Siminoff kit

[The2became1]

I currently play an a style mandolin and have been toying with the idea of getting an f style. Then I thought what the heck, why not try and build one. I just received my BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN CONSTRUCTION MANUEL in the mail. I built a ukulele kit and it came out O.K. I have a decent aptitude for woodworking and have some of the necessary tools. I figured I would jump right in and do an F style. I suppose an A style would be easier, but I want an f style. Besides, I enjoy pain and agony and typically bite off more than I can chew. So.......questions I would like to put out there.

#1 Has anybody out there built the Siminoff F style kit

#2 Has anybody out there died trying?

#3 How was the tool up cost, and what was the greatest tool cost?

#4 How good did the finished product sound, play and look?

#5 Is there any general advise you can give to steer me in the right direction. Better kit to start with?
Options?

I did a search of the board and didn't find any threads that answered my questions. Thanks in advance for any and all replies. Mark

[Stephanie Reiser]

I've never built a Siminoff kit, but have dealt with Roger, purchasing supplies. I can tell you that he is very knowledgable, and is a good guy to talk to, perfectly willing to give advice.
From what I've read, these kits are high quality, and you can order yours tailored to your experience level.
Good luck and make sure you keep us up to date.
Oh, and let it be known that this will merely be your "first" instrument; building is very addicting.

[Fretbear]

I successfully built my F-5 from the Stew-Mac kit. The top and back graduations are absolutely critical and Sim will deliver those already done if you want him to. He will also install tone bars if you need that. The peg head and maple back do not need to be bound if you don't want to, and you might want to successfully finish up binding the entire (spruce) top including the scroll before you decide on that one. A section of the scroll binding ledge has to be cut by hand with scalpels and chisels. The dovetail joint and the finishing are the other two tricky and critical parts.

[MikeEdgerton]

Here (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=Search&CODE=02&SID=4874b3eb7af33ffb) are some previous posts on the subject. The one at the bottom of the list might be your best bet.

[Tom C]

With the kits, did you have to make forms and jigs? If so, that would seem like tons of prep work. Plus those going for a kit probably would not have tools(band saw?) to make them.

[MikeEdgerton]

There are kits that in different stages of completion. There was a thread a while back where a person made the forms out of nails pounded into a piece of plywood. Where there's a will there's a way.

[Tom C]

But even if you got one with the rims bent and blocks glued, wouldn't you still have to make a form to keep everything in place when glueing the top and back? I am very close to trying one of these.

[MikeEdgerton]

I need to find the pictures. The guy basically had drawn the outline of the mandolin on a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and hammered nails in every half inch or so to create the form. It wasn't elegant looking but it worked.

[daveb]

I would start with an "A" style first. It will be much easier and you can get your feet wet with the critical areas like the neck joint, binding, top and back graduations
all the prep work for finishing.

Carving the scroll and cutting all the mitres in the binding is pretty tough at first.

My 2cents,

Dave

[The2became1]

Thanks all for the information. I will be doing a little information mining from your replies.

Now that I have had a chance to give the Siminoff manual a cursory looking over I have made some primary observations. And yes Stephanie, I have found Roger to be helpful as well. I spoke to him the other day regarding his kits. And I have a feeling that this will became addictive. I may go the way of doing the extra prep work to make patterns and fixtures for the long haul.

It seems to me there are two or three general ways to go about this process.

Build a kit that is nearly all cut and ready for assembly - something like putting together a model plane.... except harder.

The other way is to make the templates/patterns(for cutting out the pieces), and build the fixtures(for gluing, alignment and clamping) and tool up to do build them from a less complete starting point. Maybe get the neck pre assembled and dovetailed with the Siminoff v joint. #His manual comes with fold out drawings for making the patterns and templates. He recommends using the drawings to make plexiglass templates for cutting out the pieces. Make'm like you are going to build a hundred of them, he says. I have a friend that lives around the corner form me who has a woodworking shop. He wants to get into guitar making, so my tool up cost will be mostly for hand tools and whatever jigs I decide not to make myself.

[The2became1]

"Here are some previous posts on the subject. The one at the bottom of the list might be your best bet."


Hey mike, great threads. I tried to do a search myself but must have punched in the wrong search word. Thanks.

[buddyellis]

You can do the 'nails in the board' form or just use an inside cardboard form. This is how the stewmac kits are done, and it works just fine.

As far as tools, unless you get the plates 'finished' in graduation, you'll need cabinet scrapers (and the ability to sharpen them) and possibly a small sloan plane. A 1/2" or so straight chisel will be helpful on several things, and a smaller 1/8" chisel for the scroll binding channel is helpful. A few needle files definitely, and a rasp might be helpful (neck shaping is probably mostly done, so maybe not) Most of what you 'need' can be improvised. Scrapers can be cut from blue steel wallpaper scrapers. Tiny chisels can be improvised from small springs heated in a torch and straightened, etc etc.