So, I’ve been playing the ukulele for coming up on about three years now. Last year (a year ago next week) I was injured on shift and it’s resulted in as-of-yet-not-resolved nerve damage that effects my thumb and first two fingers on my right hand. For anyone who plays a fretted instrument, you know this means my picking days on the uke may be over. I can still strum ok, so I’m still playing, but it’s going to be hard to progress with such a limitation.
A musically inclined friend suggested something where I can look at my fingers (since it’s an afferent nerve issue, meaning reduced sensation, but the motor function is fine). He meant for me to consider the piano, but I decided to learn the Lap Steel Guitar. It’s got the same Hawaiian motif as the ukulele (if you tune it that way) and uses finger picks on the right hand, which is fully visible against the strings on your lap. It’s more complicated than some finger picks and a slide bar, but I’m starting to get it…at least a little.
So I whipped up a quick little ‘nothing’ box to keep the picks and slide bar in.
Scrap sapele, cut to size. Then I used the Shaper Origin to core out the interior. Rounded over the outside edges, then chamfered the inner edges on the router table to give it some dimension and make it soft to the touch. Lastly, I burned a scale and a couple musical symbols into the bottom for decoration (which is funny because I can’t read music!).
The laser work was interesting because the interior dimension of the box is small enough that the laser head can’t move around freely without hitting the edges. So I had to basically burn it out of focus. Honestly, it worked out pretty well…all things considered.
Finished with Odie’s Oil and a buffing.
I’m planning out a two- instrument guitar stand with a music stand integrated into the top. I figure, if I’m gonna learn a new instrument, I should display it too! More to come on that.
If you wanna hear something like a howling cat being abruptly stepped on, I’ll send you a clip of the Lap Steel to laugh to!