As previously mentioned, being a metal and wood worker gave me a good foundation for undertaking this kind of project. I learned as much as I could from magazines and articles, some written by John Dopyera himself (the inventor of the resonator guitar). I visited a collector of these guitars where I observed construction details and took many measurements of a 1930's Style O. From this information I constructed a set of forms for the body and some tooling for the many components unique to metal bodied resonator guitars. I chose 300 series stainless steel for the first guitar, since I had experience working with this material as a machinist and a welder of high vacuum systems. The first guitar has welded seams, rather than the traditional method of soft soldering (which I use on all instruments now.) The S/N 1 guitar is very similar to a twelve fret Style O in shape and size; it has a 24.9" scale length, and a maple neck with a 9 1/2 cone.

Since I'm often asked about the process of spinning cones, I thought it would be nice to devote a bit of the page to this subject.

As one can see from the pictures, the technique of metal spinning is not confined to just resonator cones. Metal spinning has been an art used for centuries, and was known to the Egyptians of hieroglyphic days. The process was introduced in this country around 1840, and most spinning at that time was in the production of metal bowls and various holloware.

In the process of spinning, the thin metal blank is formed and stretched over the "chuck" or form. This form is machined to the exact shape of the desired part. The chuck and the blank are rotated in a lathe at a very high speed and a tool, usually a sharp pointed piece of hardwood dowel is pressed against the blank, starting from the center and moving outward. This pressure, combined with the rotation, causes the material to conform to the shape of the chuck. For a more in-depth study of metal spinning, a great place to start is: http://www.jobshop.com/techinfo/papers/metalspinpaper.shtml

In the process of building these guitars, I've made quite a few different spinning chucks. Below is a picture of these with their respective cones. The chuck and cone to the left is a Dobro style cone.

The process I use for making the bodies of my instruments is heavily dependent on art metal techniques. The perimeter of the top and back are shaped on hardwood forms and then assembled in a jig that bends the side material into the shape of the instrument. Below are some photos of the forms:

Once the body is assembled, much time is spent grinding and polishing the solder joints. When the polishing and etching designs are complete, the body is sent to a plating shop to have the Bright Nickel finish applied.

Construction of the neck and fretboard is quite similar to conventional guitar building, so I won't go into that subject other than to say I use a neck rod or pole in all my instruments except ukuleles. The Dopyeras were banjo makers before they began building metal guitars. They carried over the use of a rod extending from the heel of the neck to the end pin. I find this to be a very structurally sound method of building and have continued its use. Below is a picture of a neck assembly.