The very best vertical (horizontal) Knee Lever

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 26 Jul 2015 11:58 am

I designed this vertical (horizontal) knee lever for my Sierra... way back when I had my last guitar.

This lever only required 1/2 inch upward movement, no matter which end you were on.

Just an idea for you guys... I went looking for my cords & a volume pedal, still had this stuff laying around.

Tim Russell · Post by **Tim Russell** » 26 Jul 2015 1:05 pm

Charley ,

Thanks so much for posting this. I am in the process of upgrading my Sierra D-10 with more knees/verticals and I have been contemplating different ideas.

Yours looks great. Very ingenious design.

I would like to design a LKR that only requires a small amount of travel, since the reverse direction takes up so much play. I'm lowering 4/8 from E to D and that's a long move.

Cheers,
Tim

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 26 Jul 2015 1:42 pm

The first thing to look at is your mounting points. My S-10 Keyless had some space between the front apron & the front rail. That was a perfect place to mount the rotational mounting brackets.

Designing the vertical linkage to hook with a cross rod was easy.

All you do is unhook the small linkage & you can close your case.

Glad you liked it...

Georg Sørtun · Post by **Georg Sørtun** » 26 Jul 2015 3:02 pm

Very good solution.

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 26 Jul 2015 3:33 pm

Thank you... don't know why all Steel Guitars don't have a vertical (horizontal ) knee lever, actuated like this.

When the knee lever is mounted on a cross rod, the closer you are to the cross rod, that harder the push is & the shorter the push... farther out the push is easier but the requires more movement.

This way you can make the lever fast or slow, depending on your connecting linkage. The beauty is in the movement & it is short & the same, no matter what the linkage is.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 26 Jul 2015 6:00 pm

t think there are some good ideas in this design.
i can see others trying it.

Tim Russell · Post by **Tim Russell** » 26 Jul 2015 6:33 pm

The LKR looks very close to the vertical inside the vertical "frame". Is the throw on that knee that short? Usually that knee moves a long distance.

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 26 Jul 2015 9:39 pm

How do you close the lid of your case?

Georg Sørtun · Post by **Georg Sørtun** » 26 Jul 2015 9:50 pm

Jim Smith wrote:How do you close the lid of your case?

Charley Bond wrote:All you do is unhook the small linkage & you can close your case.

Simple enough, like unhooking the pedal rods.

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 27 Jul 2015 2:13 pm

Tim Russell wrote:The LKR looks very close to the vertical inside the vertical "frame". Is the throw on that knee that short? Usually that knee moves a long distance.

That Left Knee Right lever doesn't even know the Vertical (horizontal) Knee Lever is there. The knee lever is raising both E's to F.

In the 2nd picture, you can really see the clearance.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 27 Jul 2015 2:43 pm

very aesthetically pleasing, also.
looks like it could have been a factory design.

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 27 Jul 2015 2:51 pm

Thanks Chris... actually I was a Production Tooling Engineer for the BOEING Co.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 27 Jul 2015 2:54 pm

Charley--I remember this quite well from .... 15 years ago? Maybe I even posted the pictures for you back then? I can't remember.
Impressed me then, impresses me now. It addresses the several problems I have with vert. levers.
Beautiful work!

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 27 Jul 2015 3:33 pm

Hi Jon... thanks for your assistance back then & your remembrance just now.

Giving up the Pedal Steel was heart wrenching, as I have loved Steel Guitar music for 64 years, since I was a boy walking by a Steel Guitar School on a Saturday morning.

Trying to have something to lean on as my days go bye.

Len Amaral · Post by **Len Amaral** » 28 Jul 2015 4:12 am

Hi Charlie, it's so good to see your voice again and I have often wondered what happened to you?

Please visit us and stay in touch. I remember when you had developed that vertical lever and thought it was extremely unique and useful.

Best regards,

Len Amaral

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 28 Jul 2015 6:43 am

this kind of knee lever can be put on anyone's guitar.

You just make a "U", get some small hinges, make up some linkage, get a cross rod rotational bracket & your ready.

The configuration can be just a thick "U" with the rotational brackets attached to the vertical legs of the "U".

Voila! a horizontal vertical knee lever....

Tom Campbell · Post by **Tom Campbell** » 28 Jul 2015 8:53 am

Nice concept. I have three Sierras' ...might give it a try on one of them.
Thinking I might go with a T profile...the stem of the T being the "leg" that is attached with the hinge to the front apron. The top of the T could be made any width that would cover the knee's area of operation. Oh boy...another project!!!!

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 29 Jul 2015 7:54 am

Good idea... just make the leg of the tee about 2.5 to 3 inches wide. Use one hinge, 2 hinges can sometimes cause binding.

One other thing, use at least 1/4 inch thick Aluminum, so you will have some anti-twist strength.

Good luck ...

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