Nomad's Lap Steel Build - Completed

Nomad

Back to this after a tool-making digression.

Today, I started trying to square up the fretboard. Since it's quite thin, I made a jig from hardboard, masking tape, superglue and some clamps...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%20Jig%2001_zpsmqayoikk.jpg

The superglue and masking tape is only under the far strip and the right-hand edge of the end stop bit of hardboard on the left. This let me adjust the nearer strip to suit the width if needed. In practice, it worked well, except that the board tended to move during backstrokes, so I added another bit on the right to keep it in place...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%20Jig%2002_zpsj95uu5hg.jpg

That still moved around at times, but not enough for me to want to do anything about it.

I tried planing it (with hand planes), but found this rather awkward. I seemed to get tearout at some parts and nothing at others, as if the grain is curved up to or away from the surface. If I turned the board around, I got tearout in other places. Tried various blade depths, but it either barely lifted anything or the tearout happened. Ultimately, it just frustrated me, so I switched to the palm sander. This worked to an extent, but even with 40 grit, progress was slow. In the end, the thing that seemed to work was a cork sanding block and some coarse Harris DIY glasspaper. Still some to do, but flatness is getting pretty good.

I've been thinking about fret markings, and I'm leaning towards some sort of plastic binding. To that end, I got a mitre box out and made some cuts with the saws I currently have to see what kerf widths they made...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Saw%20Kerfs%2001_zpsgezb1xd0.jpg

Measured with feeler gauges, I got, give or take, 1mm, 1.3, 1.5 and 1.8. I found some imitation ivory binding at Touchstone Tonewoods that's 1.5mm thick, so I might get some of that. It's 6mm high, which is way too much, so I'll need to work out a way to reduce the height (I have a plan in mind).

No further spend since the last report, so costs are just repeated below for neatness.

Costs
Meranti planks: £8
Pickup bits: £9
Rosewood bits: £13.45
Machine heads: £6.49
Strings: £5.60
Inlay bits: £8

Total: £50.54

Andyjr1515

Love this thread. Full of very useful tips and tricks and some really interesting cross-forum input. Love the look of the design, too

Corvus

Cool stuff. DIY pickup envy here, nice one.

Nomad

Thanks chaps.

I'm not sure they're tips and tricks, really - I'm just describing what I'm doing and explaining why. (The paint on the magnets was a tip from Ash.) A lot of the time, I just make it up as I go along, although that's maybe easier in some cases because I have some diverse bits and bobs lying around thanks to having a wide range of interests. Like the acrylic paint on the magnets - I didn't go and get some for that, I just happened to have it already because I used to be into painting. Same with the hardboard - originally bought years ago for painting on before I could afford proper canvases. A quick chop or two on the band saw, add the Crimson superglue and masking tape trick, and I have a custom jig in ten minutes.

In one of the Crimson vids, he mentions that guitar building is a multi-disciplinary activity, and I can see what he means, although I get the feeling he's starting from 'guitar building' (fine woodwork?) and adding the other skills that are needed. (He said he's had to learn about metalwork and machining, for example.) For me, it's kind of the other way round - I'm into all sorts (or have been) and have the accoutrements and materials that are/were part of that, some of which are now finding a use in guitar building. The latter is the new thing for me.

The pickup winding is quite satisfying, but getting started can be a bit involved - you either need to spend money on a winder, or have there wherewithal to make one. Since I'm into metalwork and have a lathe, it was fairly easy to put the bits together to make some add-on bits to convert it to a winder. There's clearly a balance to find between how many pickups you're likely to need, and whether the cost/time is worth it to get what amounts to home-brew rather than something made by a professional. There's also a black art aspect in the winding patterns and construction, and how they affect the sound - I'm nowhere near that level, so I'm just taking a punt based on the relatively limited theoretical knowledge I have (and occasionally trying to blag/find info to help with the stuff I'm not sure of).

Nomad

A little more progress - did some cutting out to shape the headstock and narrowed the neck to something a bit closer to the fretboard...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Lap%20Steel%20Body%2011_zpsn3ovzdua.jpg

I did the longer angled bits on the headstock using a tenon saw (with the body clamped to the bench), and then used the band saw to bring the neck width in a bit. It's currently 1mm or so wider than the fretboard on each side. I don't really have a target width, as such - the board is currently about 58mm wide, and the intended string spacing is 53.5mm (based on the poles on the stock Tele bridge pickup flatwork).

Also did a bit to fair in the transition from the double to single thickness of the planks...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Lap%20Steel%20Body%2012_zpstq9aetkk.jpg

Closer view...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Lap%20Steel%20Body%2013_zpsskzwd0br.jpg

At this point, the headstock is still 20mm thick, and will need taken down to 15mm, so any small errors in the fairing of the transition that result in biting into the surface on the underside of the single plank aren't a problem. In other words, I just faired it a bit to see how it would look, and to get a feel for shaping using this high precision spindle sander doohickey...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Tools/Other/Cheapo%20Spindle%20Sander%2001_zpsulldjzkb.jpg

It's an old drill and a sleeve type sanding drum, held onto the bench using one of those little drill press adapter things for drills with a 42mm collar. The base was taken off the stand ages ago and the two thick ally feet added. The feet are held on with screws so that the angle/splay can be adjusted (pointing backwards here). It was originally intended to be used for making perpendicular holes in sheet materials, and I had the idea to clamp it upside down like this to use as a spindle sander. No table or anything - it's just used freehand (might add a table one day). 

Nomad

I had a plan this evening, but it didn't work out. I got some binding material (imitation ivory stuff called ivorid), and the idea was to slit this to half its height and use it as inlays to represent the frets. I reckoned I could use the micro router in the shaper with a little slitting saw, so I set about making a guide with a slot in it to push the binding through. After spending time doing all this, I found that, even with the machine running at its slowest speed, it was near impossible to feed the material through slowly enough to stop things heating up. There were constant puffs of some sort of noxious fumes and I eventually abandoned it. The saw was also doing a very poor job of running level, so the cut kept going off line. Most of the binding is intact, so I can use it for something else some day.

I had a think and decided to see what I could do with some of the sycamore that I recently purchased for future use. One bit has the potential to become a body cap once resawn, so I used the band saw to lop a thin bit off the edge that's away from what will be the centre line of the body cap.

I clamped one end onto the bench and planed the worst of the saw marks off, before switching to a scraper...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2001_zpsyc5gvj51.jpg

Didn't take too long to get it down to a thickness of about 1.6 to 1.8mm...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2002_zpsjxquj2hp.jpg

Still a little more to do, but I'm happy so far. I need about 1.4m of thin strips to do 24 'frets' on a board about 58mm wide, and there should be enough to cover that with some surplus. The bit of sycamore is 43mm wide, and there's about 300mm of fairly consistent thickness in the middle. I'm aiming for inlays 2-3mm deep, so I should be able to get 7-8 strips (allowing for wastage due to saw kerf and cleaning up the edge). 7-8 strips at 300mm is 2.1 to 2.4m, which means I should be able to sit and measure with the digital calliper and pick out a set of bits with consistent and even thickness.

The now-unused binding was ordered with other stuff for the lap steel (electrics, fixings), so the costs bit is updated. I've been looking at the area available on the headstock, and I'm thinking that the smaller bit of MOP that I got for practice might fit. When I come up with a shape to try, I'll see how it turns out and might use it instead of the larger bit. I'm also reconsidering the headstock 'veneer' which is realty a plate and quite thick. When I get closer to considering the finish, I'll see what I think of the logo inlay in a trial bit without the facing plate (ie, logo inlaid in the meranti). So, some of the costs may be adjusted depending on the outcomes of these.

Costs
Meranti planks: £8
Pickup bits: £9
Rosewood bits: £13.45
Machine heads: £6.49
Strings: £5.60
Inlay bits: £8
Pots: £13.43
Knobs: £2.92
Socket: £2.57
Wire: £0.50
Screws: £1.58
Sycamore: £0.26

Total: £70.80

paulnb57

Nice work Nomad, it's getting there!

Nomad

Thanks Paul. I think the little bit of shaping on the neck was a step forward in my head - it became a bit more guitar shaped at that point.

More on the sycamore fret inlay strips...

I decided that what I had was close enough, so I started cutting strips on the band saw. I kind of settled on 3.5mm wide after a trial nip at the end of the main strip. The width looked right in terms of the expected depth of cut in the fretboard, and allowing for a bit of each inlay to be a little proud of the surface. I also measured the kerf produced by the band saw, and got 1.1mm, which is a bit less than I expected.

After I cut each strip off, I lightly clamped the remaining piece between two battens so that I could lightly sand the sawn edge...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2003_zpsclam5lvs.jpg

This is much easier than trying to hold it with a hand while sanding with the other - keeps the piece very steady, so risk of damage is much reduced.

With the strips cut until I ran out of wood, I then clamped the battens like this, with a little step...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2004_zpsgkz64y2i.jpg

...to make a shooting board for cleaning up the remaining sawn edges on the cut strips...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2005_zpsxeudd4r4.jpg

A few strokes on the top from the centre to the right, and then a couple on the edge that's towards me (the ragged side of the saw cut), and then change hands and do the same from centre to left. Fairly fine sandpaper around a cork block, but not being too fussy - one edge will be in the bottom of the slot in the fretboard, and the other will be cut down and sanded flush. This is really just about getting any loose crap off, and to have a chance of spotting any unevenness in the width when it comes to cutting the short bits. (I'll be aiming to put the straightest side into the bottom of the slot.)

In the end, I got nine strips...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2006_zpse30dim3k.jpg

They're about 500mm long, so I have 4.5m of strips of slightly varying thickness to find 1.4m in 60mm lengths that are about 1.6mm thick. I reckon my chances are pretty good, and there's always the option to try working them down a bit if needed. The thin bit nearest the camera is the offcut, which can be seen more clearly here, on the left...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2007_zpstfslyxkz.jpg

That bit is about 1.6mm square. I'm quite impressed that the saw was able to lop it off in one piece. When I had the last bit in, it was barely wide enough to bridge across the slot that the blade passes through when changing to a different blade (barely a 1mm ledge in front of the fence).

I found a cardboard shipping tube lying in amongst the stack of longer bits of material, so I popped the strips in there for safe keeping.

Nomad

Decided to see if I could get the thickness of the fret inlay strips more consistent, and came up with an idea to get the scraper to scrape to a depth...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fret%20Inlays%2008_zpsbcx3eji8.jpg

The thinnest end of the strip (too thin for what I want) is clamped to the bench, and the scraper is drawn along it. The scraper has a couple of bits of stuff taped around the outer ends of the edge, and the middle part of the edge is drawn down the strip. I started with a couple of bits cut from some rubber sheet, but found it was cutting a bit thin, so I added a layer of thin card on top, and this gave me a thickness within a whisker (literally) of 1.5mm.

A little more to do in places - some parts of some of the strips are a little snug in the test saw cut I made, but fit is generally good. I found the tape was starting to wear a bit, so that's something to keep an eye on (or find a more robust spacer).

The little quick-release clamp helped speed things up - I was originally using a small F-clamp, but it was slower.

Nomad

Time for an update after getting lost in various online tool shops...

I'd been thinking about the body, and came to the conclusion that I wasn't happy with it, for two reasons...

First, the sloping part where it transitions from the neck to the headstock is in the wrong place. When I cut the lower plank in the band saw, I buggered it up and cut it on the wrong side, which meant I had to cut it again to get the slope running in the right direction. While it probably wouldn't affect the strength, it's not what I originally had in mind.

Second, the width at the bridge end isn't quite enough. For some unknown reason, I cut it down a little from the original 145mm wide, which seemed fine at the time. However, when I started planning the control positions (mistake right there - should have had that done before I cut the wood!), it always came up feeling a bit cramped by the time I had the knobs in position and then allowed space for the scratch plate to overlap and have room for screws.

I decided to go to the meranti shop and get a new bit, this time 45mm thick so that the body could be made as a single piece. Having also spent some of the last few weeks watching loads of guitar building vids, I made a template...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Lap%20Steel%20Body%2014_zpse7hn1ecd.jpg

The template was mostly done by drawing around the original body, with the extended area for the controls added by eye. With that shaped, I drew around it onto the new bit of meranti and cut the rough shape out on the band saw. It's held on with screws - two under the fretboard, and a third under the bridge. It was taken off for the cutting, and the screws mean that the registration when it's refitted is very good. Before I cut the outline of the control cavity, I made a tracing...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Template%20Trace%2001_zps2lm5m4wl.jpg

...and after I found that the cavity turned out a bit different, I redrew its outline on the tracing paper. This will be used to work out the details of the scratch plate - the outline, and the positions of the controls, pickup and fixing screws.

The template was put back on and the body routed out...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Lap%20Steel%20Body%2015_zpsrxfape7j.jpg

I have to say, the 1/2" router ate it for breakfast - very impressed at how easily it cut. I used a 50mm 19dia 2-flute twin bearing cutter for the outside, and a shorter top bearing 2-flute housing cutter for the cavity, taking cuts about 4mm deep. The twin bearing cutter was fine for swapping direction by flipping the body & template over - just reclamp and keep cutting.

In other news...

I was having a play with the machine heads that I got a while ago, and found that one of them wouldn't turn fully - it was as if there was a bit of crap getting in the way of the gears (or maybe a misshapen bit). I tried to pull it apart to see if I could work out what the cause was, but it was having none of it. The machines are basically scrap (unless I make something with 5 or less strings), so I'll have to source some more.

I also did a bit more work on the fretboard, this time using one of my home-brew levelling beams with some fairly fine grit abrasive on it. It's much flatter now, such that I think I can move forward with marking out the fret and dot marker positions. I made a little mitre box from some scrap wood for this, which means that its slots exactly match the saw that will be used for the cuts in the board.

The bit of meranti that I got is much lighter coloured than the stuff I had originally used, and some messing around with cherry red stain is looking promising. With the darker meranti, it was hard to get it to not look very brown. This stuff is much more blonde.

Costs updated. The new bit of meranti worked out a quid dearer, and the machine heads been removed from the spend list for now.

Costs
Meranti lump: £9
Pickup bits: £9
Rosewood bits: £13.45
Strings: £5.60
Inlay bits: £8
Pots: £13.43
Knobs: £2.92
Socket: £2.57
Wire: £0.50
Screws: £1.58
Sycamore: £0.26

Total: £65.31

Nomad

I've now started the fretboard, proper, rather than just trying to sand it flat.

Here's the little mitre box I made for the slotting...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2001_zpsabz0eaey.jpg

It's a scrap of MDF with two bits of meranti scraps superglued onto it. It's stuck down onto a bench hook (using masking tape and superglue) so that things will stay in place with the sawing forces. There are some other bits of scrap matching the thickness of the bench hook and mitre box, and these extend out to the left to help keep everything level. The saw has a bit of scrap wood stuck to it to act as a depth stop.

I clamped the jig to the bench, and positioned a lamp so that it illuminated the slot that the saw would go into...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2002_zpsncfumqao.jpg

With this, all I had to do was line up each fret mark in the middle of the column of light and cut...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2003_zpsnsvtav3o.jpg

The thinner kerf to the right matches the 0.6mm proper fret slotting saw, which does a very fine cut. When the time comes, I'll use that to lop the end off square.

Repeat slotting until the marks run out...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2004_zpsyvvmqkpb.jpg

...and tidy up...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2005_zpsmqirkyww.jpg

The little jar contains the rosewood dust that resulted from the sawing, for possible future use as filler. The little plastic multi-compartment box contains the 4mm dia MOP dot inlays. I measured them all with a digital calliper and separated them into four size groups, and tried them with holes made with twist drills 4.0 and 4.1mm diameter. Some were a snug fit in the smaller size, and some were better in the bigger size. When the time comes to drill the holes, I'll match sizes to dots as I go.

Here's the 12th fret position with a bit of the sycamore strip in it...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2006_zps9ua0ydz0.jpg

It's a comfortable fit, although depth is a bit more marginal than I intended. Shouldn't be a problem because I intend to sand the whole surface down a bit more once the strips and dots are fitted.

You can see the centre points for the dot markers here, The three horizontal lines were done first to identify the positions that would have markers (one line at the other frets, three at the 12th and 24th). They're near the fret slots so that I'd have clear space to put the real centre marks down without the guides getting in the way.

Next step is work out dot and board thicknesses, and determine the depth for drilling (to be set up as an end stop on the milling machine).

Andyjr1515

Great progress and looking good! I was particularly taken with using light like that to line your cuts up...

Nomad

Thanks Andy. The light thing wasn't planned - just became evident when I was setting up to do the cuts.

On with more fretboard...

Having made the marks for the dots, I decided I wanted to sand the top a bit more because the bass side was a bit high compared to the treble side. I also wanted to take the surface down a bit so that the sycamore inlays would be slightly proud. I didn't want to do the dot positions again, so I marked them with a woodworker's round pointy thing, and drilled some holes part-way through using a 1.5mm drill bit...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2007_zpsw63qksh9.jpg

The drillings were part way through (blind holes in proper parlance) so that the superglue for the dots wouldn't drain out and glue the thing to the bench. With these done, I was free to sand some more and my dot positions would remain intact.

They were also to serve as pilot holes. In other words, the forming of the holes went in three steps - small mark with the awl, drill the 1.5mm holes knowing that the small drill bit would pull the piece into centre when the tip of the drill engaged with the material, and the same pull-to-centre thing again with the larger drill bit (larger bit would struggle to pull to centre with just the awl marks)

With the pilots drilled, I did some test drillings with the 4mm drill bit in the little waste area that was still above the 24th fret. The idea here is to get the vertical part of the hole at the right depth for the dots to be a little bit proud of the surface...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2008_zpsn2uvxzk4.jpg

Once happy with the depth, I drilled 11 holes with the 4.0mm bit to suit the dots that were on the smaller end of the diameter sizing. I then switched to the 4.1mm bit, did a couple more test drillings in the waste area, and did the rest of the holes. You can just about make out the 1.5mm holes in the middles of the larger ones here...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2009_zpsai10kb0n.jpg

Next came the somewhat fraught process of gluing the dots in...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2010_zpsu1odtiqd.jpg

Starting to look a bit more like a fretboard now. I found this pretty fiddly, what with the fast setting time of the glue. The first dot I picked out of the little box was one of the larger ones, but I had decided to start at the 24 fret, which is where the smaller holes were drilled (less space between the frets). It didn't fit, of course, but I managed to get it out while nearly gluing it to my finger. When I came to do the larger holes, I found that I had glued it to the bench (but managed to get it off and use it anyway).

Even with the preparation for sizing, there were still a couple that didn't go in level. This one right of centre, and one higher up the board...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2011_zpsmt65s8l9.jpg

I'm not too fussed because they'll be sanded back to the board surface.

Next, I got the sycamore strips out and cut them into fret sized bits, after fiddling at each slot to find a good fit. There was a bit of wastage, as expected, but I still have 4 strips left. You can see here that the extra bit of sanding on the top of the board now has the strips just proud of the surface...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2012_zpsb93w7kuq.jpg

...which is what I was after - I'd rather sand these down to a known surface than sand the whole surface down to the lowest strip, because I can sand more gently and thus have less chance of damaging the strips.

The cut pieces were popped into holes in a strip of softwood to keep them organised, and then glued into the slots that each was picked to fit using Titebond Original...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2013_zpskqykcviz.jpg

Now curing, and I'm looking forward to tidying this up.

Nomad

Some more work on the fretboard...

To tidy the edges up, I clamped the levelling beam on its side onto the bench...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2014_zpskzcrd5si.jpg

It's clamped at the right-hand end, and the bit of scrap MDF at top left spans the bench is clamped at the far end. So, the right-hand clamp stops the beam moving left/right but acts as a pivot point, while the MDF stops the left-hand end of the beam moving away. The edges are dressed by sliding the board left and right against the abrasive, shooting board style.

Here's a close-up of a worked edge...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2015_zps6xgltupm.jpg

I found that the board had developed a bow as the glue dried, but down in the middle rather than up, which seemed a bit odd. I did try leaving it overnight propped up on a couple of blocks with a clamp pulling the middle a little past flat, but it didn't make much difference. The bow isn't huge - it'll be fine once glued to the body (and it's not critical for this to be flat because it's a slide guitar), but I needed it decently flat to tidy up the top surface. This meant that my hardboard jig would be no good, so I used masking tape and superglue to hold it down onto the bench, and got stuck in with the levelling beam...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2016_zpseg3zduhm.jpg

It took a little while, but now feels nice and smooth - no bumps at the sycamore fret markers, and the MOP dots are nice and flush with a very good fit into the holes...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2017_zpsefa48ohd.jpg

I'm really pleased with how this has gone so far. There are a couple of flaws where there's a little gap at the end of a bit of sycamore, but I can live with that. Still to soften the long edges a little and trim, square off and finish the end above the 24th fret. After that, I'll have a think about what to do next.

BigMonka

@Nomad that looks really amazing, using the sycamore strips in place of frets is a stroke of genius.

Nomad

Cheers BigMonka. The idea came from defrettng a cheapo strat copy a few years ago - once I'd pulled the frets, I put thin mahogany veneer into the slots to act as markers (maple board).

A little more progress. Trimmed the end above the 24th fret and rounded off the corners,,,

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2018_zpsjatpg9sv.jpg

Here's a closer shot...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2019_zpshtiskhpv.jpg

I also did a bit of tidying of the body using the small brass planes in the first photo above. It turns out that the larger curved sole one fits the larger concave curve on the body, and the smaller curved sole fits the tighter curve (neck to controls area). Starting to look a bit tidier now. I haven't touched the top yet - I need to preserve my markings until I've finished the layout of other bits and drilled pilot holes where needed.

I also made a clamping caul for the ftreboard and a grab/clamp handle for when I stain the body...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Jigs%2001_zpsw68cngwg.jpg

The caul is dished along the centre (using one of the curved sole planes) to try and get the edges of the board down to the body. However, it didn't work as well as expected - turns out that the board hard taken a cup as well as a bow and there was too big a gap around the edges. Nothing for it but to put it back into the hardboard jig face down and work it some more.

The grab handle uses the same screw holes under the fretboard that were used for the template. Two screws pass through from the other side of the MDF into the block of softwood. Easy enough to hold by hand, and a vice grips it fine as well.

Roland

I like this thread

Nomad

Thanks Roland.

Did some more sanding on the back of the fretboard to get rid of (most of) the cup. There's a tiny bit here and there, but for the most part, I can't get a 0.1mm feeler gauge under the edge of the board when it's clamped in position. Before I start working the body more, I made up a couple of alignment pins so that the fretboard can be put in the same position without the centre lines and marks being visible. I took a couple of panel pins and gave them a little sharpen with a file. Then measured their diameter and drilled a couple of holes to match...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2020_zpsf46lgd9v.jpg

This one's just shy of the 24 fret. I then stuck a pin down a hole to get an idea of the depth, and then cut it off about 2mm longer. The pin then goes into the hole with the point upwards. A bit hard to see, but like this...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Fretboard%2021_zps7qajxmji.jpg

The fretboard is then carefully placed over the pins, with the centre lines lined up, and then pressed down so that the pointy bits make indents on the underside of the board. When the time comes to glue the board down, it's aligned by feel using the pins and indents. Since the board still has some lengthwise bow, my second pin isn't at the far end, but a few inches away such that both pins and indents can be felt without trying to press the bow flat. Whether or not this will work in practice remains to be seen.

Nomad

With the fretboard pretty much done, I turned my attention to the bridge and nut. For these, I went to the brass shop and bought some. I went for 1" angle, 1/8" thick, and the 5" I used worked out at £3.24. I decided on setting the string height about 16mm above the body of the guitar, which will be10mm above the fretboard.That seems quite generous to me, and gives me some scope to reduce it if it seems a bit high. The fretboard is a smidge over 57mm wide, so the bit of brass for the nut was cut a little bit longer than this - better to fettle this down to size than try to rework the fretboard because the final sizing will be done when the fretboard is glued on. The bit for the bridge was cut a bit longer at 66mm. Two reasons for this: There are some machined features that will go past the edge if it was made 57mm long, and it gives some room at each end of the saddle part to make some rounded curves to make things comfortable for the heel of the right hand.

Here are some pics of the basic bits after cutting to length and height...

Overview
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2001_zpss7k0kyjn.jpg

The nut
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2002_zpsltvjrwjb.jpg

Cut over length here because hacksaws can wander off line. The length will be trimmed to just over the width of the board when it's in the milling machine. Note that the base part has been trimmed down as well (to about 15.5mm, as it happens). This is mainly to ensure it stays clear of the machine heads, and because it looks better.

The bridge
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2003_zpsq7sh0plu.jpg

Also over length, but this time, the base hasn't been trimmed - still the full 1".

Here's the nut machined a bit closer to length, and with three 3mm dia fixing holes added...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2004_zpsnk561irt.jpg

The holes will be countersunk eventually, but not until the fretboard has been glued on. The position of the board determines the position of the nut, and that determines the positions of the holes for the screws that hold the nut down. The positions of the holes will be set by using a 3mm transfer punch into the three holes. The shape of the punch is such that its accuracy will be lost if I tried to use it with the countersinks made - not enough vertical 3mm dia hole to keep it lined up. So, glue board, position nut, transfer holes using accurate close-fitting punch, then countersink holes for screws.

The bridge will be held down with five screws, three towards the back, and two nearer the vertical part that goes up to the saddle area. The strings will be top-mounted - ball ends in slots at the far end of the 1" wide part (with a small recess machined into the body to make room), then pass over the bridge. The break angle should be something around 32-35°.

Here's the bridge in the mill, with the slots for the strings being added...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2005_zpsymlq3rrh.jpg

The 5 holes have already been drilled (3.5mm for this to match the screws, and also not yet countersunk for the same reason). The slots are 2mm wide, worked out after measuring the thickness of the winding at the end of the thickest string (my initial sketch had it at 3mm, but that's too close to the smaller size of a ball-end, which is 4mm dia, 3mm 'long').

To ensure the loop of string passing through the ball end doesn't get pulled against a hard edge, a countersink cutter was used to chamfer the undersides of the slots...

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2006_zpsp2rvudym.jpg

With these, the ball ends should pull against the surface of the chamfers, and if the string does contact the edge, it's a much more benign angle (135° instead of 90°). Note that the far ends of the chamfers don't centre on the far ends of the slots - they stop short. This is to create a larger vertical face at the end where the string passes through. When I get my filing and fettling head on, this vertical face will be faired in from the top to give the string a clearer path up to the saddle. In other words, some of the vertical face is going to be removed from the end away from the chamfer, and I didn't want the fairing to meet the chamfer and make a more acute angle.

A couple of shots with a string held in position...

From the back
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2007_zpsyhuxky6r.jpg

The ball end sticks down about 2.5mm, so the recess in the body will be a bit deeper than this. You can see here how the angles work - the ball end snugs up into the chamfer.

From below
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y521/Nomad_Zamani/Lap%20Steel%20Build/Bridge%20%20Nut%2008_zpseqyfiujq.jpg

At the moment, the ball end is sitting further out than it should be. That's because the vertical end of the slot hasn't been faired in yet. Once that's done, the string will slide down into the faired part, and the ball end will move further into the slot. I see that my fixing holes are slightly misplaced to the right by a smidge. Oops, but never mind - I'm sure it'll stay attached anyway.

There's still a fair bit more to do with the bridge and nut. Aside from adding the countersinks and string fairing, there's a bit of shaping and tidying to do, and I'll need to cut slots for the strings. I'll also want to get them nicely polished. I also need to think about grounding - might add a tapped hole and do something with a serrated washer and round terminal on the end of the wire.

Costs updated to include the bits of brass,

Costs
Meranti lump: £9
Pickup bits: £9
Rosewood bits: £13.45
Brass bits: £3.24
Strings: £5.60
Inlay bits: £8
Pots: £13.43
Knobs: £2.92
Socket: £2.57
Wire: £0.50
Screws: £1.58
Sycamore: £0.26

Total: £68.55

Roland

Where did you buy the brass from?