MIMF

Hi everyone, does anyone have a plan for a Gibson lap steel or similar? I have a yearning for one and enough parts.....

Melvyn Hiscock
(email address removed to prevent spamming)

Hello Melvyn, nice to see you posting here! I edited out your email address to prevent Spambots from jumping on you, anyone who wants to contact you directly may use the Private Message feature here.
It depends on what kind of Gibson lap steel you might want. They made a few very different types. I used to have an EH-150 that was very nice, it was made like a little Les Paul but had a flat top. It had a set neck that was rounded and shaped, a very thick body with a top glued on and a Charlie Christian pickup.
Other Gibsons I have seen are not much more than a slab of wood with a fingerboard.
I would bet that just looking at a few photos on the web would provide you with enough info to draw up your own plan...that's what I did, it took me about a day or two to build mine.

I could but I was being lazy! I don't know if they are the same scale length as other Gibsons and so working it all out might be time consuming. I was just idly thinking while I was doing other stuff.

Melvyn Hiscock wrote:Hi everyone, does anyone have a plan for a Gibson lap steel or similar? I have a yearning for one and enough parts.....

Melvyn Hiscock
(email address removed to prevent spamming)

Hello Melvyn,
Have you seen Martin Koch's Build Your Own Lap Steel Guitar? It offers a plan for one that resembles some of the early Gibsons. It offers useful information especially for beginners.
Good luck,
Claude

I'm chuckling, because Melvyn's own book (1986 edition) was such a great help to me way back in my beginner days.
Thank you MH, and apologies for side tracking this topic....

Hi Melvyn, nice to see you here. I would do as Mark suggests and just build something based on pictures if you want something that resembles a Gibson, but not necessarily a direct copy, these are not complicated instruments. As far as scale length, no they are not the same as other Gibsons, if by that you mean regular Gibson electrics, most lap steels are in the 22"-23" range.

There is a UK seller on eBay that offers a "Luthiers Construction Plans for Gibson EH150 Lap Steel guitar", I don't know how good it is. I'm a fan of the "string trough" pickups for lap steels, both the Supro/Valco etc. and Rickenbacker horseshoe designs are great. Lollar makes reproductions of these, as well as the Charlie Christian type, which would be appropriate for a Gibson type instrument.

Hello Sir, I started building 20 plus years ago and without your first book (still have it) I probably wouldnt have. Thankyou
Heres an interesting link http://crystalforestmandolins.com/lapsteelplans.html