Making a Lap Steel Guitar Start To Finish - Bigsby Inspired Double Neck

[@garyoverman4393]

The background music is lovely and your playing style is inspiring. Awesome build and production !!!! Thanks for posting it.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thank you, the single neck version is nearly done as well, if you haven't been following along.

[@samsam3499]

What a great site and all that information available to everyone. I've just completed my fourth violin based on your Guarneri del Gesù design. Each violin has been better then the previous one and all have sold. This last one has an indigenous theme with images burned into the front and back and I will be donating to a promising young indigenous player. Keep up the great work and the generosity you show to us amateur luthiers is appreciated.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thank you for your support and the great things you provide to the violin-making community.

[@larrydering1598]

As a pedal and lap steel player myself, I am stunned at this awesome project. Gorgeous instrument.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Glad you like it, I have a single neck version coming soon and the bigsby grady Martin style pick to go along with it.

[@larrydering1598]

​@@TwoCherriesIns Well I will be watching for that. I'm drawn to the lapsteel with benders. So many hacks on youtube that cobble something together and can't play. But it gets the interest out. I have attended steel guitar events and conventions for over 30 years and seen many designs and wonderful playing. Bigsby was a fabulous builder. Glad you use his style in your building.

[@documentalist-NL]

Wow, that instrument looks stunning. I have been listening to a lot of music lately where lapsteels are used and I love the sound they can make. I found your video after looking for other videos about how to make one of these. Your version trumps them all though, it is so beautiful and the result looks much better than anything I found so far. Good job!

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thanks, there is a single neck version in the pipeline now complete with bigsby style pickup all custom made. This is my personal instrument that I uses for regular gigging with my waster swing/rockabilly band, and its a blast to play. I share my fusion 360 files with Patreon members if you would like to make your own, or contact me via email for a custom order.

[@nathaniverson6828]

I'm so excited to hear this thing in person! Sounds amazing on the video!

[@dantahoua]

As always, your video production is top notch! Thanks!

[@burns335]

That is stunning !!! Well done

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thanks

[@HowardRosenberg-h6o]

Extraordinary insights. Many thanks.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

You are more welcome

[@ScrewballMcAdams]

Nicely done. Mahogany is always a great choice, but man is it heavy. Not a bad thing if it’s sitting in your lap.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

I agree, and yes you don't have to worry about the weight as much with these things. I have a single neck version coming soon.

[@crashpodROCK]

Really innovative design, and also impressive to hear that you’d been going over the design in your head until u were finally ready to start building. That shows an enviable amount of what I’ll call “maker discipline”. I have enough half completed projects in my shed to know that this is a hard-won ability. My only critique is that the most OCD parts of my brain just about went crazy in the early CNC scenes… “aaaagh please use the shop vac before you start a fire among the dust!!!”… 😂 But really nicely done mate

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thanks, I have plenty of unfinished projects around, making videos helps. Running the cnc with the dust shoe on won't make for very good video, and the chip per tooth, step over and step down are set precisely to avoid any rubbing or heat that would cause such an even.

[@slicksnewonenow]

It's absolutely beautiful! Adding the PA Bigsby style pickups can only make it THAT MUCH cooler. I'm pretty sure that Paul would have approved... Of course he didn't come up with that headless tuning gizmo... But I'm sure he would have eventually. I wonder if replacing the Gibson style tailpiece/bridges with the cast Aluminum Sorkin bridges would be something easy to do? Gotta say that (to me) those keyless heads would look a lot better if they were more of a natural aluminum color. Also... A more "industrial looking", heavy duty toggle switch would be a great mod... And I'd like to see slightly larger, more "Deco" looking Bakelite control knobs on it. I don't know what type of screws you may have used, but all Bigsbys came out of the shop with slotted stainless steel screws as hardware. Another personal- preference thing (for myself) would be that the fretboards were ultimately made of cast aluminum... Or dye the wooden ones black... By the by...your inlay work is great! You do absolutely beautiful work. I'd be proud to own one of your instruments! Cheers

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thanks, and yes, I would love to have a set of Bigsby pups for this; I'm working on a replica design that I intend to use on a single-neck version I will be making soon. I also agree that it would look better with all aluminum-looking hardware, but right now, these are what I have to work with, and they have been functioning well.

[@slicksnewonenow]

@@TwoCherriesIns I'm with ya... We gotta use what we can find! I've been fighting with a 53-like Tele I've been building forever. I have a B-16 for it and want a period correct looking bridge for it... But I want one with rollers. I guess it'll all come out in the wash 😁

[@studioart62]

Absolutely beautiful work. I have been wanting to incorporate headless tuning on my builds, these look perfect for the job. Where can one obtain them?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thanks, www.ebay.com/itm/A-Set-6-String-Fixed-Bridge-Tailpiece-w-Nut-for-Headless-Electric-Guitar-/302559159175?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

[@keeppressingkeeppraising]

Very inspiring…. Thank you for sharing…

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thank you for watching

[@PetersInstruments]

Is the background music being played on the steel you built?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Yes, I played along with the tracks from oak studios. It's nothing spectacular, bit yes, it is this instrument.

[@terryeason4319]

Well I'm watching it again. I want to make myself one.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Yes, let me know If you need any help

[@MichaelMassimino]

I'm curious about the fretboard. What did you fill the grooves and markers with? What did you use to seal everything before sanding? I'm building a lap steel now and the fretboard is a challnge

[@TwoCherriesIns]

It's mica powder and epoxy resin, and the pore filler is zpoxy finishing resin.

[@MichaelMassimino]

@@TwoCherriesIns excellent, thank you. Epoxy was one route I was exploring, I appreciate the info

[@MichaelMassimino]

Also, I love the bridge as headstock instead of traditional tuners. That seems to make so much sense

[@TwoCherriesIns]

I have never been a fan of all the space combined with the wedge shape of lap steel head socks. This worked out well.

[@MichaelMassimino]

@@TwoCherriesIns what brand is it?

[@JohnDoe-u3b]

What type is the long router bit you are using on the cnc?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Its a 1/2" straight 2f bit, these are 3" long and I usually get 2 to 2.5, the 3" is only needed very rarely. They are not expensive and you can usually find them at your local hardware store.

[@donaldroberts7055]

Awesome! Great work!

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thanks

[@terryeason4319]

It is beautiful. I do have a question. Why do you cut it in the bandsàw before you put it on the CNC?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

I get that question a lot, and there is not a simple, or for that matter, a single answer. Milling without removing this extra material is called slot milling, and it's something I avoided for several reasons. There is no good way to remove chips from this slot, and in extreme cases, it can bind and destroy the part; this is a big chunk of mahogany, so I didn't want to take any chances. It comes down to how deep the slot is; anything more than twice the diameter of the bit you are using is dangerous territory, at least in my experience.

[@terryeason4319]

@@TwoCherriesIns thank you for the answer

[@TwoCherriesIns]

@@terryeason4319 You are very welcome.

[@terryeason4319]

@@TwoCherriesIns with the $1 membership do you get all the parts lists along with the fusion 360 files for all of your projects I want to build one like that for myself

[@TwoCherriesIns]

@@terryeason4319 By parts list, I assume you mean the hardware that I used? They are not in the fusion files, but I would be happy to let you know what I used and where I got them.

[@PoppysGuitar]

Hi Brilliant So where how do you get the tone wood? I want to build Solid body guitars like Tony Zemaitis. What kind of saw. Obviously that is a CNC there.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

There are many lumber suppliers that you can order from online, you just have to contact them and get a price for the quantity you need.

[@PoppysGuitar]

@@TwoCherriesIns Thank you but I am talking about old growth tone wood like honduran mahogany? What saw do you use. It looks professional grade for sure. Also what is the little "coin" you use to trace the outline of the saw cut.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

@@PoppysGuitar Honduran Mahogany is available, and no offense, but if I had an inexpensive source, I would not be sharing it; the material is precious and needs to be used sustainably. I mostly use African Mahogany; it's less expensive, but not by much. Search for 8/4 African Mahogany, and you will find a lot of sources for the same material I use here. The "Coin" is just a washer.

[@PoppysGuitar]

@@TwoCherriesIns Thank you. I don't care about the price btw.

[@lawrencealdridge-yk6dm]

beautiful instrument i ejoyed every minute

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thanks! I hope you will sample a few more videos

[@brandonvarwig9149]

What is the scale length from saddle to nut?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

This on is 22.775" the new single neck is 23", I prefer the 23"

[@jeffreyheaththeoldharpie3655]

Beautiful ☺️

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Thank you.

[@jeffxanders3990]

Can you build me a 10-string, 22 1/2" scale length with BR6 P90s?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Not headless like these, unfortunately I can only get 6 string headless bridge's. Send an email to [e-mail], Im sure we can work something out.

[@vagner5229]

0:36 Please, what is the name of this black piece?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

It's a bridge from a headless guitar, and the tuning machines are integrated; Im using it on the headstock to simplify the headstock design and tuning machines into a compact and efficient design.

[@billhatcher9303]

3:08....is that a check in the wood?

[@TwoCherriesIns]

It's just a discoloration.

[@davidmorgan3450]

Sir why don't you put three pedals on one neck with 10 strings and the other neck two pedals for the C6 first neck e9th tuning second neck C6 tuning just like it is on a pedal steel guitar then you have everything but the knee levers

[@TwoCherriesIns]

That would be ideal, and my thinking as well, but there are a couple of hurdles. On the E9, you need a bender that bends two strings simultaneously to simulate the A and B pedals. I would have also preferred to have these as 8-string necks, but the tuning machine's bridge setup I'm using only is available in a six-string version. These are both problems that can be overcome but will also require some exciting design and development to get over, and I'm working on them; keep watching, and I will get there.

[@Gretsch6113]

One wonders why anyone would make such a nice instrument and make such a nice video and not play even one note on the steel as we all wait for at the end, I feel it was a waste of time, Sorry but it is not a good ending. Cheers, Roger

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Dude, I play it at 1:26 in the video and the background music all the way through is also from the same cut. Sounds like you where trying to skip to the end to find something that was in the intro.

[@Gretsch6113]

OK , I do hear it now quietly under the narration @@TwoCherriesIns

[@xras66]

impossible milling machine for my garage ))00

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Why impossible?

[@xras66]

@@TwoCherriesIns big and expensive ;-)

[@TwoCherriesIns]

@@xras66 I made guitar body's manually to pay for it, it's under 3k and my total investment was $300, the rest was all my own labor, and last I checked we all have plenty of that.

[@xras66]

@@TwoCherriesIns 👍

[@budonline2012]

I am a pedal steel guitar player and hex key tuners are easier to tune.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Yes, and much more compact

[@curtisnewton895]

this is cool as fuck, yet the long CNC part is not that interesting and I would have painted the cavity with conductive paint linked to the ground and once it is built, no demo...wtf ???

[@TwoCherriesIns]

Listen closer, it's being played all the way through, The demo is at 1:32 in, you must have skipped it.

[@leonardwilson980]

In my opinion you got the background music/noise too loud. It's hard for someone with a hearing problem to understand what you are saying. You need more hands on rather than a CNC building it. Any computer person can build one with the cnc. Let's see you build one with your hands and working tools. That will show your woodworking skills. I'm not saying you don't have a nice lap steel, because you do have a very nice steel there..

[@TwoCherriesIns]

I hear that "anyone can make it with the CNC" all the time; funny how it doesn't really work that way. The CNC is a tool that does what my hands tell it to do, no different than any other tool, but that all depends on one's skill, doesn't it? If you have a look through my content, the vast majority of the work I do is done by hand, criticized by the CNC folks for not doing everything on the CNC, and criticized by the rest for the inverse.

[@lesblack413]

@@TwoCherriesIns Good video mate. From a CNC operator, the machining is hard to fault if the speeds, feeds and tooling is correct, but the main feature for using CNC is the ability to produce repeatable products every time - once you get the prototype completed. I have never worried much about making one-off products on CNC, as I don't believe the outlay of expense and time producing the code justifies the use. I like your detail though, and you did ask for comments. Cheers from Australia.

[@TwoCherriesIns]

It's not just a production tool, it's also a very accurate tool, many of the jobs I take could be done by hand, but not to the level of accuracy desired. It's a tool that is capable of much more than pure production.

[@PetersInstruments]

Having built hundreds of instruments myself over the last 20 years, both with cnc and totally by hand, I find this comment absolutely comical.