Getting an MM fiddle edge , but too mean to buy one

[pete1951]

Anyone who plays slide guitar would probably want a new MM Fiddle Edge resonator. I am no exception but am too mean to buy one. So should I try to make one? The skill ( and tooling) are beyond my capabilities ( I’m basically a wood butcher) . After much discussion with Michael M over the last year or so I discovered there was a test body in existence. It had had some transfers stuck on and then sandblasted, what could possibly go wrong?
I think the blaster was more used to stripping the rust off tractor parts, the back was dented and distorted but the top was almost perfect. Hopefully over the next few weeks ( months probably) I am hoping to make the back a little less like a ploughed field and more like a Dobro. I will try and post pictures of my progress.

The front ( I may remove the stars that were going to be sand blasted)



And the bumpy back

You can also see a neck ( a sample that MM didn’t need) and standard Dobro cover plate , which I had in stock ( Michael tells me he does not want to start selling spare parts so at the moment there are no spare cover plates or tailpieces) I was expecting to have to make the neck so it was fantastic that Michael let me have the neck with the body.
Pete T

[stevie2sticks]

You wanna sell. How much?

[pete1951]

Not for sale, I want one of this style, but happy to swop for one of Michaels new fiddle edge models or an original ‘30s.
Pete

In another 100years there maybe someone collecting MM guitars, this prototype could be worth thousands, so if your looking for a very long term investment talk to Michael about a new fiddle edge and we might do a deal?

[pete1951]

Looks like I might be making a new neck after all.

Fitting a neck ( and also re-setting one) is usually done with fine sandpaper pulled down between the heal and body. The fiddle edge design makes that more difficult. So the neck would have to come in and out many times to get it fitted. A new neck ( before the neckstick is glued in and the finger board fitted) would be much easier.

Also this sample neck seems a little short and would need a lot off the heal.

We shall see

I think I will do a flat headstock ( similar to the 30s design) I have an old block of maple that will do it one piece ( Michael has also gone for ‘one piece ‘ necks on the new fiddle edge models, so no join on the heal or headstock typical of many modern guitars)

But I am jumping ahead, first the body needs reshaping to have something to fit the neck to , where did I put my hammer?



Just got my suspicions confirmed, The new Fiddle Edge models have. 25” scale , my sample neck has a 24 1/2” scale, so it will have to go on another guitar.

Pete

[pete1951]

Here is the block, it’s quarter sawn but very plain. This means it won’t have much pretty grain, but should be stable and easy to work.

I was tempted to make the neck and neck stick out of the block ( it is big enough) but that would make a lot more work!



Pete

[pete1951]

I expect you were wondering how I was going to (try to) get those lumps out? Michael thought a sandbag inside, then some gentle persuasion ( I have a large collection of hammers) from the outside. This was the method I was going to use but remembered a mould I made for a metal body guitar 30 years ago. It just happens to be the perfect size

Just one small problem.....




I can’t get it through the hole in the front!
Pete

[Pickers Ditch]

You could always use your rip saw Pete to enlarge the hole on the front.

[Michael Messer]

Pete, it was the heat from the sandblasting jet that caused those dents and ripples, so I think I would warm the metal before doing anything. Maybe pouring boiling water over it before starting to bang the dents out.

I haven't spoken with Dave King or Mike Lewis yet, but unless they tell me otherwise, I don't see why that neck won't fit. There are plenty of original Fiddle Edge Dobros with very small heels.

I would definitely remove those stars. They were there to do some sandblast tests, but when I saw what the guy did to the back, I grabbed the guitar and ran away!

I am pleased to see it becoming a playable guitar, as that would never have happened to it while in my possession.

Shine On
Michael

[pete1951]

Taking the amount I need off the heal will weaken the neckstick join


There is enough wriggle room in the well to move the cone 6-8mm towards the neck So a biscuit cone can be used ( or probably a none stepped spider) but with a 24 1/2” scale I need another 6mm from somewhere.

Another way would be to move the finger board and have a 13 frets to the body 24 1/2” scale or a new finger board with a different scale length.

Food for thought
Pete

[Bob Stockton]

Can you get a dolly in there & get to work with a planishing (plenishing? can't remember) hammer....
When I've tried ( on cars ) I've always ended up with far more bumps , but my Dad was a wizard at panel beating.

[pete1951]

Nov 29, 2022 16:19:18 GMT Bob Stockton said:

Can you get a dolly in there & get to work with a planishing (plenishing? can't remember) hammer....
When I've tried ( on cars ) I've always ended up with far more bumps , but my Dad was a wizard at panel beating.

I will probably cut my old pattern into bits small enough to use as formers , but that has to wait until a friend who is an experienced metal worker is available.

Meanwhile I have found a piece of ebony for the finger board


This came from Clifford Essex Shop ( was it in Denmark St?) in the late 70s(?) I bought several bits when the shop closed down

[slide496]

I've listened to more than a few beat up and warped flat top/archtop guitars through Alan Lomax archives and the like that have an interesting voice, I'm wondering there's been any thoughts as to whether the back the way it is now would afford the instrument with a unique tone. Just asking....

Best,
Harriet

[pete1951]

Nov 30, 2022 13:24:06 GMT slide496 said:

I've listened to more than a few beat up and warped flat top/archtop guitars through Alan Lomax archives and the like that have an interesting voice, I'm wondering there's been any thoughts as to whether the back the way it is now would afford the instrument with a unique tone. Just asking....

Best,
Harriet

This could be true, the sound would be bounced around all over the place. Even after I have finished with my little hammer it won’t be as systematic as a ‘standard ‘ one.


It is also going to have a standard ‘Dobro ‘ cone and spider, rather than the off-set spider that Michael is using ( I think just about all the original Fiddle Edge guitars had the offset spider and Michael wanted to be as close to the Dobro original design as possible

One difference is the well, because of the offset spider you can’t use a biscuit cone in a 30s fiddle edge, ( I think it was to be a feature of this model that both types of cone would fit. Dobro made some measurement errors and had to use offset spiders, so no biscuit) there is enough room in MMs to fit a biscuit. So potentially 2 very different resonator tones from one guitar.
Changing cones is likely to take half an hour or so, not something to do in the middle of a gig!
Pete

[vastopol]

If I can bring an advice is to try to find a vintage car repairman to get this back in a decent shape.
He may help you for cheap.
Hammering such a thin foil of brass is not that easy, (don't forget to tell him it's brass) and if you're not experienced, the result may be even worst than before you start to beat.
Your Mold is useless for this job, because each bump has to be fixed step by step.
I've been doin' this job in another life, on old cars, and many poeples think you just have to hammer on a bump to get it flat...but it's far more subtle...
In fact the method is exactely the opposite: when you want to flatening a bump, you have to hamer all around very gently, and never beat in the center of a bump.
Each dent have an effect on the others, so you have to analyse the effects of what you're doin' to built a strategy of approach.
Don't use steel hammers without protection (few layers of masking tape) to prevent surface marks on the nickel.
Or add a pad of wood on your hammer.
It's a very slow process, but I don't think it will get back in perfect shape since the heat of the sandblasting have altered the tension of certain points.
Best of luck !

[pete1951]

Thanks to vastopol for the advice. Will pass on comments to my friend.
Pete

One of the great things about the forum is the diversity of the members, having guidance from someone who has actually done similar stuff is fantastic.