I'm thinking of buying a lap steel guitar, and trying to teach myself it. Is this do-able, and is there anything I need to know about playing one? There seem to be a few on ebay which are reasonably priced - they seem to be going for about £50/£60. Are there any internet shops anyone can recommend for them?

Also, what exactly is a pedal steel? I imagined they were roughly the same thing, but the only pedal steel on ebay is going for £2000!