Oahu Publishing Co. Lap Steel Guitar Question

[Wes Fowler]

Hey, everyone. One of my band mates has purchased this 1930s Oahu Publishing Co. acoustic lap steel guitar:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196642770054

He’s wanting to know if any of you might know how much string tension this guitar can take. He’s currently got it tuned to:

(24” scale length, lowered dobro tuning)

Bb3    - .016” gauge
G3    - .018” gauge
Eb3    - .028” gauge
Bb2    - .035” gauge
G2    - .045” gauge
Eb2     -  .056” gauge

= 122.8 lbs of total string tension

The guitar seems to be handling this amount of tension just fine, but he would ultimately like to go one half step higher with this tuning for a total of 137.9 lbs of total string tension.

Do any of you know if this guitar can handle that much tension? For those of you who’ve calculated the string tension that you’ve personally put on one of these guitars, could you please share?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Wes Fowler

[Noah Miller]

The biggest concern is the bridge ripping off. Looks like it's halfway there already. I would go with the lowest amount of tension that keeps the strings playable.

[Steve Lipsey]

I have one of these and love it! Mine also has a nut extender...for some reason the strings are a bit too low without it...
the bridge is screwed in from underneath, it won't pull off, but I don't know if the top will bow with more pressure...I do GBDGBD but go lower than standard gauges on all except the high strings...

[Noah Miller]

The bridge will rip off the screws before the top gives way. It has happened many times to these.

[Rich Arnold]

Hey, everyone. One of my band mates has purchased this 1930s Oahu Publishing Co. acoustic lap steel guitar:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196642770054

He’s wanting to know if any of you might know how much string tension this guitar can take. He’s currently got it tuned to:

(24” scale length, lowered dobro tuning)

Bb3    - .016” gauge
G3    - .018” gauge
Eb3    - .028” gauge
Bb2    - .035” gauge
G2    - .045” gauge
Eb2     -  .056” gauge

= 122.8 lbs of total string tension

The guitar seems to be handling this amount of tension just fine, but he would ultimately like to go one half step higher with this tuning for a total of 137.9 lbs of total string tension.

Do any of you know if this guitar can handle that much tension? For those of you who’ve calculated the string tension that you’ve personally put on one of these guitars, could you please share?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Wes Fowler

This would be the correct string gauges for the standard dobro tuning.
D
B
G
D
B
G

[Steve Lipsey]

Those are the standard gauges for a modern instrument...the question was, will an old Oahu be able to take that tension?
I've gone lower on my Oahu, but would like to go up if it would work....the 24" scale length would give lower tension than on a full-size scale...would that be enough to make it work?

[Tim Toberer]

The bridge will rip off the screws before the top gives way. It has happened many times to these.

With time and tension this is pretty much guaranteed. It is just a matter of when. I say if you have one of these and truly love it, just play it and be ready to pay someone to fix it when it happens. If the bridge is already coming up it may be time.

[Steve Lipsey]

I guess I'Ll stick with the lighter strings...use regular gauges for the top couple and back off for the thicker strings...still pretty loud..

[D Schubert]

I keep mine in D or lo-bass G tuning, using med gage guitar strings (0.013 to 0.056). I tried briefly to tune up to hi-bass G with same strings, and there was considerable top-bellying at the bridge. The acoustic sound is pretty weak, but she's a tiger with a sound hole pickup.