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Author
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Topic: Pics of fender levers
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Mark Fasbender
Member From: Salt Lake City,Utah
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posted 15 June 2006 05:48 PM
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I would be interested to see what you fender players have come up with for knee levers. I did a search but most of the pics are not up. Im sure there is some great stuff. Lets see em. Any one have any kits you are making?
BasilH?
Willis?
Darvin?
Donny Hinson?
Michael Johnstone?
Anyone else?
I would like to put a couple levers on one but need the benefit of your experience and expertise. Thanks guys.
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Got Twang ? Mark |
basilh
Member From: United Kingdom
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posted 15 June 2006 06:12 PM
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Ronnie Bennett does kits for fender 400- 1000, 800 and 2000.. I don't know what he charges but they are the 'Canine Genitalia'I will post pictures of the basic ones after I get over this weekend !!..
Baz ------------------
quote:
Steel players do it without fretting
 
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Casey Lowmiller
Member From: Wichita, Ks
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posted 15 June 2006 06:28 PM
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If I get to drive out to the farm this weekend, I will snap some photos of the knee levers on my ol' 800.They are probably from the 60's or early 70's at the latest. A geat example of period pieces & also a great example as to what not to do...they are pretty darn ugly, but they do get the job done!!! I've been planning on making some new ones that are maybe more pleasing to the eye & not so stinkin'ghetto-retro. |
Mark Fasbender
Member From: Salt Lake City,Utah
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posted 15 June 2006 06:55 PM
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Thanks for the replys! Basilh...... I would be very interested to see what the kits consist of, especially if they are of a high quality. Ronnie Bennett wouldnt happen to have a website,would he? I would like to see his products.Casey........ Did you get the carter? I have a nice shobud single 12 you might like.
Post some pics of your fender levers.
Thanks
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Jim Sliff
Member From: Hermosa Beach California, USA
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posted 15 June 2006 09:31 PM
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Here are several pics of mine. I got them from someone who got them from someone else...so I don't know the maker. they are fairly rudimentary and a little rough - no fancy bearings, a few rough edges...but they work perfectly. And they were CHEAP! I need a set of 4 - two for each neck for my 1000 - but after using these I'm not spending $150-200 each for knee levers. I think these cost me 30 or 40 bucks...for both....    There have been a couple changes - the rectangular things I used for splits have been replaced by Shobud barrel tuners. Much easier to adjust. the "L" brackets and screws work just fine as stops by the way - the don't move or bend at all. LKL drops the 1st string a full step; RKR raises the second string a full step and the 4th string 3 half-steps. They work just as smooth as silk - much better than the ones that were on my old MSA Classic FWIW.[This message was edited by Jim Sliff on 15 June 2006 at 09:35 PM.] [This message was edited by Jim Sliff on 24 June 2006 at 08:18 PM.] |
Jerry Hayes
Member From: Virginia Beach, Va.
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posted 16 June 2006 08:41 AM
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I've seen knee levers fashioned from those folding door stops and gate hinges on those old guitars that worked fine. On an old 400 I had once it had a knee lever make from a hinge with coat hanger wire used to pull the change. It only did one string though but with a swivel type device it probably would accomodate a couple of pulls.......JH in Va.------------------
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!
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Casey Lowmiller
Member From: Wichita, Ks
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posted 16 June 2006 09:24 AM
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Mark, I ended up purchasing the Carter. It should ship out on Monday...I'm excited!!! I may be looking for another steel...I have an addiction. I'm running out of room but keep finding good deals on gutiars & amps.Jim,Your knee levers are pretty nice looking compared to some that I've had the misfortune to see. Yours definitely look like later made ones when people knew more about the PSG. Mine are pretty darn ugly compared to yours. Mine look like they were made in a rush in the pit area of a Backwoods Demolition Derby...they ain't pretty at all, but they work alright. Everyone has nasty little secrets...these knee levers are my nasty little sercret. I'll try to get some pics. Casey ------------------
Known Coast to Coast as
"The Man with The Plan" Fender Pedal 800, Fender Champion & a Homemade Double-neck![This message was edited by Casey Lowmiller on 16 June 2006 at 09:26 AM.] |
basilh
Member From: United Kingdom
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posted 16 June 2006 11:31 AM
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This is the Knee Lever that Ronnie Bennett made.  Bennett Guitars
85 Derwent Road
Babington, Wirral CH63 2LD,
United Kingdom
Fax +44 (0) 151 609 0464
Voice +44 (0) 151 608 4562..
E-Mail :- bennettsteels@btinternet.com
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quote:
Steel players do it without fretting
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Jim Sliff
Member From: Hermosa Beach California, USA
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posted 16 June 2006 02:37 PM
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I've seen that pic of Basil's before - looks really well made. I just wish I could figure out what-was-what - it's hard to tell how it all operates with the other cables crossing over it. It does look like (and I believe he told me) he uses the same Shobud barrel stops - but are they used to set the "rest" position? I can't quite figure it out...and what's the gadget with the pin and slot between the lever and crosshaft?I guess it just looks a lot more complicated than mine ended up being - but does it avoid running a loop around the main pulley?. |
basilh
Member From: United Kingdom
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posted 16 June 2006 05:27 PM
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Jim the lever uses RODS connected straight to the changer levers, AND the ShoBud barrel stops are to give a tuneable double change facility. In this instance the 'A's are pulled to 'B' by the pedal and the lever takes the SAME strings to Bb. Defeating the single raise or lower that the 400-1000 series has.
quote:
what's the gadget with the pin and slot between the lever and crosshaft?
That's to transfer the pull direction. i.e lever going left pull going right. Notice the adjustable stop halfway along the crosshaft
The 1/8" rods have loops brazed on to the ends, similar to the ends of the Fender cables..[This message was edited by basilh on 16 June 2006 at 05:28 PM.] |
Donny Hinson
Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A.
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posted 16 June 2006 06:10 PM
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I have no pictures of my old 1000. I can tell you that the levers were very simple, cable operated, with no shafts or screw adjustments, and no bellcranks. My cables went right through holes in the levers, and the only adjustment was where I set the cable-stop on the back side of the lever. Simple, yes...but it worked just fine! You don't need to be a machinist for this sort of thing, you just have to be able to use a drill, a hacksaw, and a file.Should anyone be interested in doing it the simple way (like I did), I'll make up a sketch and e-mail it to you. |
Jim Sliff
Member From: Hermosa Beach California, USA
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posted 16 June 2006 07:36 PM
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Donnie - did you have levers hooked up to both necks, or just the back one? I'd like to use 4 (two on eachneck ), but I think I'd need some sort of crosshaft and a...well, whatever the little lever is called with the holes in it for rods (or cables in this case) to get a straight pull on the front neck...not being a machinist, I'm not sure how to achieve it myself. |
basilh
Member From: United Kingdom
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posted 17 June 2006 12:31 PM
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More pics of Ron Bennett's lever.
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Jim Sliff
Member From: Hermosa Beach California, USA
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posted 17 June 2006 12:34 PM
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Baz - have you ever tried lighter springs on the lowers? I makes a gigantic difference in the playability. mine has a real light touch now - light springs on the lower and a couple "helpers" on the raises. |
Fred Layman
Member From: Springfield, Missouri USA
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posted 24 June 2006 06:23 PM
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Herb Steiner reported on the Forum awhile back that he had replaced the lowering return springs with a less stiff set of springs because the stock springs were too heavy and made the pedals too hard to depress. |
Mark Fasbender
Member From: Salt Lake City,Utah
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posted 24 June 2006 10:45 PM
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Of course,the 800 and 2000 have adjustable lower springs. And double raise-double lower.  All they need is a bank of well designed adjustable raise springs. Or not.  ------------------
Got Twang ? Mark |
JOHN COOP
Member From: YORKTOWN, IND. USA
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posted 25 June 2006 02:29 AM
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Mark...I have come up with a slick plan to put 4 knees on your Fender. Call me. Coop |
Michael Johnstone
Member From: Sylmar,Ca. USA
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posted 25 June 2006 04:06 PM
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There's some pictures of what I did a couple years ago to a Fender 800 on page 2 & 3 of this long lost thread: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/007185.html Don't try this at home kids... |
Donny Hinson
Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A.
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posted 28 June 2006 08:35 AM
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quote:
Donnie - did you have levers hooked up to both necks, or just the back one? I'd like to use 4 (two on eachneck ), but I think I'd need some sort of crosshaft and a...well, whatever the little lever is called with the holes in it for rods (or cables in this case) to get a straight pull on the front neck.
I used a slave pulley in the middle of the guitar. This was fastened to the wood using just a short length of cable. The knee lever cable came off the lever at an angle, but the slave pulley straightened it out so that the angle to the changer approximated the standard layout. It was an all-cable system, with no bellcranks or shafts. The pedals also were mounted to the wood body using small, short pieces of L-angle, and I simply used a machine screw for the pivot. The cable went directly into a hole in the lever, and for a simple, easy to fabricate system, it worked very well. (The knee levers also folded flat so that the guitar would still fit in the case.) |
Darvin Willhoite
Member From: Leander, Tx. USA
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posted 28 June 2006 11:06 AM
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It's been a while since I posted these pics, but here's pictures of the levers I put on Craig Holdens Fender. This was a single raise, single lower guitar, so to get the E to F raise, I used a tuning screw on an L bracket. It can be seen in the first picture.
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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording
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