Do the Twist...repair advice.

[Jennings]

Hi folks! I’m completely new to lap steel, and this is my first post! But I’m after a bit of repair/ restoration advice. I’ve just got hold of a 1950s Selmer Pro Electric lap steel in need of total refurbishment and some new parts. Most of the parts I’m OK with piecing together or making (eg. Bridge and nut). However there’s an annoying twist in the woodwork. The neck and headstock is noticeably twisted, to the point the 4th string post is fairly high. Should I attempt to straighten this old woodwork...if so how? Or should I like with it an compensate in my set up and refurb? Be a shame to ditch the body and make a new one unless I have to.

[mick hearn]

From what I have found on Google yours has a neck similar to under arm guitar. It might be worth having a chat with a luthier. They have a long heating pad which they clamp the neck to in order to straighten them. Mind you I don't know what the cost would be so it might be worth compensating.

[nevada150]

I have a 1960's Eko Ranger acoustic guitar that suffered the same problem. It was in the Middle East with me for many years and the heat/humidity twisted it due to the tension of the lower (heavier) strings. I removed the neck and took it to my friend, Luthier Russell Bennett, who laid it on top of a radiator for a couple of days then clamped it up straight for a day to cool. That was 3 year ago and it's still OK. If the neck of your Lap Steel is detachable you could try that. If not, you could support the body and just heat the neck on the radiator and try to "untwist it somehow". Anything is worth a try!
Good luck.
Keith.

[Mcneilwaeasteel]

Hi, I've been writing this book and just noticed Keith's advice, it may work but here's my tuppence worth in detail

Regards the "twist in the neck" it depends on how it will effect the strings between the bridge and the nut, if it does not effect the string levels to the fretboard and the strings run true, anything else is cosmetic and of no concern.
Compensation under the nut to raise one side slightly would be OK as long as it's not a lot and could effect the distance of the pick up to the strings.
If the neck has a twist in it that is visible, straightening the neck could be a problem as the wood has probably dried out and may have become brittle in the process.
1 How did it get there in the first place, as it's happened over a 60 year period.
2 The wood has been sealed with varnish since the guitar was made and either dampness or extreme heat has got into it or a weight has been on top of it causing distortion.
3 Is the wood dry or moist? If possible use a hydrometer to check moisture content.
( if you know of any wood turners they may be able to check it with a moisture meter )
Now to figure out how to repair the " damage"
Firstly strip everything off the body and sand the damage part back to bare wood all around, to allow moisture into that area.
( or the strip the whole body if it needs refurbished as it will give a better finish when stained and sealed )
Try to remove the fretboard without damaging it as it's just glued on, but the glue used in the 50's was strong, so it may not be an easy task.
A 24" metal rule or straight edge will be needed to highlight where the twist starts,
a 3' length of straight 4" X 2" or 6" X 2" is needed to clamp down the guitar, to hold it in shape until dry.
" Borrow " an electric kettle or steam wallpaper stripper ( use the tube ) and steam the damaged wood mostly on the side that has to be stretched with a bit more moisture than on the other side, try doing it in stages at first then when it's warm and moist clamp it onto the plank, clamp the body face down on both sides at the back then the end, clamp the neck where it's touching the plank, then very slowly clamp down the twisted part using a bit of wood between the guitar and clamp to spread the pressure point out, until it's stretched and touching the plank, if you don't remove the fretboard you'll need suitable packers to raise the body to make it all level. ( You can never have to many clamps. )
Leave it clamped for at least 3 days in a dry place that has dry air circulating around the guitar, don't try to force it but let it dry naturally, then slowly lessen the pressure on the damaged area to see if it retains its shape.
You might have to do this again several times to get it back into shape, you may even have to put a small piece of packing under the " good " side to let the damaged bit go over a bit further than needed, so that it returns to the original level when dry and the pressure is removed.
If you are successful keep it clamped to the plank with a few clamps until the wood is completely dry. ( a small room with a dehumidifier would be great )
When fully dry and straight seal the wood and stain and finish the body before replacing the other parts.
A luthier would do something similar but it's a time consuming job and would be a costly repair.
If the wood is weakened or very dry it could split at any time, so if you try it yourself it's only clamps and a bit of wood you need to acquire along with a straight edge.
The alternative to all this work is to " acquire " a new plank and use the body of the original guitar, as a template to cut out the shape and holes required for fittings and fixtures.
Hope this helps and good luck with the repair.
Robert

[Jennings]

Thanks for the replies folks...

Good call on the luthier, Mick. I've dropped a message to a luthier at Guitar Lodge, who has done some excellent work for me in the past. There's no detachable neck on this, and in my case the fretboard was a glued on (post body finishing) plastic laminate jobby, so no need to steam off wood strips. Actually most of the late 50s versions I've seen had rosewood boards, but the pot codes of mine indicate 1951, so all I can think of was that rosewood was hard/expensive to come by early on in the decade, since the board looks to be original...I cant find any tell-tale marks of board replacement at a later date. Be interesting to see if the luthier would tackle it, and what the cost might be.

Keith, it's encouraging to get some first-hand evidence of successful heating and clamping...definitely makes me want to potentially give it a go myself in fact. If I can find a radiator suitable, and some straight wood for clamping.

Robert, many thanks for the comprehensive reply! That's really helpful in fact, building on what the above folks have said. Looks to me like the guitar has been stored in a homemade wooden case (it came to me in it), and from the look of the wood and metal parts I'd place money on it being stored for decades somewhere which had kept it dry and warm...so my guess is a loft type room, maybe near a heating chimney perhaps. None of the metal parts or woodwork have damp corrosion/reaction signs like you'd get in a shed or garage. The nature of the twist looks like you'd see if it had been left in these conditions strung up...some gentle bow along the whole length (not too worried about that...it's probably a mm, two at most), but a very noticeable twist near the nut area and continuing to twist along the headstock...resulting in the headstock tip where the 4th string is being visibly several mm twisted and bent forward in the direction of the string tension. I haven't got a hygrometer to hand, but everything 'looks' like it's dry as a bone...probably too dry! I've already carefully removed the fretboard, since it was just glued on to the finish. I've got G-clamps already, and so might see what I can do to follow your method for steaming and clamping. I'll probably take a trace of the body outline before hand, just in case of failure/snapping. I was hoping to keep the patina of the original finish, but the twist is too bad for that I think, so it'll have to be total strip and steam if I go that route. Might take me a while, but if I ahead I'll post some progress reports! I'll also see if I can post a shot showing the twist.

[Jennings]

These give you a favour of the instrument, and the state it's in! And yes, someone in the past has crudely cut out the control plate for a Hofner blade style pickup! But then went to the trouble of re-chroming the control plate! I was hoping to have a pickup maker I've used before wind me something in the style of the original, and mount that to a plate that I'll then mount over the hole cut for the blade.

[Mcneilwaeasteel]

A picture is worth a thousand words, it doesn't look that bad, try leaving it outside in a dry place out of the rain but with it uncovered for a couple of days and nights to let the night air and moisture get back into the wood.
Then have a plank and clamps ready to clamp it, slowly heat the top of the neck on a radiator until a bit of warmth is in it as Keith mentioned, then clamp it down and wait a few days before releasing it.
Make sure you have a flat piece of wood to place over the whole of the headstock and under the clamp to avoid any pressure point on the headstock that could split the thinner wood.
With some moisture back in the wood it should straighten out when slowly clamped without damaging it.
It's a case of try it and see without doing any damage, good luck we await your achievements with interest.

[Jennings]

Thanks for the advice and good wishes! The woodwork is currently sitting on my sturdy bench in the shed...this rainy weather will help he rehydration, and I’ve located my G clamps and wood for clamping it in due course. The bench itself is actually potentially a good candidate for the shaping surface actually as it’s made from lumps of 2x6 and seems fairly true in straightness. I’ll strip the wood this week probably. I’ll use the radiator in my back room and a wall paper stripper for full heat and hydrate in the next couple of weeks. One thing I’m scratching my head over is sourcing a replacement Selmer decal, which would be a nice touch in my view.

[Jim Pritchard]

Hi Jennings,
A number of steel players, including myself use this company for decals, highly recommended.
They have a web site & are also on funny book.
Good luck with your renovation.

https://www.facebook.com/guitardecals/? ... u66x9k7072

http://www.guitardecals.co.uk/?fbclid=I ... Mgb4aGSdRg

[Jennings]

Thanks for the tip off Jim! Looks to be just the ticket! I've sent a request and a picture of my crumbling Selmer logo.