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Topic: Follow-up on ?1941? Rickenbacher Lap Steel |
Larry Carlson
From:
My Computer
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 6:50 am |
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Sorry if this is long but I am a bit excited and at my age that can be dangerous.
Please keep in mind that until yesterday I had never seen a Rickenbacher let alone own one or do work on it.
Stores here rarely if ever have a lap steel of any kind in stock.
All my other guitars I had to order online from Reverb etc.
I've never seen a pedal steel here.
Ok........I brought the little bugger home.
I got it for $450 and I ran for the front door as fast as I could.
The story is, which I got from the man who owned it, he was at the store,
was he bought it in 1942 or 3. He put it in the garage and stored it away in 1947
and it has been there in it's case all these years.
He found it last month and put it on consignment at the store.
He is 80 years old now and he forgot he had it.
It is in excellent shape. No dents, dings, scratches. Just dust and fingerprints.
Only flaws are about a dozen or so pinprick sized corrosion spots scattered about the guitar.
The volume pot is frozen. All of the tuner buttons went 'poof' when I touched them.
It has a great full sound although I couldn't tune it. No tuner buttons and the gears had turned green with corrosion/oxidation.
I have a new pot here. If I can't unfreeze the stock one I guess it will be replaced but I'd like to keep it if I can.
The tone pot works great but I can't remove it because it has been frozen in place by that
brittle black crud they filled most of the area around it with. I guess it's bakelite.
I have never seen it before except in the old ashtrays and phones we had in the 40's and 50's.
It's black, shiny, and if you poke it it is sticky and sort of green and soft inside.
Serial# is D1531.
The patent #2089171 is stamped on both of the little metal pieces that hold the pickup on.
To my knowledge this indicates it was made after August, 1937.
Most people believe the volume control was added in 1938.
The way the strings are anchored in the body indicate it was made before the war.
Lastly, the magnets are 1 1/2 inches wide and I read that they changed to one inch after the war.
So as close as I can come it was made between 1937 and 1945.
Not really important but it was kind of fun to try and search out.
I even got a cute little bar with Nick Manoloff's name stamped on the end.
I took a picture of it next to my Shubb SP2 to compare the size.
The case is in amazing shape for it's age.
So that's it. I'm excited and happy.
I painted the gears with penetrating oil and let them set overnight and they work fine now.
Volume pot will go in tomorrow and I will have to search for tuner buttons that fit the old skinny shafts.
A good cleaning, a little polish, new strings and Wheeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!
The one big bonus is that there is finally something in the house older than I am.
You folks have a good day.
Thank you for tolerating my babbling.
This thing is shiny and it is hard to take pictures of it. 
_________________
I have stuff.
I try to make music with it.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But I keep on trying.
Last edited by Larry Carlson on 24 Jun 2016 5:04 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Lee D Kaiser
From:
California, USA
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 8:33 am
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No original source references here, but mine has tone and volume pots on opposite sides of the body, which apparently makes it a 1939. My recollection is that both on the same side, like yours, makes it 1940 or later. And all the other features of yours look "prewar" so I'd guess it's 1940-41.
Pretty toy. Quite like the sound of mine. |
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John Mulligan
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 10:58 am
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| Congratulations! |
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 11:28 am
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| Major score! Thanks for your observations and description. It's a bonus that you know about its history. That is basically a time capsule. Enjoy getting it up and running and playing that beauty! |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 11:41 am
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Great score. The bad news is that you have a fair amount of work ahead of you to make it a player but it will be so worth it.
Mine is D 1361 and I was told it was a 1939 model.
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Joe Breeden
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 11:43 am
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| Great score. I'm happy for you Larry. Joe |
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Larry Carlson
From:
My Computer
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 12:21 pm
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Thanks for the replies folks, I appreciate it.
Another Update:
I have everything out of the guitar and been futzing with the volume pot this morning.
It got the darn thing working. Yay.
Boy was it frozen in place. Now it turns easily, sound is clean and not a scratchy noise anywhere.
Had a bit of trouble getting it back together but I won. Whew.
All I have left is to find some tuner buttons which AllParts probably has but I'd like to find them locally if I can.
As far as dating it with a pot code I would have no idea how to do that but the number on the volume pot is 33-010107.
I'll try and search it out later after I clean up my mess.
The tone pot is blank except for 250M and STACKPOLE stamped on the back.
Sorry, still a bit excited for an old fart.
This is fun........... 
_________________
I have stuff.
I try to make music with it.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But I keep on trying. |
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Allen Hutchison
From:
Kilcoy, Qld, Australia
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Posted 23 Jun 2016 3:16 pm
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Fantastic bargain there Larry!
I'm very happy for you & I know you won't be sorry with that purchase.  |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2016 8:24 am
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| Stewmac.com has tuner buttons also. |
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2016 11:49 am Extra, extra...
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You say you have everything out of the guitar...
Including the newspaper the body was customarily stuffed with to dampen the sound?
Not sure about Silver Hawaiians, but an old NS I used to have had newspapers from late 1945 (smaller pickup, decal headstock) which at least indicated its earliest possible manufacture date. As I recall some pieces of newsprint were blank and actual newspaper pieces were further inside.
_________________
"Gopher, Everett?" |
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Larry Carlson
From:
My Computer
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Posted 24 Jun 2016 12:50 pm Re: Extra, extra...
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| Ben Elder wrote: |
You say you have everything out of the guitar...
Including the newspaper the body was customarily stuffed with to dampen the sound?
Not sure about Silver Hawaiians, but an old NS I used to have had newspapers from late 1945 (smaller pickup, decal headstock) which at least indicated its earliest possible manufacture date. As I recall some pieces of newsprint were blank and actual newspaper pieces were further inside. |
No sir.
I have all of the electronics out. The tone control finally relented.
There is what appears to be a wax covered paper stuffed in to the body towards the neck but I left it alone.
I am trying my best to disturb as little as possible.
What I can see is definitely not newsprint.
Towards the tail and to the sides of the pickup there is the black shiny stuff that I mentioned before.
That filled everything behind and to the sides of the pickup and caused the tone pot removal problem. The jack area was not filled.
It is about 1 inch thick, which is an estimate of course. I have no idea if it is forward of the pickup as I did not pull out the paper.
I know this guitar is not a rarity nor terribly valuable but I found the history a bit interesting and I am having a great time getting it back up and running.
I have tuner buttons coming now and I have the tuning gears off and being cleaned and lubed.
I am more or less enjoying myself.
I appreciate everyone's interest.
_________________
I have stuff.
I try to make music with it.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But I keep on trying. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2016 4:45 pm
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Don't mess with the black "creosote" like pitch tar ... Cured, it doesn't smell, but if you chip it ... It'll smell up your whole house like a freshly creosoted horse fense ...
I remove the wax paper and/or newspaper ... And jam 100% cotton towels/hand clothes ... Really helps the harsh overtones ... Throw in some desiccant packs too ...
Your Silver is a '39-'40 ... The '38s had arrow knobs on opposite sides ... And chromed brass nut and bridges vs the Bakelite nut and bridge ... The earliest only had a single volume with chromed brass nut/bridge ...
Some Slivers were all stamped brass ... Some had a brass top braised to a stamped steel body ... Some were all steel ...
I have one of each ....
Take a weak rubber magnet and test the top and sides to see what you have ...
Hope that helps ...
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Larry Carlson
From:
My Computer
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Posted 24 Jun 2016 5:00 pm
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Hi Rick
Thanks for the info.
I wasn't going to mess with that black crud any more.
I just wasn't sure what the heck it is.
Looks like a reject from a horror movie.
It appears the guitar I have is all steel.
_________________
I have stuff.
I try to make music with it.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But I keep on trying. |
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Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2016 6:55 pm
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| Hi Larry, old farts rule. Enjoy your Ric I love mine. |
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