super-clear, since i was just using it for measurements. The only measurement that's different on mine is that i believe the original necks on the Champions were 3' wide, whereas i made mine 2.75' wide.
I just thought it looked better. I drew out a template, but ended up just making a bunch of layout lines on my wood and redrawing it by hand directly onto the wood to tweak a few little things here and there. It won't be an exact copy, but i wasn't going for total accuracy either.
Search the Tele Home Depot forum for a thread titled 'Fender Champion-inspired Lap Steel' for build photos and details. I've taken a break from it for a week or two to catch up on some other things in life, but i'll be picking up the build again in the next few days.
Free 22-1/2' / 24' lap steel plan - The Steel Guitar Forum Free 22-1/2' / 24' lap steel plan Author Topic: Free 22-1/2' / 24' lap steel plan Randy Cordle Member From: Illinois, USA posted 25 August 2006 07:37 PM Hi, Thought I would pass along a free lap steel plan that I have posted on my website. The instrument plan is roughly patterned after an Oahu Tonemaster with the body profile scaled to match the shorter scale length.
The drawing has all details for both 22-1/2' and 24' scales and alternate bridge plate and pick guard ideas. Full printouts of both fret board layouts are also provided. The plans are in PDF format and available as one sheet or 4 sections that can be printed and tiled together for a 12-3/4' by 17' scale print. Hope some of you interested in building will take the plunge with a little encouragement! PDFs are available for the clicking at: This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 26 August 2006 at 10:58 AM. Bill Hatcher Member From: Atlanta Ga. USA posted 25 August 2006 08:14 PM Nice drawings.
Nice site-kind of hard to read all the good info with that busy blue background though. Any audio samples of your guitar? Randy Cordle Member From: Illinois, USA posted 26 August 2006 06:28 AM Thanks for the input, Bill. You can now switch backgrounds at the top of the home page. Thanks for the suggestion, the blue background will eventually be the home page only, with all the other linked pages done with the plain paper background. I really dislike sites with (1) Too busy backgrounds or (2) black backgrounds. I'll also eventually get up some MP3s.
Roman Sonnleitner Member From: Vienna, Austria posted 26 August 2006 11:07 AM Cool site & great-looking lap-steel! Frank Lombard Member From: Western Massachusetts, USA posted 04 September 2006 07:24 AM Great plans! Any chance of an 8 string version? Lee Gillespie Member From: Colorado, USA posted 04 September 2006 01:31 PM Hi Randy.
Seconds on the thought of an 8 string plan. Lee Mel Taylor Member From: Alabama, USA posted 04 September 2006 01:41 PM Hi Randy, 3rd's on the thought of an 8 stringer. I have been looking all over trying to find plans and haven't been able to locate any. Mel Taylor Randy Cordle Member From: Illinois, USA posted 06 September 2006 08:48 PM Frank, Lee, and Mel: (and everyone else) OK. You guys asked a few simple questions, so here goes my long-winded response. You guys have wet my curiosity as to the amount of interest in 7 and 8 string laps.
Since I play 6 string, and only in E and G tunings, I’m unfamiliar with the technical perspective of the 7 and 8 string lap steels. I could certainly CAD a print up for a 7 or 8 string lap steel if you think there’s enough interest. To produce a construction print such as the free 6 string lap steel drawing on my website I’ll need some info from you guys. (Others please feel free to chime in). First, Should I consider both 7 and 8 string instruments?
I don’t know what the interest is for these varieties. Since I need to do a working instrument from the drawings I’d like to have a quick synopsis of 7 and 8 string details that I can work from without doing a ton of research. Searching past postings on scale length and tuning preference seems to be as varied as the number of responses. If I could obtain the information from you folks as a starting point I could more easily produce a good construction drawing. I’ll offer the finished drawing as a half-size PDF on my website for anyone to use as they see fit.
I’ll probably offer it as a full size drawing that can be reproduced at the local Kinko’s for a small fee. I’m also considering offering a stainless steel bridge assembly with string anchor points and over-wound single coil pickup for 6, 7, or 8 string lap steel guitar construction as well as other items that would be of use to amateur builders. So, here are the questions I’d like some input on: 1.
Preference for 7 or 8 strings? Scale length? (Here’s a can of worms to be opened) 3.
Nut and bridge string spacing? This could also be dependant on the number of strings 6, 7, or 8) Going out on a limb here, I personally have settled for string spacing of 11/32” at the nut and 3/8” at the bridge, at least for 6 string lap. There seems to be a lot of varying opinions as to the “correct” setup for string spacing. Narrow, wide, taper, no taper, parallel 3/8”.all seem to have their own devotees. Headstock style, i.e.
“Classic Oahu” or “A” style like the Bluestem I-10 on my website. I have a preference here for the “A” style, as it is easier to get a straight string path to the tuning post. Also, I’m sold on vertical posts, rather than vertical tuning buttons.
It takes little time to adjust to tuning a conventional guitar style tuner and the ease of string changes makes up for the tuner buttons mounted in a pan. What’s a good tuning for a 7 and 8 string lap steel, and what would be the appropriate string gauges for said tunings? Any preference for single coil vs. Double coil pickups? (Arranged as classic hum buckers or with a Stringmaster-style blend pot configuration) So, Have at it and let me know what your likes are! Peter Jacobs Member From: Northern Virginia posted 07 September 2006 05:38 AM Randy - this is very cool, and let me first say that I appreciate you being so generous with your time and talents. I agree with you re: tuner orientation - it's just easier for me to get the strings on when they are in guitar position.
Have you considered a 6-in-line headstock? I've been thinking about building a steel with this configuration because all the tuners will be on the player's side, so no awkward contortions. Just a thought. I'm a 6-stringer, too. I can see the apeal of 7 or 8, but I have enough trouble as it is. For pickups, I love the openness of single coils and the power of humbuckers. How about P-90s?
They can be sweet or nasty, depending on your amp settings. I'm anxious to see your bridge assembly. Hope I haven't gone too far into left field. Peter Bill Creller Member From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA posted 07 September 2006 06:38 AM The vertical post tuners are a lot easier to do for people who are not into a lot of woodworking. The vertical tuner knobs are handier for tuning, but a slotted peghead is a lot more work to fabricate. I have built only one guitar with the 'A' style head stock you mentioned. Actually I prefer the slotted peghead like a Rick frypan, but again, it's more work.
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In this, my first Instructable, I will attempt to chronicle the construction of a simple Lap Steel guitar. Windows 95 virtualbox image windows. Disclaimer; power tools and sharp cutting tools will be used and I take no responsibility for people who use these things carelessly, read and understand manufacture's instructions and safety guidelines for their proper and safe use. The nice thing about a lap steel guitar is that the fret board can be super simple or non existent at all.
You don't need to install fret wire and if it isn't perfectly flat or crowned it doesn't matter. Here I am trying to decide if I should use walnut or some lovely bird's eye maple I had on hand.
Since they both looked good I decided to use them both. You could assemble the fret board right on the guitar or do as I did and glue it up and mark it off before I attached it to the guitar. The end product should be 2 1/4' wide by 1/8' to 1/4' thick by about 18' long, it is better to go long and trim later. Also, a word about scale length, I will be using a 22 1/2' scale length with 25 fret positions.
This link has a great fret calculator. Now is the time to start thinking about how the electronics are going to work, in this step I show the process I went through to make the pick-up cover plate. I started by using a 1/8' X 2' X 4' piece of maple I had left from the fret board. It is important to have extra of what ever stock you are going to use because this step is deceptively difficult to pull off in one go.
Lay out must be accurate and your cuts need to be clean. I'll let you get the exact dimensions from the link I posted in the intro. I used a variety of tools here, a drill press, a rotary tool with a steel burr attachment a copping saw and a variety of files and rasps. Cutting the cavity for the pick up is where things have the potential to go terribly wrong. Once again be sure of your lay out and where on the guitar neck it will go. There are all kinds of theories about the perfect placement of a pick up that you don't need to get into.
What you need to know is what space do you have available to work with? Since the scale length is 22 1/2' then we know the bridge will be exactly 22 1/2' from the nut. We also know where our fret board ends, since you have glued it on by now. So, pick a spot about half way between the bridge and the end of the fret board. Here I used a drill press and a 3/4' bit, use a bit that has a flat face, something like a forsner(sp?). You will remove most of the material with this and work to the lay out lines with a hammer and chisel.
I set my drill press to cut to a depth of 3/4' but you can go only 5/8' deep if you wish. In this step I'll show how I created the cavity for the volume pot and cord jack. As with all things, begin with locating where on the guitar you want to place the controls. Since this guitar will be played right hand, I placed the controls on the side facing away from the player.
I started with physically placing the components on the blank and deciding how much space I need to provide for them. After that it was only a matter of centering the space on the blank and drilling out the cavity. Like with the pick-up cavity I used a drill press to remove the material. I found there was no need to do any chisel work here because the components were round. Be sure you drill deep enough for the guitar cord to plug in without the end striking the bottom of the hole. I then went ahead and drilled a 1/4' hole at an angle from the control cavity into the pick up cavity to run the wires. One of the things to do now is make your perminant wire connections from the pick up to the volume pot and phone jack.
You could also add a tone control pot if you want but this is, after all, a basic build. I like to use a fine tip on my soldering iron because of the tight spaces you are dealing with and the small guage wire involved. Simply follow the diagram and make your connections. Chances are you have used a stereo jack so orient the jack upside down with the long metal tab that makes contact with the guitar plug (I'm sure this bit has a name) nearest to you. Then use the tab directly away from you and the one to the left. The wonderful thing about building a guitar from scratch is that there are so many little projects involved.
While I wait for my client to send some parts he wants on this I started work on the bridges. I am using 3/4' X 1/2 ' aluminum L channel cut to the same width as the fret board. I then sanded it through the stages up to 600 grit. Be sure to knock off any sharp edges and corners too. I then located and drilled the holes for the mounting screws on the 1/2' lip. Make 2 of these, one acts as a nut, the other a bridge. Then measure in 1/16 ' in from each end.
Those marks will be for the E strings. Then, divide the remaining space to accommodate the other 4 strings. When notching the aluminum for the strings it is important to keep in mind that the tops of the strings all need to be at the same hight so all you are really doing here is making shallow notches to permanently locate where the strings will sit.
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You will do the final fitting during the set up phase right at the end of the build. You will also need to make a way of holding the strings at the bridge. There are, again, all kinds of ways to do this, I chose to use a tail block. Like any time you try something new, you can make mistakes, in this case for example, I learned that lacquer doesn't like ink, and that I should have tested the application first. Oh well, learn and move on. I used a gloss lacquer for the finish of this project because of many past successes. If you start with a good surface preparation then there is little or no sanding between coats.
Spray lacquer is a great way to go but brush on is ok too. I did a brush on application for the first coat because I was dealing with very dry wood and I knew there would be a lot of absorption. The final 3 coats were sprayed. Warning, this stuff is very nasty to breathe and very flammable so good ventilation, and no open flames please. A respirator would be a good idea too. So, I have laid out and drilled for the machine heads, the next thing to do is to attach the machines.
Next I did the final setup on the bridge and nut, which was just a case of filing the notches down to get the all the strings at an equal height. The thing to try and do here is make sure the bottom of the notches are round.
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This prevents the strings from buzzing. After that is done string it up and run it through the amp! I won't offend the real lap steel guitar players out there by posting a video of me testing it.
I'll post a video at a later time of a friend playing it (he actually knows how). I hope you enjoyed this rather long instructable and try building one yourself.
Build yourself a really cool lap steel guitar with these detailed, professionally drawn plans. Plans show complete details drawn full scale (1:1). Complete materials list and sources, wiring details for volume and tone controls, fretboard dimensions and much more. The Photos below show a lap steel guitar built from these exact plans. Construction Photos of guitar built from these plans. You can build this guitar from a variety of woods.
The example below is white maple. A 3/4' thick planed board, 72' long x 8' was used. The board was cut in half to get two 36'x8'x3/4' pieces. These pieces where glued together to get an 1 1/2' body block. The outline of the guitar was printed on 8 1/2'x11' paper and taped together. The paper template was traced on the body blank and cut out with a band saw.
(You could use a jig saw instead). The headstock/peghead with 'thinned' and angle to 3 degrees and 1/2'thick on the band saw.
(You could use other saws, planes and chisels to get the peghead shape). The cavities for the electronics and picukp where cut with a forstner bit and a dremel tool.
This lap steel guitar features a solid white maple body, rosewood fretboard with low steel frets, custom made polymer clay position markers. Brazilian rosewood peghead veneer and trim plates. Standard lap steel 22 1/2' scale with 2' ebony nut. Kent Armstrong #MP-112K single coil pickup.
Telecaster style, fully adjustable bridge. 500k volume and tone pots and standard 1/4' input jack. Grover 18:1 'Sta-tite' tuners. Set up with Morell JMLS-G strings (016,.018,.026N,.040N,.050N,.058N).
Excellent tone! Plans are provided in a PDF document that is drawn 1:1 scale for printing on 24'x36' media. To get a full-size print of the construction plan you will need to take the PDF to a Quick Print business who can print documents on an ink jet printer that can take 24'x36' media. However, you can also print 'sections' of the plan on a smaller printer and tape together for cutting templates as needed.