Building a Lap Steel - The Apocalypse Machine

Ever wondered how to build a lap steel guitar from scratch? In this video, I’ll show you the full process of creating a custom lap steel—starting with rough cut lumber and ending with a fully playable instrument.
You’ll see every stage of the lap steel guitar build:
Choosing and preparing the wood
Shaping and cutting the body
Routing and hardware installation
Wiring electronics
Setup and finishing touches
This isn’t just a tutorial—it’s the complete journey of a DIY lap steel guitar, showing how raw wood becomes a unique, fully functional instrument. Whether you’re interested in custom guitar building, slide guitar, or just love seeing instruments come to life, this step-by-step build has something for you.
If you enjoy this project, make sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more lap steel lessons, guitar builds, and gear demos.
📌 Keywords: build a lap steel guitar, DIY lap steel, custom lap steel build, lap steel guitar tutorial, guitar building, custom guitar, slide guitar build

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0:00 Opening Jam
1:17 Intro
2:47 Breaking down and milling
7:26 Initial Layout and Routing
9:50 Shaping the neck and headstock
13:20 Glue up
16:15 Initial Shaping
20:00 Laying out hardware
28:10 Laying out fingerboard and Roundover
30:05 Routing for electronics
33:42 Prep for fingerboard/fingerboard install
39:38 Headstock Overlay and final sanding
43:00 Finish
46:49 Final Assembly
50:37 Pickguard
53:15 Electronics
55:40 Pickups
57:49 Final Setup
1:00:00 Final Thoughts