# Slides!



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

The other day i was walking around staring at the ground.
a few times i found money that way.
last fall out back of my building i found a $20 bill blowing around-
went and bought beer with it.
when i got home the stoner witch was sitting here bummed out because she lost $20 out back of the building.
oops and oh well and all that.

anyway the other day i found a chunk of bone-
i collect that stuff for nut making and some half assed notion about bone wind chimes.
this piece was about 2.5 inches in diameter,
had a round hole in the center,
and sat about 1.75 inches tall.

i do some work for a cabinet maker across the street from me,
so i took it to his belt sander.
came away with this



















its a bit fat and ungainly-
and the hole is not perfect-
it tapers from a bit too big at one end 
to way too big at the other.

i could fill it with epoxy, then drill a uniform hole the right size.
that would have the added advantage of extra mass.
or line it with felt or velcro or something.

it doesnt sing and sustain like other materials either of course.
but it does have a cool sound.
actually it really suits sliding on nylon strings.

in any case, for a minimum of effort and zero expense it was a nice experiment and an addition to my collection of slides.

slides are what im into these days.
they are cheap, easy, and fun-
thats what im all about.

i started years ago with a 6 foot length of copper pipe.
made a bunch of slides and went with that.
as time went on i accumulated some store bought ones,
and started cutting my own bottles.

im really good at losing and breaking things though,
so i keep an open mind when it comes to things one can slide with.











here are a good portion of my slides.
theres another box full someplace i cant find right now,
and there are a handful that are scattered around at other folks houses.
but here you go-











from the left-
dunlop pyrex. dont know the model # but its 2 inches long.
of commercially available bottlenecks its my favourite.
sounds good, easy to find, perfect size.

dunlop chrome and dunlop brass.
a bit too long, a bit too light, a bit too tight on the finger.

dunlop pill bottle- useless for me as a bottleneck slide- works ok for lap slide.

at centre back, 5 bottlenecks ive cut.
my favourite. you can choose the length and weight.
they sound the best.
but are a pain to make, and easy to break.
i go through a lot of these.

then theres a bit of copper pipe and a chunk of brass.
copper pipe is cheap, easy to make, sounds good.
but it wears out, and turns your pinky green.

chrome sockets in 16, 17, 18 mm sizes.
these are easy to find, 
but ive hunted through a lot of them to find ones that fit,
and have a manageable length and weight.

the cool thing about them is that the drive end, not the end your finger goes into,
is the heaviest part-
great for vibrato.
they are also very smooth on the strings when new.

at center are my steels-
an old student bar i got with a guitar i bought,
a piston wrist pin,
a broz-o-phonic bullet bar,
a 3 inch long 16 mm socket,
and a stevens bar.

except for the student bar i tend to favour one or the other of these at times- 
no real preference in the long run.


so thats me yapping about slides-
catching a buzz now and my train of thought has gone lol.

so what are the rest of you sliding with?


----------



## Guest (Apr 28, 2015)

cool collection.
never did slide myself. except for using a beer bottle when playing 'tush'. 
I'll have to go out in the garage now and try on a few sockets. tnx.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I've only got 2 slides--a chrome one and a brass one.
I prefer the brass one.
I've tried copper as well--but didn't like that as much.
And made my finger smell like I'd been counting pennies...

I avoid glass & ceramic ones--because I'd break them.
Too often.


----------



## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Nice collection Fraser. I've got a copper slide, a glass slide and a fairly heavy steel slide. I had my Tokai Springysound set up for slide and I'll play (usually with the glass one) some slide stuff on it once in a while.


----------



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I mostly use a heavy brass one. I do own one of those bullet ones too


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Very nice collection! I have somewhat of a slide fetish myself, though I tend to use the same few most of the time.

I've seen bone used before, it has it's own vibe. I like your idea of filling it with something and re-drilling. 

Peace, Mooh.


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

laristotle said:


> cool collection.
> never did slide myself. except for using a beer bottle when playing 'tush'.
> I'll have to go out in the garage now and try on a few sockets. tnx.


there have been times when if it wasnt for playing slide, i wouldnt play at all.
i got so burnt out on the guitar playing thing as i knew it.
nowadays the internet is full of middle age dudes sliding.
that kind of burns me out too.
hell im just burnt out on everything.

when you find a slide that works for you- start with an open tuning.
its the only way to avoid frustration.
later on try it in standard.
listen to mick taylor era stones.



> I've only got 2 slides--a chrome one and a brass one.
> I prefer the brass one.
> I've tried copper as well--but didn't like that as much.
> And made my finger smell like I'd been counting pennies...
> ...


i used to use a copper slide and copper pennies for picks.
green fingers that tasted funny.
ive since read its kind of bad for you.

and yeah, i break things as well.
im kind of an irresponsible drunkard.
it sucks going through all the hassle of making a nice slide, only to drop it and have it shatter lol.




> Nice collection Fraser. I've got a copper slide, a glass slide and a fairly heavy steel slide. I had my Tokai Springysound set up for slide and I'll play (usually with the glass one) some slide stuff on it once in a while.


thanks kenmac.
i like glass the best on electrics myself.
ive slowly tweaked the setup on all my guitars to be able to slide on them all when i want to-
but i do have a few that are just for that purpose-



> I mostly use a heavy brass one. I do own one of those bullet ones too


brass is great- i just dont as yet own one i like really.
its all about the shape and weight-
i see guys talking about the advantages of the bullet bar or the advantages of a stevens type bar.
im not a technical player, so its all just blah blah blah to me lol.




> Very nice collection! I have somewhat of a slide fetish myself, though I tend to use the same few most of the time.
> 
> I've seen bone used before, it has it's own vibe. I like your idea of filling it with something and re-drilling.
> 
> Peace, Mooh.


thanks mooh.
i only really use a few of mine as well-
but i like to try new things and slides are a cheap way to experiment.
most of the time i use one of my own bottlenecks

ive actually been unloading some guitars and amps-
i dont really get excited about new instruments anymore.
i guess ive filled all the holes i wanted to fill.
finding new and basically free accessories is now my thing.
its completely harmless really- but keeps me interested.


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

does anybody have any ideas as to how i can store these?
right now im using a few cigar boxes and cookie tins- the ones i never use go in my tool box.
its too haphazard for my teutonic mind.
i could make some stands with dowels shoved in wood blocks, but im not liking that idea really.
jewelry boxes maybe?


----------



## Guest (Apr 29, 2015)

I've considered trying a Jetslide.










[video=youtube;ZbvIv756p8E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbvIv756p8E[/video]

- - - Updated - - -



fraser said:


> does anybody have any ideas as to how i can store these?


something like a tie hanger?


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

laristotle said:


> I've considered trying a Jetslide.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


i would seriously have problems with that jet slide i think.
looks like a nice product though.

larry- im 46 years old, and have never owned a tie.
whats a tie hangar look like?


----------



## Guest (Apr 29, 2015)

is the pic not showing for you?
basically, a long piece of wood with long enough
nails protruding from it to slip on your slides.


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

hi bro- nope i see the jet slide pic and the demo.
but now you describe it i can visualize it.
thing is everything in my world that isnt safely hidden away eventually gets destroyed lol.
if it will fit in my hand, eventualy ill throw it out the window.
through years of practice, i now have the attention span and the same ability to deal with frustration as a newt.
see those pics above with the slides and the car lot beneath?
the guys that own that car lot are used to stuff raining down on them-
phones, bottles, guitars-
you can tell they dont understand-
yet they are more than happy to accommodate me.
but im a big red headed viking- they are small brown businessmen.

im visualizing something like a toolbox-


----------



## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

Cool set. I made a bottle neck slide for a cigar box guitar I built. How do you cut your bottles?

I used a hand glass cutter, cut as round of a circle as I could. Then I placed it in boiling water, then ice cold water a few times until it slipped right off the bottle.


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

dcole said:


> Cool set. I made a bottle neck slide for a cigar box guitar I built. How do you cut your bottles?
> 
> I used a hand glass cutter, cut as round of a circle as I could. Then I placed it in boiling water, then ice cold water a few times until it slipped right off the bottle.


there are 2 ways that have worked for me-
one way is the same as you.
use a glass cutter to score a line,
then run boiling water over the line,
then plunge it into ice water.

alternatively ive used a candle instead of the boiling water.

the other way is with a diamond cutting wheel on a dremel.
just running the wheel around and around until it cuts through.

i built a simple jig- just a board with 2 bits of 2x4 screwed to it in an L shape.
just to keep the bottle steady as i spin it.

its frustrating though.
a couple months ago i had a good dozen bottles saved up.
(i dont really drink wine, and beer bottles dont make great slides-
so i collect bottles from friends and recycle bins)

of those dozen bottles, i got 1 decent slide.
but i dropped it while polishing it-
didnt survive the 4 inch drop to my table lol.

i used both the hot/ cold water and dremel method-
i got frustrated half way through and switched.

the necks were cracking lengthwise.
most of the bottles i find are from ontario wineries,
and it looks like they all use the same manufacturer for the bottles.
its pretty thin walled and prone to crumbling / cracking.

mateus rose bottles make nice slides.
its nice heavy glass and pretty easy to work with.
but i never find those bottles.

another thing i use is a cork with the shaft of a long wood screw driven into it.
i can throw that in the chuck of my drill press,
then press the cut slide onto the cork.
while the slide sits there spinning,
i use files and sandpaper to round off the edges and polish it up etc.
sure speeds up that part of the process.


----------



## Guest (Apr 29, 2015)

fraser said:


> im visualizing something like a toolbox-


the intro to SCTV just entered my mind. lol.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

laristotle said:


> the intro to SCTV just entered my mind. lol.


They had a few variations over the years--and the TV thing started with this:
[video=youtube;rP9dlTornbM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP9dlTornbM[/video]

And then a list of nations:
[video=youtube;eaqhRNZTkeU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaqhRNZTkeU[/video]

And the TV tossing figured in most of them


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

you guys know what im talking about lol.

a buddy had to cut some height off his tent/ gazebo thing so he gave me a few lengths.
its aluminum and sounds like crap- but maybe once i polish it up it will be more interesting.

collected some bottles over the last few days- so almost time for another bottle cutting mission.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Hey, I've tried all sorts of stuff as slides--it doesn't always work--but it's fun to try


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I have a couple different slides, glass one, a brass one and one with a wood core. The brass one sounds the best but the one with the wood core is much more fun.


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

lol steadfastly-
winter is my favourite time of year.
but i dont do any skiing or skating or anything like that anymore.
another of my problems is- 
if i can get hurt doing something, i will get hurt doing it.


----------



## Guest (May 8, 2015)

back away from that butter knife!


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

fraser said:


> lol steadfastly-
> winter is my favourite time of year.
> but i dont do any skiing or skating or anything like that anymore.
> another of my problems is-
> if i can get hurt doing something, i will get hurt doing it.


I hear ya. I was down the Maritimes a couple weeks ago and went past Wentworth ski resort. They could still have been skiing there. There was only a couple of bare spots and the groomers hadn't touched it for weeks so they could have covered those spots over long ago and would have never appeared. There was still snow on people's lawns with a few bare patches here and there. That's where the deer were as it was the only place they could find any nourishment. 

It is 32C here this afternoon and I'm just about at "the complaining it's too hot" level.


----------



## Jeff B. (Feb 20, 2010)

Back when I used to work as a machinist a number of years ago I made a bunch of slides out of several different metals to try out. The brass one ended up being my favourite. 
There was a couple I made out of 17-4 PH stainless steel that were really nice but I made them a bit too thick/heavy for my style. I made another one out of that metal that even included a brass liner and again, it was too heavy. I still can't play slide worth a damn but they were fun to make.


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

Jeff B. said:


> Back when I used to work as a machinist a number of years ago I made a bunch of slides out of several different metals to try out. The brass one ended up being my favourite.
> There was a couple I made out of 17-4 PH stainless steel that were really nice but I made them a bit too thick/heavy for my style. I made another one out of that metal that even included a brass liner and again, it was too heavy. I still can't play slide worth a damn but they were fun to make.


yeah, thats the thing-
sometimes its free so why not.
i made a bunch of lap slide bars out of chrome moly- from hydraulic cylinders we were scrapping.
i tried different lengths and thicknesses,
and grinding the ends so there were grooves for the fingers and stuff.
in the end, i preferred the ones i already had,
but ive given a few of my homemade ones to friends who were interested.

its all good, cheap fun.

- - - Updated - - -



laristotle said:


> back away from that butter knife!


a butter knife makes a pretty good slide sometimes lol.


----------

