Aluminum Legs UPDATE LAST POST

[Wayne Brown]

Well Folks were real close now. For the last almost 2 years we here at Outwest Music Lori and myself have been looking into a way to produce Aluminum legs. Since the supplier in California is not doing that anymore.

Through the research we have hit some pretty big walls. From the supplier of the tube itself to both of our governments having strict regulations on chroming and it's process. (extremely toxic and dangerous).
The tube OD size and wall thickness are not a normal, readily available, stocked item and we had to enlist the manufacturing process of a mill.

Let me be clear before I continue here we are about 98% done our testing, stock has been purchased, we have started manufacturing the rough components...However this could still all go south if it does not pass the next couple of tests. We are very confident that it WILL work out at this point though. The first shipment of tube should be here later this week, so we wanted to get a bit of a jump on it. If everything goes according to plan they should be ready for sale on our website by early in the new year. They will be available in whatever length you might need. As for the price we are sitting at $299.00 USD per set of 4 at the moment, however this could change (hope not).

I would like to give a very big shout out and thank you to Mr. Ian Worley with out his valuable time and work he has put into getting us the information we needed to get this project started, It would have never happened.

So folks the bottom line is this. We are really close to producing these to help supply another need in the steel guitar community. Lori and I will keep you updated on our progress.

Here are some pictures of some of the plugs and raw parts etc.




Lori hard at work facing and pilot drilling clutches.




Thanks
Wayne
C/o
Outwest Music

[Barry Coker]

Looking Good Wayne, Lot of work and time involved here folks.


Good Luck
Barry

[LaVern Skarzenski]

Hi Wayne, Do I understand that one of the big challenges of aluminum legs is getting them chromed? If so, why not just buff and polish them. I have an older GFI, dated Mar. 10, 1995, with aluminum legs and they are not chromed, just polished. They used a thick walled tubing With solid plugs on top to thread into the steel, and the rear legs are internally threaded to provided adjustment for length. I don't know what the new GFIs use but mine is very light. As for material, several years back, due to my bad back, I was looking to lighten up my BSG steel and DOM aluminum tubing was available. I'm sure polishing aluminum vs. chroming would be much more cost effective. If I mis-understood your post, I apologize.
LaVern Skarzenski

[Wayne Brown]

Thanks Lavern. Polishing is already a viable option. However the problem we are facing and have fixed (hopefully) is aluminum threads need to be hardened so they don’t gall. We are testing out powder coating and anodizing this Christmas holidays to correct this.
Thanks
Wayne

[Chris Templeton]

I have aluminum legs.. Nice to chip off a little weight. A needed addition for the steel guitar community. Way to go, Wayne!

[John Macy]

Great news. Will you have a preorder when you get closer? I am in for a set.

[Wayne Brown]

Hi John Thanks for your response. Instead of a pre order I have started a list on my computer for 1st come 1st served. You are right at the top. If anybody else would like to be on the list just contact me via PM or email. However, before we release them, I need to finish the tests I have to do. If everything passes, then I am going to get a couple of pro players up here to come over and beat the Heck out of them to make sure they continue to work without issue like planned and won't fall apart. I do not want returned product for a design flaw.
I did get word the first order of tubes should be here Monday.
Lori is hard at work machining and doing the math to get the plug just right, which as you know that is the most critical part. LOL I think I created a monster. She really loves doing lathe work and she is phenomenal at it. We will continue working on the leg solutions over the holidays and keep everyone updated.
Thanks
wayne

[Wayne Brown]

Well folks here is an update. We are working to produce 4 or 5 sets of legs in this first run. However, I still need to do those 2 tests, but I have gotten busy refurbishing a Pro II Custom. Lori Has been working on the plugs for the legs. She even made me buy her a bigger lathe for Christmas. I know I have a one in a million wife. She never stops surprising me.

I will get the tests done as quick as possible, and we will get back at it and get these into production. Thanks for your patience.
Wayne

[Dave Mudgett]

This is not the place to discuss competing ways to make steel guitar legs. Do that on a different thread. The Builder's Corner would be a good place for that.

What's going on in this thread is a new product - steel guitar legs in quanity.

[Wayne Brown]

THIS IS JUST AN ANOUNCEMENT NOTHING MORE. MODS PLEASE CLOSE THIS THREAD IF YOU WISH. THANKS.
Folks I promise I am not making anything political here, but we have been in touch with the mill we would be using for the raw aluminum needed to manufacture our guitar legs, and the mill has informed us due to the anticipation of the expected tariffs our costs have already gone up substantially. So, with this new information the price to make aluminum legs at this point has risen dramatically and not very cost effective. We have therefor put them on hold until this can/has been rectified.
Thanks
Wayne Brown
c/o
Outwest Music