Best wood for a lap steel.

[sixstringsamurai]

Okay I have posted this over at a couple of other forums to no avail.
So I will post it here as well.

As many of us do, I have an overabundance of "spare" parts.
So I figured Screw it, I need a project and I miss having a dedicated instrument for slide work and have always wanted to build one, as they are pretty straight forward as a scratch build goes.

Plus I don't recall which forum member it was, but one of the pay it forward threads got me a proper lap steel slide.

So, I have a single OEM Gibson P90, a wrap around Lighting bar, and a set of white knob Gibson tuners.
(from a full upgrade I did on a LPJ.)

I am wondering what recommendations some of the seasoned builders here had as far as what to use for wood.

I see that red oak is reasonably inexpensive, and easy to get.
But is it any good tonally?

what about southern pine?

Any and all suggestions welcome.

 

[bagman67]

Well, here's my take.


Most of what you get out of a guitar is the result of the electronics, and to some extent the quality of the fiddly bits - i.e., if you have decent hardware, your string vibration won't be deadened in crappy pot metal parts.  On that basis, I should think you'll get respectable results out of any rigid material.  I mean, pedal steel guitars are made out of mostly metal and formica and plastic, and they tend to sound good.  Early Rickenbacker lap steel guitars were made of stamped steel and Bakelite, for cryin' out loud.


So:  Use a decent bridge and a decent nut and decent tuners, quality pots and maybe a couple different cap values to work your way into the tone you want, and you'll be fine with oak, pine, cedar, pre-fab wood countertop material, a chunk of melamine, or a billet of recycled scrap metal.  Do what you think will look cool, because you can doctor the sound to your heart's content by swapping out your caps and/or pots.  Plus signal processing, if that's your bag.


That said - a piece of drywall won't likely be durable enough for live gigging.

 

[Cagey]

I agree with Bagman. If I was to do such a thing, I think I'd use some Corian or granite rather than wood. But, honestly, everything I know about lap steels you could engrave on the head of a pin with a blunt rock. The guy to talk to here is Stubhead. I'm sure he's forgotten more about those instruments than most of us will ever know.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

I agree with Bagman. If I was to do such a thing, I think I'd use some Corian or granite rather than wood. But, honestly, everything I know about lap steels you could engrave on the head of a pin with a blunt rock. The guy to talk to here is Stubhead. I'm sure he's forgotten more about those instruments than most of us will ever know.

True, But I need somthing I can carry as well.... :laughing7:

I have plans, and just bought a bunch of stuff from my favorite tool outlet...
So all I need now is the actual body Material....

Probably off to do that later today, I have two lumber stores and a Home Depot within walking distance.
Although I need to check with my F.I.L. he used to run a butcher block furniture store and still has some leftovers.... wonder if any are big enough?

 

[sixstringsamurai]

So I did some tool shopping online this morning,
Ordered a 10 in Japanese rip /cross
7pc Forstner bit set ( 1/4 - 1 in)
A cheap miter box for basic cuts / angles / Marker board "Frets"
standard 6pc carbon steel chisel set
And a set of three Ti-Ni step drills....

Grand total... $55, thank you harbor freight... :laughing7: