A Hawaiian Guitar is also commonly called a lap steel guitar
Building a Hawaiian lap steel guitar out of a standard electric guitar offers several advantages over purchasing a lap steel guitar. For one, lap steel guitars are not overly common in retail stores and Hawaiian lap steels offer little versatility due to their extremely short scale length. Building a lap steel guitar from a standard scale length guitar gives you the same sound as a Hawaiian lap steel guitar because the strings are raised high above the frets and the bridge is made of metal. With the right parts, it also gives you the ability to convert the guitar back to normal, if wanted.
Instructions
1. Remove the strings from the electric guitar by unwinding them from the tuning peg located on the headstock of the guitar. Do not cut the strings off while the guitar is tuned to pitch. This can cause the neck to warp due to sudden pressure changes.
2. Raise the guitar bridge or saddle to maximum height. If your guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge, then turn the thumb-wheel adjusters to raise the bridge. If your guitar has individual saddles, use an Allen wrench to raise the height of the saddles. Each saddle should be raised to the same height to ensure the slide will press against all six strings when playing.
3. Place the metal extension nut over the existing nut on the guitar. Most electric guitar nuts are made from bone or plastic, so the metal extension nut has two benefits. It raises the strings of the fretboard like a Hawaiian lap steel and it's made of metal. A Hawaiian lap steel guitar has a nut made of metal. This helps to shape the tone of a Hawaiian lap steel. There are no bolts or screws to mount the extension nut. The tension of the guitar strings will hold the nut in place.
4. String the guitar using a set of lap steel strings. These strings are formulated to be used with a metal slide held in the guitar played left hand. They have smaller windings around the strings, and create less ambient noise than traditional electric guitar strings.
5. Raise the height of the guitar pickups with a screwdriver so they are 1/8 inch below the strings. Depending on the type of guitar you are using, you may need a Phillips screwdriver or a flat-head screwdriver. This will improve the sound input of the guitar since the strings are being raised off of the body and fretboard.
Tags: steel guitar, Hawaiian steel, electric guitar, guitar strings, Hawaiian steel guitar