Pull Rod Overhaul

[Matthew Davidson]

hi folks

My trusty Carter Starter is in need of a lot of love. The original pull rods rattle quite a bit (I wouldnt be surprised if they've stretched over time), and the nylon nuts are quite gnarled.

I'm planing to make some copedent changes anyhow, and am interested in machining a whole new set.

I would love to know your advice/experience of the process; ie what rod stock to choose, correct thread pitch, hook shaping techniques... or any resources for ordering parts.

This will be part of a larger/ongoing restoration of my guitar. Unfortunately I've been playing on this instrument for too long and it's always done the trick - so gonna do my best to keep it going.

thanks and hope everyone is doing swell

[Ross Shafer]

Slipping some heat shrink tubing over the rods will quiet them down a lot. There's no way the rods could have stretched, unless you're doing something wacky with your guitar. unless they are bent, threads messed up or damaged in some other way, there's mechanical or wear reason to put in new rods.

[Barry Coker]

I have worked on a few Starters and all of them have pull rod noise. As Ross said heat shrink works to help and a couple of properly placed foam pieces slit to seperate the rods works well just don't over do it.
Another Issue I have run into on the Starters are the RKL & LKL with no real solid stop they are usualy the first thing on the repair list. I came up with an additional little bracket that bolts on the exsisting welded on crank to solve this problem.












Tap 2 holes in the crank bolt on the bracket drill 1 new hole in the knee lever and you have an adjustable stop and much more stable feeling knee lever.

Barry

[Matthew Davidson]

thank you Barry and Ross

thanks for saving me the pain of making a while new rod set

love the heat shrink suggestion. i'm thinking only on the rods that are clustered together ? and over the whole length , would you say?

and sure enough: my LKL lever failed some time ago. Barry, do you sell your brackets? I would be very interested in ordering one or two

one reason i am interested in learning to manufacture pull rods is that i plan to make a copedant change on this guitar ; my LKR is currently E-Eflat and I want to switch this over to RKL. since the bell cranks are soldered in place, my plan is to put in new cross bars with adjustable bell cranks (probably mullen BCs on hex shaft), and then cut three new rods for those three pulls (could maybe shorten the two E flat rods but will inevitably need extra stock).

thanks again for your insights

[Bobby D. Jones]

If you are wanting to make several rods. Take piece of metal large enough to make a jig. Measure and drill a rod size hole deep enough for the bend. Then grind and file radius for bend in jig. Clamp the metal in a good vice and use a hammer to bend a perfect hook on each rod.
If the rods are 1/8" or 3/32" Stainless steel welding rods work good.
Bend the loop on both ends of the 36" welding rod, This allows 2 rods to be made from each rod, Except for maybe 1st left pedal and LKL knee lever.

Good luck making pretty matching rods.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

The single most effective and bang-for-the-buck upgrade you can do with a C-S is to address the leftward moving lever stop issue that Barry posts about. His is one of several possible solutions -- I did something less refined for a client -- and it corrects the single biggest flaw on the guitar.

In my opinion, the guitar ultimately is only as good as it is (which is VERY good for a $700 all-pull 4 lever pedal steel guitar!.....and no better) and my advice to anyone is that when you are looking to do major upgrades to accommodate your progression as a player, it is time to look at a better instrument. This was 100% John Fabian's point in making this guitar -- get your feet wet, then buy a Magnum and sell the C-S.

......BUT.....good luck!

[Matthew Davidson]

thanks Bobby, thanks Jon

the jig idea sounds super; nice to have on hand for future repairs

totally hear you Jon, re: it being time to upgrade. I'm sure i will someday, but for now I really love this instrument.. it's been all over the country with me and hasnt let me down yet. (I don't know what this particular pickup is but it's my absolute favorite. definitely going into the next steel, whatever it may be)

[Donny Hinson]

Rods should not rattle. In your first picture, you’ve got a rod right up against a puller. Because the pullers are welded to the cross-rod, you can’t move them, but you can bend that puller a little (or the rod) so they’re not rubbing together. You can also put small o-rings on the rod ends and that will stop them from rattling or coming loose.

[John Hyland]

Regarding the suggestion of hammering the bend in the jig would it be better to redhot heat first and bend by hand. I would have thought a cold bend causes the steel to yield and weaken. Just a thought.