As a woodworking hobbyist and musician, i found this project very rewarding. Lap steel guitars lap steel guitars are played in a different manner to the regular guitar. Thought i would pass along a free lap steel plan that i have posted on my website. Diy instrument plans free archive cigar box woodworker. A traditional spanish guitar, lightly built with an open string length of 655mm. As a woodworking hobbyist and musician, i found this. Here is a pdf if you want to use mine as a template.
Jan 30, 2019 this lap steel was made from an extra 2x4 i had in my shed, with just a few saw cuts to the wood. Its set up with a standard 23inch scale, just like the store boughtlap steels. It is a different story today, but that makes it even more rewarding to play steel as a rare novelty that few people can do. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The instrument plan is roughly patterned after an oahu tonemaster with the body profile scaled to match the shorter scale length. John tipka has an excellent article explaining the basics of building a lap steel at the hawaiian steel guitar association web site. A lap steel guitar is an easy instrument to make, since it requires none of the detailed shaping and fretwork required when. Stringed musical instruments and plans here are brief descriptions, photos, and plans for a few of my original instrument designs. Free guitar downloads by john anthony guitars jag guitar plans. Jan 29, 2018 here is a video showing the steps of me building this beautiful lap steel guitar in my garage with virtually no experience as a luthier. The slide guitar of kelly joe phelps is a very good video by kelly joe phelps.
Simple lap steel guitar i call this lap steel guitar simple because it is basically just a blank with strings attached. Free beginner lesson introduction to c6 tuning for lap steel duration. The plans feature a lap steel guitar with full schematics. Thus, all damping can be performed as in classical steel techniquewith the edge of the hand. Complete materials list and sources, wiring details for volume and tone controls, fretboard dimensions and much more. The plans are not for beginners, but experienced luthiers will have no problem with them as is, and may find these useful points of departure for their own designs, too. This piece is 18 clear acrylic peel off the blue film to expose the clear plastic, and measures 2.
Instrument plans arthur robb, art robb, luthier, lutes. Here is a video showing the steps of me building this beautiful lap steel guitar in my garage with virtually no experience as a luthier. Songs for steel guitar in tablature format the well. C6 lap steel lessons this section is all about c6 tuning for lap steel. Just but the top edge up against the nut and use small screws like these to screw it down. More than 20 new projects have been added, including cigar box guitars, ukuleles, lap steel guitars made from 2x4s and more. Introduction to c6 tuning for lap steel steel guitar. The 6 string lap steel is great for hawaiian, blues, slide guitar licks, many country songs, dobro style riffs and can imitate a lot of what can be played on the 8. Slide guitar and hawaiian lap steel are also done in open tunings. The drawing has all details for both 2212 and 24 scales and alternate bridge plate and pick guard ideas. The photos below show a lap steel guitar built from these exact plans. I even used a prewired acoustic sound hole pickup, so there was no wiring needed. You dont need to learn a lot of things to get you started, just start off with the basics.
However, that doesnt mean that the instrument lacks anything a lap steel guitar needs, and it can be played just as well as any other lap steel instrument. Cigar box nation has just updated its archive of free diy musical instrument plans. This is one of the easiest homemade guitars ive ever built, and it took me only an hour to make. From the simple 3string cigar box guitar instructional that started the cigar box guitar revolution to historical plans dating back to the 1800sweve collected them all. But i have no idea of the real neck to body joint, so i drew a dovetail mortise and tenon. Open e is tuned to the same standard pitch as a regular guitar and the third, fourth, and fifth strings are raised to the open e chord. In this lesson, i give you an introduction to c6 tuning for lap steel. Strum hollow has a few tunes for resophonic guitars in midi, tab and tabledit format. If youre a steelcurious guitarist or bassist fyi, john paul jones plays wicked lap steel looking for a reason to take the first step, this lesson is for you. In fact, the most difficult part will be learning to play the instrument, but thats a different story.
Its set up with a standard 23inch scale, just like the store bought lap steels. Many people agonize over getting a 6 string versus an 8, 10 or 12 string lap steel. Im not talking about detouring into the world of oboe or harpsichordgot a decade or two to spare. Bluestem strings beginners guide to lap steel construction. Lap steel guitar plans diy homemade electrical guitar project. Step by step instructions for how to make your own simple lap steel slide guitar.
If youre looking for specific steel guitar pickups, try seymour duncan they make replacement pickups for the fender champion and stringmaster steels or george ls. The lap steel guitar is a popular instrument found in folk, country, bluegrass and even hawaiian music. Lap steel build features john anthony guitars, luthiers plans. There are several factors that make building a lap steel easy. I am looking for c6 lap steel tabs, as a beginner it would be easier it the words to the song was. This instrument is based on the more up to date version of the classic lapsteel. Building a lap steel guitar start to finish youtube. This plan was made after a martin ukulele from the 40s. Most lap steel guitars were constructed using the same parts as are found on regular guitars. If you dont know what tablature is or have other questions, look at the online guitar archive olga.
Click here to view the pdf a pdf will download to your computer. Crystal forest instrument finely crafted in the foothills. The tuners and pickups from any standard guitar parts supplier such as allparts or stewartmacdonald should work for your guitar. This video is super condensed, so feel free to ask any questions. Slide guitar for blues lap style is by bob brozman and covers mostly blues in open dm, d and g. To get a fullsize print of the construction plan you will need to take the pdf to a quick print business. The 6 string lap steel is great for hawaiian, blues, slide guitar licks, many country songs, dobro style riffs and can imitate a lot of what can be played on the 8, 10 and 12 string tunings. The lap steel project can be used as the project body for the patina class.
Lap steels have seen a bit of a new life among cigar box guitar and homemade music enthusiasts. These free plans for accoustic guitars while very strong in the barouque department dont fix if it aint will have you wondering why you ever thought itd be cheaper to build a guitar instead of just buying one. Jay buckeys web site has some tablature for dobro and other instruments in adobe acrobat pdf format. The lap steel is its own beast, however, and the following tips and videos will help you understand exactly how chording works on a lap steel. Homespun tapes has two acoustic lap steel instructional videos. The instruction and blueprint are for a lapstyle steel guitar, not a table or.
Free electric guitar plan a nice illustration from a spanish edition of popular mechanics. Lap steel guitar plans diy homemade electrical guitar project musical instrument product overview lap steel guitar plans diy homemade electrical guitar project musical instrument how to build a lap steel guitar, homemade steel guitar these plans will show you how to build this quality guitar. Ill let you get the exact dimensions from the link i posted in the intro. Brads page of steel building your own steel guitar. A large and deep guitar with a big sound, suitable for flat picking or finger style. Gitty has put out an affordable, easytobuild kit that can be built in an afternoon, out of a scrap piece of 2x4 timber. Instead of playing them upright and with the strings facing away from the players body, lap steels are played while laid flat either on the lap or on a stand, or standing up using a guitar strap designed to accommodate the different angle.
Lap steel guitar, excerpt from the book its easy to build your own lap steel guitar. Almost any shape will do for a lap steel as long as it sits on your lap comfortably. Hawaiian steel guitar association hsga on how to build a lap style steel guitar. So, if you have ever thought of designing and building your own lap or console steel guitar, get your copy now and begin the process. The simple set neck design is very effective, think les paul junior for sound quality. If you are a registered user you are now an apprentice wizard and have access now to all free lessons on this page, and access to other areas in this web site. This is a clear acrylic fretboard, laserengraved with fret markings for a 23inch scale. Free 2212 24 lap steel plan the steel guitar forum. Slide guitar for blues lap style is by bob brozman and covers mostly blues in open dm, d and g tunings. The experience of playing the lap steel guitar shares similarities to other instruments such as pedal steel and slide guitar. Lap steels offer a fluidity of pitch not acheivable on traditional guitars.
Construction photos of guitar built from these plans. Before you try out songs, i recommend to learn the basics with this free lesson, introduction to c6 tuning for lap steel, where you will learn how to tune up your instrument, then get a grasp of the tunings harmonic layout, major and minor chords etc. As far as string gauges go, its ok to put a standard set of electric guitar strings on your instrument initially. Plans to build this danelectro style steel guitar john. Lap steel guitar plans diy homemade electrical guitar project musical instrument how to build a lap steel guitar, homemade steel guitar these plans will show you how to build this quality guitar. Add a distinctive twang to your sound with a lap steel guitar. Build yourself a really cool lap steel guitar with these detailed, professionally drawn plans.
Lap steel guitar plans diy homemade electrical guitar. This cd is designed to run on windows and also has the entire presentation and all drawings in pdf format for mac. The tool crib 11 free guitar plans, 20 guitar building. And, use one of the free fret distance calculator tools that are available on the. Call our gear experts now for help with your purchase. Whether youre a seasoned guitarist looking for a new challenge or an aspiring new musician looking for their niche, a beginnerlevel lap steel guitar is the best way to learn the ins and outs of the instrument without leaving an empty wallet behind. Mar 9, 2016 1963 hawaiian lap steel guitar plans incl. I played all this tab on a rondo sx 6 string lap steel. Master the fundamentals of lap steel premier guitar. Slightly more advanced project than, for example, the danelectro style instrument, but still fairly straight forward. These were designed for use on our 2x4 lap steel kit. We did our best to match them up into one complete pdf. Playing a lap steel guitar can be quite fun, and building one for yourself can be an enjoyable, rewarding experience.
See more ideas about guitar, cigar box guitar and box guitar. May 17, 2017 hawaiian lap steel guitar plans from 1965 click the image above to see the kit by c. Hawaiian lap steel guitar plans from 1965 the howto. I call this lap steel guitar simple because it is basi cally just a blank. In the 1930s thru 1950s, everyone wanted to learn to play lap steel guitar. Jan 11, 2017 step by step instructions for how to make your own simple lap steel slide guitar. New this year is their historical archive, featuring plans and diagrams dating back to 1884. Jan 03, 2017 cigar box nation has just updated its archive of free diy musical instrument plans. New this year is their historical archive, featuring plans and diagrams dating back to. Sleepwalk tablature for lap steel hawaiian steel guitar.