lap steel guitar

[panhead]

My father-in-law is a retired cabinet maker, and I was working in his garage yesterday and he dug out a bunch of mahogany, ash, oak, alder, etc., which he said is mine to use. He'lljust burn it in the woodstove next winter if I don't use it. I can't let that happen! I started thinking of all kinds of things to make, and an electric lap steel guitar seemed like a good idea. So I have a few questions:

What is the distance between bridge and nut? Since there are no frets it seems that this isn't critical for intonation, but important in being able to tune the strings in the right ranges.

What are some common tunings? I thought about a double "neck" with D and G tunings, but would like to know more.

Number of strings?

Etc..

Thanks

[12bz7]

http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lapsteel/

[panhead]

I found that one. Thanks. It's a pretty cool site!

[Bassmanster]

http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/tuning.html

Low bass G as they call it or open G (Keef's tuning) is the original (or the same thing in A as he says).  I think it was called "taro patch" back in the day.

That dobro open G is used for bluegrass a lot, though I know a guy who can play Hawaiian stuff in it.

C6 is the pro's tuning, but it think it's kind of tough at first.

[panhead]

Thanks, Gorn

That link gives more tunings than I'll ever need! How about spacing between strings? Seems like I'd need a wider spacing and a special wider pickup. I looked at lap steel pickups on the net and they aren't cheap (start around $140). Still, I'm not in a hurry. It should be a fun project that I can take my time with.

[adamasd]

Short scale length is a great time on lap steel, the slants you can do are great.play about with some pine see what you like.

C6 is a fun tuning for lapsteel, gives you both a major and a minor when open.

[bluesbear]

Everyone I've ever known either tunes lap steel the same as a Resonator or an open D, E, or G. I like E just because it's an easy transition for a guitar player.
Dave