Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello folks,

I wonder if anyone out there could recommend metal suppliers for making a 'bell brass' instrument? What is the typical metal thickness for resonator guitars, if there is a typical thickness?

The plans for a metal bodied reso that I have from Resophonic Outfitters states that the body is typically 0.032. My 1980 Duolian mic's at a bit more than that, 0.038 but then its also chromed which adds some thickness. Don't know for sure what alloy "bell brass" is but the nice folks at NRP might tell you.

Chris Paulick's very detailed instructions for building a tricone calls for 0.035 German silver - he states that depending on thickness you might have to alter some things but he thinks thats about the right thicnkess. I don't know if Chris's instructions are still in the MIMF archives - you should download them if they are.

A few years back when I worked in a metal fab place I was considering making a tricone out of 0.030 titanium (one of my buddies was a Ti welder at Moots cycles and offered to do the welding). For a variety of reasons I decided to make a woodie instead.