View Full Version : F-4 kit from international violin
DavidB
Feb-04-2007, 10:35am
I received my kit from IV this week. The f-5 was out of stock so I ordered the F-4. Here is the kit before I start on it.
http://www.kr4yd.net/IV_f4_kit.html
wish me good luck and plenty of patience. this is my first regular mando build. some other stuff I have done.
http://www.kr4yd.net
jim simpson
Feb-04-2007, 10:50am
Dave,
Thanks for posting the kit pictures. I am a little surprised they would let the kit go out with the chipped out neck joint area. The knotted/burled wood doesn't surprise me as it is sold as a low cost kit. What a good opportunity to build/have an F4 style instrument.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
Jim
ErikAitch
Feb-04-2007, 1:47pm
That chip bothers and surprises me, too. After thinking about it for a minute or two (as best I can with a Tanuki in my lap) what occurs to me is that it looks like bits a factory didn't want to complete because of the flaws. The curl in the top doesn't bother me nearly as much as that chip...
Given the price, and prices of what seem to me to be comparable finished PacRim instruments, it makes a certain kind of perverse sense if they can sell it unfinished for close to what a finished one sells for. If they'd offer one without as much of the work done I'd buy one myself.
otterly2k
Feb-04-2007, 6:53pm
Erik - (off topic, but you brought it up)... do you have a pet Tanuki??
pelone
Feb-04-2007, 10:39pm
David---Good Pictures. Do the front and back plates extend a generous amount beyond the rims---enough that one might choose to use an unbound edge much in the way a violin is constructed? I have seen some photos of a few mandos that were constructed using a purfling rather than binding and the edges extended beyond the rim perhaps as much as even a 1/4 inch or perhaps slightly less. Would your kit allow this treatment? I know that this diverges from the traditional but it is a style of interest to me.
DavidB
Feb-05-2007, 3:55am
Plates do not have much overhang, back has some but top is already partly routed for double layer binding, black inner with white outer bindings supplied in the kit.
Bernie Daniel
Feb-05-2007, 8:31am
Hello,
Pardon the native question but this was ordered with the back off so that you can tap-tune and modifiy the soundboard? #
And are those the top braces just to the right of the tunes and fretwire? #If so they seem longer than the ones in my 1919 F2.
Thanks.
ErikAitch
Feb-05-2007, 9:34am
Erik - (off topic, but you brought it up)... do you have a pet Tanuki??
A pet CAT named Tanuki, named for his shape-changing abilities. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
DavidB
Feb-05-2007, 11:29am
The plates are only rough carved and the top is glued to the rim. I assume that is to keep the rim properly shaped. As for top brace, there is one long peice of brace stock for you to cut your braces from as you wish. the neck is assembled when received but not installed on the rim/neck block.
Jerry Byers
Feb-05-2007, 11:55am
Is it possible to shorten the neck to attach at the 12th fret vs. the 15th? Or, would one have to carve/buy a shorter neck?
violin2233
Feb-05-2007, 2:38pm
Those pictures bother me too and we sold it to you!.. Please contact me for an exchange or a discount on that kit. I have some in stock that are very nice and we will have the F5 back in stock in 1 week I have learned. We will also start offering fingerboards with a radius and real F4 kits and whites.
Please let me know how we can take care of the kit that you have now. Frankly I am embarrassed that your kit was not inspected properly before shipping.
DavidB
Feb-06-2007, 4:23pm
Thank you Ken for honest and considerate treament to me in offering to replace the kit at no cost. I look foward to receiving my new F-5 kit in a couple of weeks .
mando-picker
Feb-06-2007, 5:15pm
ken are your kits from I V company or are you I V company thanks Dennis
Ken is one of the head guys at International Violin (IV). I think the kits are from Saga, but I may be wrong.
Frankly, I think that he has the best customer service that I have ever experienced.
Micah
violin2233
Feb-06-2007, 9:12pm
Thanks Sitka!
I am the General Manager of International Violin Co. To clear up where the kits come from and etc.. The A model with F holes only is a SAGA kit. The White Mandolins and Kits in the F5 and F4 Hybrids are exclusive to International Violin only. We also have an A model kit without F holes Exclusive to IV. In the future I will have kits of a TRUE F4 as well as whites and Flamed A models.
I try to avoid advertising and talking about my kits because this wonderful forum is not for that purpose but I only give information when asked.
Jerry Byers
Feb-07-2007, 3:52am
What do you mean by "TRUE F4"? Is it with a non-elevated neck attached at the 12th fret?
nelson_luthier
Feb-07-2007, 6:06am
Is it possible to shorten the neck to attach at the 12th fret vs. the 15th? Or, would one have to carve/buy a shorter neck?
You will absolutely change how the instrument functions if you do this. By moving the nut closer to the tail you will also be changing the location of the bridge the same distance. The feet will no longer be on top of the arch but over the "horizion" slightly. The bridge will be kicked over at an angle towards the tail. The bass bar will no longer be directly under the bass side bridge foot. The neck will also be just a little stiffer due to the reduced length.
I am sure it's been done before, but I have no idea how it came out.
Perhaps this will make a monster of an instrument, perhaps a dud. It would be a source of conversation though. "What happened? Did you wash that in hot water and put it in the dryer?" http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Greg
Bill Snyder
Feb-07-2007, 7:17am
Greg,
The reason they ask about the 12th fret body attachment is because the old Gibson oval hole instruments had a 12th fret body attachment with a non-elevated fretboard.
violin2233
Feb-07-2007, 11:34am
The F4 hybrid is basically an F5 Oval Hole mandolin. A true F4 has the raised top at the fingerboard and a shorter neck.
Jerry Byers
Feb-07-2007, 11:45am
What do you mean "raised top?"
violin2233
Feb-07-2007, 2:35pm
The top is arched/raised/carved to meet the fingerboard where it lays on the top. The Ultimate Mandolin Making book has those plans as well.
Jerry Byers
Feb-07-2007, 2:58pm
I guess I should call to clarify things and possibly place an order.
nelson_luthier
Feb-07-2007, 6:34pm
Greg,
The reason they ask about the 12th fret body attachment is because the old Gibson oval hole instruments had a 12th fret body attachment with a non-elevated fretboard.
With a fixed or floating bridge? I think I have seen these. Built more like a guitar than a violin? Still, you would move the bridge lower on the top and that would effect the sound due to the relocated bridge. Correct?
I was assuming from the post that this instrument was designed to have the neck attached at the 15th.
Greg
violin2233
Feb-07-2007, 7:05pm
If you contact me I can send you detailed pictures and etc..
Bill Snyder
Feb-07-2007, 9:41pm
Greg the F4 used basically the same body as the F5 but with the top left thick underneath the fingerboard and it had an oval hole. The bridge is a floating bridge very much like an F5. They do sound different. Many people prefer them for non-bluegrass music to the F5's.
I hope this photo linked from Roger Siminoff's site will help.http://www.siminoff.net/Media/parts_FAQ_F-4headblk.JPG