~1950 Kay K-159 Deluxe Model Lap Steel Sunburst
No sales tax for customers outside California.
Several of these Kay K-159 lap steels have moved through here over the years. I always dig em - they're just about the coolest looking instruments out there with all that thick, celluloid tortoise shell everywhere. And that headstock logo is so dope.
I did a little work on this one. The tortoise shrinks, as you likely know. The fretboard had curled a bit and pulled up the two brads holding it near the nut. I applied a couple period correct, flat-head screws to solidly hold it down.
Next, I took a look at the bridge as something seemed odd. I found that a previous owner had laid a pencil under the strings on the bridge where they would normally break over the bridge to pass over the pickup. This required the bridge cover to be raised higher than normal. This was done because someone had raised the pickup out of the cut in the tortoise shell material that surrounds the bridge and pickup. The celluloid material shrunk as the pickup was not there to stop it, so I couldn't set the pickup back in place correctly.
I removed everything there at the bridge and pickup location and carefully filed back the tortoise so the pickup could be properly set. Now the pencil could go!
Lastly, I built a new output jack plate. The original matched the rest of the multi-layer tortoise material. So I took an old acoustic pickguard and an import Strat backplate and fashioned the new jack plate. It isn't perfect, but it looks way better than the piece of scrap metal someone had used prior!
Oh - actually last, I added the white Kay knob as there was a completely wrong one in place of the original. The white one is at least the same shape as the original one.
Everything works great, electronically, and the steel has a killer tone.
For some reason, someone stripped the back of the body and neck. No clue why!
A case is included, but I'm not sure it is original as there is foam in there to fill some void space when the steel is in there. A hinge is busted too.
Color: Sunburst
Weight: 5lbs 4.9ozs
Body: Mahogany and maple
Neck: Mahogany
Fretboard: Tortoise shell celluloid
Inlays: Multi colored
Fret marker count: 29
Nut material: Bone
Nut width: 2 1/8"
Scale: 23"
Total length: 33 5/8"
Lower bout: 9"
Body depth/thickness: 1 5/16"
String gauge: .015-.036 new C6 set
Hardware Color: Nickel
Bridge Pickup: Kay
Bridge Pickup Reading: 9.31k
Pickup Original?: Yes
Bridge: Original
Tuners: Original, #3 has a wobble
Pots: Original
Knobs: Original
Case: Period correct chipboard case
Notes: Tuner #3 has a wobble and the output jack plate has been replaced.
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