Mandolins in progress [Archive] - Page 25

Graham McDonald

Jun-01-2012, 9:26pm

I decided I really like the Regal reverse scroll mandolins (aka smurf head) and thought I should build one. Never having actually seen the inside of an original I have worked out my own way of doing it. Essentially just some leftover pieces of spruce, maple and rosewood. It will have tortoise celluloid binding around the top. The neck just bolts on with a carbon-fiber bar in the neck which extends through the neckblock and supports the end of the fingerboard. The soundboard bracing is shaped to a 15' radius, so the section above the soundhole drops away a little which gives a couple degrees back neck angle.

Not many ever found their way across the Pacific, but I will have to get an original in some decrepit state and rebuild it some day. I have found a drum supplier who has sent me some small pits of modern pearloid drum wrap in various colours so for the next one I can have a pearloid fretboard and head overlay.

cheers

graham

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JEStanek

Jun-01-2012, 10:18pm

Very cool to see a new take on that style, Graham! Hope you're doing well.

Jamie

Skip Kelley

Jun-02-2012, 9:55am

There is alot of nice work by all on this thread.
Graham, Nicely done on the Regal type mandolin! I haven't heard it called Smurf head before. Now that is the first thing I see!

Bill Snyder

Jun-02-2012, 4:33pm

I think I have seen them called Papa Smurf mandolins.

StevenS

Jun-02-2012, 4:40pm

Sure is some impressive work folks are posting! Guess it is time to throw a shot in the mix.

Some necks waiting for their bodies . . .

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Steve

George R. Lane

Jun-02-2012, 5:04pm

I really like the second from the right. That full scroll is way cool.

Max Girouard

Jun-02-2012, 7:21pm

The terminology is probably wrong but I call this a "bookmatched" neck. Easier to see on the octave than a mandolin.

Jim, I've never been one for terminology, so.............I'm calling it AWESOME!!!!!

Also, nice work everyone else! I really dig the smurf esc mandolin!!

Here is a pile of rims I'm working on that are comming along nicely. Should be stringing up the mandola (bottom rim in flamed birch) tomorrow.

Ctone

Jun-02-2012, 7:41pm

Hey Max. It was great to see you guys at the McCoury show! Beautiful looking rims there! Is this the 1st mandola?

Max Girouard

Jun-02-2012, 7:47pm

Hey Carlton, The first mandola ended up in the woodstove! This one is the first completed that we are really happy with the build. I'll have it done soon if you want to plan a vist.

Ctone

Jun-02-2012, 8:37pm

Yes sir. I'd love to come hear it. Will be in touch!

Andy Miller

Jun-03-2012, 10:54am

The terminology is probably wrong but I call this a "bookmatched" neck. Easier to see on the octave than a mandolin.

Jim, you should market this as a "green" neck - you're getting a spectacular neck out of a thinner board!

Jim Hilburn

Jun-03-2012, 11:18am

For making laminated necks Bennedettos shows to get as many blanks as possible from your flatsawn board and mix and match, putting the curliest piece on the players side. I like the idea of matching them up better.

Jim Hilburn

Jun-04-2012, 3:58pm

Here's that neck in the booth. It's basically a flatsawn board cut right down the middle and "bookmatched" which gives you a pretty close mirror image.

Dan Voight

Jun-05-2012, 10:38am

Time for tone bars.

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Max Girouard

Jun-05-2012, 4:21pm

Just strung this up earlier in the week. When I build another I plan on using a longer scale length. I built this one to the Gibson mandola scale lenght, and while it sounds OK on the C course, I bet it would sound a lot more punchy with a longer scale as well as tightening up the looseness of the string. I've got the action at 0.060 at the 12th fret and I'm getting a little buzz due to the looseness of the C course.

http://youtu.be/OtnPtk2zwP0

Jim Garber

Jun-05-2012, 4:27pm

I decided I really like the Regal reverse scroll mandolins (aka smurf head) and thought I should build one.

Very cool, Graham. I am always interested in builders who are off the beaten track. looking fwd to the MOP deluxe model.

Glassweb

Jun-05-2012, 4:34pm

Ed Goist

Jun-05-2012, 5:11pm

Sounds great Max! Congratulations.
I bet the next one, on the longer scale, will be an absolute beast! Can't wait to hear that one.

Dobe

Jun-06-2012, 5:42pm

I really like the second from the right. That full scroll is way cool.

Ditto, kinda got an art-deco vibe ! :popcorn:

Max Girouard

Jun-07-2012, 6:57pm

sounds good to me, Max! mandolas are such a trippy sound... kinda like a cross between a mandolin, a guitar and a banjo... i dig 'em!
getting them to play without a buzz and in tune is, as always, a challenge. i think Kimble's 16" scale models are a good way to go.

Thanks Glassweb and Ed!

The next mandola will be a 16 inch scale for sure. I think Will has it right with the longer scale length. I was able to work out some of the buzz with some crafty fret work and have it at 0.060 at the 12th with minimal buzz. I'll post another video once finished.

Dan Voight

Jun-08-2012, 3:18pm

One more F to put tone bars in and its on to binding the peg heads and gluing these tops on.

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StevenS

Jun-08-2012, 11:07pm

A little 12th Fret detail just to keep things interesting . . .

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Steve

Kip Carter

Jun-09-2012, 5:56am

Love it Steve!
Kip....

Max Girouard

Jun-09-2012, 6:10pm

Nice inlay Steve!

Lauri stained these two today! One is a carpathian topped, birch mandola (one piece back) stained amber and red, the second is a sitka topped, birdseye maple A5 with a brown burst. These photos have a light seal coat on and need the binding scraped. Once she gets going with the finishing, the grain will pop a little more on that birdseye.

Ed Goist

Jun-09-2012, 7:28pm

Max, those stains are striking!
Congrats to you and Lauri.

Tavy

Jun-10-2012, 4:23am

ColdBeerGoCubs

Jun-12-2012, 4:38pm

First carving sessions for a few Brazilian rosewood backs from a 50 year old beam along with a mandolin in the white. 'Gonna have some tired, stiff old hands at my gig tonight.....;)

j.
www.condino.com

I got to play this one a few weeks back and I still haven't been able to get it off my mind. Nor do I posses the vocabulary to properly describe it. I literally could not put it down and I think it was the first time that I officially began thinking of things I could get rid of to own a mandolin. It had the sweetness and delicacy of Snow White but the authority of Thor. Not only that, but those pictures don't do it justice. Those are good pictures, but in the hand the thing was simply breathtakingly stunning. Everything on it was perfect, the wood, the craftsmanship, everything. I have the highest respect for those that build such quality and to hold something like that let alone play it just further strengthened that respect. I'm still in awe over that thing. Simply amazing is all I can really say.

StevenS

Jun-12-2012, 8:51pm

I must admit, I start looking forward to finishing when the wood looks like this after a quick wipe-down from a wet rag to raise the grain . . .

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Curly Redwood and Quilted Red Maple.

Steve

Steve-o

Jun-12-2012, 9:25pm

Wow, incredibly beautiful wood Steve. Thanks for posting.

wwwilkie

Jun-12-2012, 10:21pm

Off to the Montreal Guitar Show in a few weeks and I'll have with me a new oval hole mandolin. Also displaying a custom Northern Flyer guitar as well as a 7-string archtop. I thought it would be something to have 6, 7 and 8 strings.
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Bob Bronow

Jun-12-2012, 10:45pm

oldwave maker

Jun-13-2012, 12:56pm

Final coats on Mark's octave, Elise's blackface a, and a golden mandola. My first mandola with red spruce top and vermont hard maple back.

JEStanek

Jun-13-2012, 1:13pm

This is consistently one of my favorite threads to visit. Wow!

Jamie

Elkhorn1

Jun-14-2012, 12:15pm

Here' the latest Elkhorn f-5 nearing completion. Next it's on to finish leveling and french polish. Enjoy!

OldGus

Jun-14-2012, 12:19pm

What an elegant and tasteful beauty, nice work Rob!

Glassweb

Jun-14-2012, 12:54pm

agreed... looks very nice!

hank

Jun-14-2012, 2:15pm

Some of this quilted maple is just outrageous. Like holograms in a perceived visual texture of a smooth flat surface. Always amazing wood and luthiery extraordinaire here.

Arnt

Jun-16-2012, 7:03am

F5 finally done

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Bill Snyder

Jun-16-2012, 8:01am

Arnt, that is stunning, but everything I have ever seen you post here or at the MIMF has always looked wonderful even the a-style you built from the maple scraps of some home projects.

Arnt

Jun-16-2012, 1:01pm

Thanks, you are very kind Bill.

Here's how the A5 ended up

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Arnt

Jun-16-2012, 1:34pm

...and, here's the whole batch together: A pair of dreads (red spruce / Honduras rosewood, red spruce / cocobolo), plus the pair of mandolins

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billhay4

Jun-16-2012, 2:17pm

Very nice stuff, Arnt!
Can we hear them?
Bill

Arnt

Jun-16-2012, 3:16pm

Sure, just come one over ;) Oh I see, you mean soundfiles? Sorry, I'm not set up for it at the moment, I'm working on it tho...

billhay4

Jun-16-2012, 4:05pm

You're welcome to come over instead.
Bring them on.
Bill

Geoff B

Jun-16-2012, 6:34pm

Arnt, that is beautiful! As is everything above it.

Here is some amber waves of grain...
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JEStanek

Jun-16-2012, 8:40pm

Very nice contours and flame there, Geoff.

Jamie

Dan Voight

Jun-20-2012, 12:51pm

Just finished this F peghead binding

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Dan Voight

Jun-20-2012, 9:34pm

and I just finished the tortoise bound F peghead tonight

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Jim Hilburn

Jun-21-2012, 2:38pm

Buffing day.

Ed Goist

Jun-21-2012, 2:52pm

Gorgeous work Jim!!
I am very glad there are eight holes in that headstock and not four...Otherwise I'd be having a serious attack of TGAS right now! :)

Max Girouard

Jun-21-2012, 3:05pm

Nice Jim! What tuners are you going to put on this?

Jim Hilburn

Jun-21-2012, 3:26pm

Wavs

GKWilson

Jun-21-2012, 4:05pm

OUCH Jim. That's so sweet it hurts my teeth. Love that headstock too.
Dan's also. Tortoise. WOW.
Gary

Max Girouard

Jun-21-2012, 4:44pm

Wavs

Nice, I was asking because I saw those nicely bored bushing holes. Do you have piloted bores for other tuner sets?

Jim Hilburn

Jun-21-2012, 5:04pm

You can get infinite combinations of boring tools from suppliers like MSC, you just have to figure out what works. I have a pretty good selection, but the one Stew Mac supplies for Wavs also works pretty well for Grovers. They're a little loose when you first drill them but after finish they snug right up.

OldGus

Jun-21-2012, 5:15pm

Wow Jim, You have really got the mandolin building thing down. I bet it'll sound great! Good to see your on top of things as well, Dan, looking good. I know yours will sound great as well.

Jim Hilburn

Jun-21-2012, 5:37pm

Gus, if you want to see who has mandolin building down go have a look at that latest Fletcher Brock F-5. That should have 3 pages of comments.

Jim Hilburn

Jun-26-2012, 5:24pm

Ummm...quilt!
This is like one of those pictures where if you stared at it cross-eyed you could see a horse or ship or something. But here you have to look for the "inny" and outy" sides.
I did use Photoshop to up the contrast but when you use a plane on this stuff it really shows up good.

Doug Edwards

Jun-27-2012, 7:54am

wow, that quilt is crazy nice.

lauri Girouard

Jun-29-2012, 2:25pm

Sanding this one today...........

hank

Jun-29-2012, 3:19pm

Unbelievable depth like topographical maps of the trees interior.

lauri Girouard

Jun-29-2012, 4:59pm

I don't know if I should call that piece quilt or flamed. Most unique piece of Big Leaf we have come across. Here is another interesting detail of how the grain lines on the sides almost match up to the grain lines on the neck................

Charles E.

Jun-29-2012, 5:20pm

Nice detail Lauri. You guy's are really putting out some nice stuff.

Max Girouard

Jun-29-2012, 8:30pm

Thanks Charles!

Here is a mando we are about to finish up. It will be a "house demo" mandolin so anyone in the area, feel free to give us a ring or shoot us an email to come give it a spin. Sitka top and birdseye maple back sides and neck. We also plan to bring it to Grey Fox this year.

Steve-o

Jun-29-2012, 9:01pm

That's some sweet looking birdseye. Nice staining job.

StevenS

Jul-01-2012, 12:33am

Enjoyed Saturday night with three blondes and a redhead!

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Steve

Kip Carter

Jul-01-2012, 7:35am

I'm extremely partial to redheads... :) See you turned their world upside down as well. Nice!
Kip...

Marty Jacobson

Jul-03-2012, 8:54am

Here are some pictures of my latest project. A production optimized mandolin that will sell for a relatively low price, but still retain some important features. A couple of the odd or interesting things about the design are:

The sides are laminated out of three layers of the same wood as the back and neck with a maccassar Ebony center stripe. Sometimes a curly maple layer for contrast. This rim is very dimensionally stable and very strong.

The rims also very easy for me to make using the strap winch and fire hose + compressed air contraption seen below.

The top and back are joined via the neck and heel blocks, which index positively together within a thousandth of an inch.

Dovetails are tested and neck angles verified before any assembly. Then the sides are "wrapped" around the top and back. The top plate color coats can be sprayed before the neck is mounted if needed.

Also, there is no kerfing. The plates have a smooth radius down to the rims. Makes it look really clean inside and, in theory, is beneficial to volume and tone.
It does make my free-plate tap tuning frequencies a little different than usual but I do my important adjustments on false rim fixtures anyway.

More to come later this week as I finish the first two instruments.

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Max Girouard

Jul-03-2012, 9:28am

Nice, I really like that neck joint, and that stripe in the fretboard is way cool!

Jim Garber

Jul-03-2012, 9:38am

Marty Jacobson

Jul-03-2012, 10:00am

Martin, I can see that you are an industrial designer. Your site is interesting beyond just instruments. Your Basilisk mandolin is certainly striking. Are there unusual structural aspects to that or to the building of it?

Hah, I was pretty proud of that instrument, especially since Scott put a link to it on the front page of the 'Cafe in 2003.

It was an experiment in making a graduated flat top. So it is a thick flat top which is then carved to have roughly the same thickness "map", but it is only carved on the top side of the plates. Also, it has tone bars. Weird, but that's all I knew at the time and it worked out just fine.

It has that nasal tone you expect from a flat top instrument, but it's really responsive and balanced. Too much sustain for a lot of styles. But awesome for British Isles stuff.

billhay4

Jul-03-2012, 11:41am

Whoa! This is interesting stuff, Martin. I'd like to see way more details of the new production oriented instrument. In particular, I'd like to know how the bending machine works. Of course, I realize you're an industrial designer and may need to protect some of these concepts, so I won't be offended if you are reticent.
Some of the aesthetics are truly nice, especially the fretboard.
Can't wait to hear one of these.
Bill

Marty Jacobson

Jul-03-2012, 1:26pm

Of course, I realize you're an industrial designer and may need to protect some of these concepts, so I won't be offended if you are reticent.
Some of the aesthetics are truly nice, especially the fretboard.
Can't wait to hear one of these.
Bill

Yeah, I can't wait to hear one either.

An affordable, playable, properly voiced, varnish-finish instrument made in the USA by an individual luthier. That's the goal. I can do that through extremely low overhead (self-built CNC machines, etc.) and thoughtful fixturing. Hopefully!

I don't care about the intellectual property... ideas shouldn't be hoarded.
I quit a profitable corporate and consulting career to focus on lutherie, I am trying to make mandolins, not big bucks. I don't have the capital to defend any claims anyhow, heh. Thanks for the interest.

Ted Eschliman

Jul-03-2012, 2:37pm

Markus

Jul-03-2012, 2:50pm

Ted, that's lovely.

I get to play with a fellow with a great hollow body Gretsch guitar every week - seems like yours should have that same beautiful warm tone that his has. Nice old tube amp doesn't hurt either ... as I told him `tone as sweet as my wife's smile'. If it sounds half as nice as it looks yours sings like that too.

The maple backs people are posting ... just amazing beauty to the wood.

That maple back from Jim Hillburn looks almost like the rippled sand along the river bottom here, Max and lauri's maple back looks like a topographic map. That's quite a `secret side' of the instrument for the player to admire.

amowry

Jul-03-2012, 2:53pm

Nice work, Austin!

Making shavings...

Jim Nollman

Jul-03-2012, 3:33pm

Ted,

Are you doing anything special to keep the fifth string (I presume its a C) properly intonated and playable?
Also, if you don't mind me asking, what's the width of your fingerboard? Is it radiused?

I'm asking such specific questions because I've just commissioned a local luthier to build me a 5 string, and we're discussing fan frets (first choice) and a separate extension on the bridge for the C string. We're talking about a scale length from 14 to 15 inches.

Kip Carter

Jul-03-2012, 5:08pm

Martin,
hope you can give us a sound sample of these when you're done very intriguing!

Regards,
Kip...

OldGus

Jul-04-2012, 11:14am

Ted, you aren't kidding around when it comes to jazzboxes, clearly you've made a very informed decision on this one, nice job!

Bill Snyder

Jul-04-2012, 12:08pm

Martin, I can see that you are an industrial designer. Your site is interesting beyond just instruments. Your Basilisk mandolin (http://martinjacobson.com/id/work/142) is certainly striking. Are there unusual structural aspects to that or to the building of it?

Jim his posting of this mandolin back in 2004 is what prompted me to join the forum. I had started building my first mandolin and was curious about some aspects of this one (hence my handle being "Curious" for the first few years I was here).

StevenS

Jul-05-2012, 12:31am

The luster of leveled and polished metal under the shop light's neon glow.

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Steve

lauri Girouard

Jul-05-2012, 7:28pm

I just finished this two point. Carpathian top with euro maple back, sides and neck.

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Kip Carter

Jul-05-2012, 7:54pm

Lauri,
Just beautiful!! Take that back.. breath taking is more like it. Sold yet?

Kip...

lauri Girouard

Jul-06-2012, 1:04pm

Lauri,
Just beautiful!! Take that back.. breath taking is more like it. Sold yet?

Kip...

Thank you Kip. I am glad you like it even though it may have caused you some momentary asphyxia. I am loving red lately. Not sold yet, Max may have trouble tearing this one out of my hands to do that.

Kip Carter

Jul-06-2012, 1:27pm

Thank you Kip. I am glad you like it even though it may have caused you some momentary asphyxia. I am loving red lately. Not sold yet, Max may have trouble tearing this one out of my hands to do that.

Good for you hon.... tell that man to back off mama wants to play! ;)
Kip...

StevenS

Jul-07-2012, 1:36pm

. . . and four to go!

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Ready to pull off the hardware and get to finishing!

Steve

Kip Carter

Jul-07-2012, 2:04pm

Cant wait to see!

StevenS

Jul-08-2012, 4:27pm

Skip Kelley

Jul-09-2012, 4:26am

Andrew, alot of nice looking work on the bench there!

Lauri, Love the look of the red mandolin!

Steve, great looking and sounding group of mandolins!

Dan Voight

Jul-10-2012, 5:13pm

Here are some inlay shots. Getting close!

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dcoventry

Jul-10-2012, 5:22pm

Can't wait until this custom Austin Clark JM5 gets here. Jazzbox 5-string acoustic mandolin. Next step, hardware and Kent Armstrong p/u.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=88795&d=1341343993

Oh come on NOW!

I was just fantasizing about an L-5 style 8 string. Maybe a Lewis dealio. And then this....this.......beauty. And Ted, if I ever figure out how to get a 2 point JM, that'll be a happy day, too.

It's funny. I think of my mandos as Jazz instruments mainly, or at least that's what the sounds, and voices, in my head tell me!

pjlama

Jul-10-2012, 6:15pm

Can't wait until this custom Austin Clark JM5 gets here. Jazzbox 5-string acoustic mandolin. Next step, hardware and Kent Armstrong p/u.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=88795&d=1341343993

I'm in love, that's exactly what I've been wanting to round out the herd. What's the scale length? Will you send it to me for a test drive after the honeymoon, please!?!? I'm still kicking myself for trading off the Old Wave 8 sting jazz dola' but I got my GSOM for it, of course I added a Kent Armstong pu as well. I love the look of Austin's work, I have yet to play one but they look amazing. Congrats Ted, you must be like a kid before Christmas.

Glassweb

Jul-10-2012, 7:26pm

Here are some inlay shots. Getting close!

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boy, don't those look nice... yikes! great work Doctor! any of these on spec?

Dan Voight

Jul-10-2012, 9:39pm

boy, don't those look nice... yikes! great work Doctor! any of these on spec?

Thanks! Sorry but what do you mean by on spec?

Glassweb

Jul-10-2012, 11:08pm

That would be "available"... unsold...

Dan Voight

Jul-11-2012, 12:18am

An I thought so. All of these are spoken for.

Dobe

Jul-11-2012, 1:05am

Finally got off my butt & made some progress on the next build. Full blown sister to the last Walnut mando I built a few years back (other than a few details). Koa bound instead of Maple; yada,yada,....:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py9g8uixI8Y I'll keep ya posted !

Dan Voight

Jul-11-2012, 8:31pm

getting closer

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Doug Edwards

Jul-11-2012, 9:06pm

Nice going there Dan. I work real hard at getting an hour or two a week on mine. I have three I started in March, not very far along.

Tim W

Jul-11-2012, 9:07pm

Just finished this F peghead binding

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I really appreciate the attention to detail you have always shown in particular the tightness of your scrolls, I prefer that narrow gap you seem to favor.

Dan Voight

Jul-11-2012, 10:04pm

Doug: Thanks. I hear you. This is the first time in my life where I have been able to split my time between building and playing. Needless to say, I love it.

Tim: The narrow gap is a different look than the ferns where the peg head design seems to widen up there. I cant decide which look I prefer. I'll probably settle in a middle ground

Max Girouard

Jul-12-2012, 3:04pm

A few action shots of Lauri in the hood. Quilted maple with a redwood black top and koa wood binding.

oldwave maker

Jul-12-2012, 8:57pm

Holy quilt Max!
I'd have given this one 2 thumbs up but I was holding the camera......

JEStanek

Jul-12-2012, 9:02pm

Holy cow, Bill. Make it three thumbs up. Both of mine are up for that one.

Jamie

hank

Jul-12-2012, 9:33pm

No doubt about it, this is a golden thread of dreams. If you build it they will come.

Tavy

Jul-13-2012, 3:33am

Holy quilt max - do you play that thing or just stare and drool ??? ;)

OldGus

Jul-13-2012, 9:03am

A few action shots of Lauri in the hood. Quilted maple with a redwood black top and koa wood binding.
Get it!

StevenS

Jul-13-2012, 5:36pm

Amazing figure and a fine neck . . . even Audrey Hepburn would be jealous . . .

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Steve

pickngrin

Jul-13-2012, 6:41pm

Amazing figure and a fine neck . . . even Audrey Hepburn would be jealous . . .

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Steve

Yowza!! Just gorgeous! Love the quilted overlay on the back of the peghead.

Skip Kelley

Jul-14-2012, 7:54pm

Steve, Those quilts are awesome! Nice work!!

StevenS

Jul-15-2012, 10:48am

Next up for finishing - F8 with Bearclaw Sitka Spruce top and Quilted Red Maple back --

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Can't wait!

Steve

Kip Carter

Jul-15-2012, 10:59am

Steve,
I love that inlay work you've done on that head.
Kip...

pjlama

Jul-15-2012, 11:56am

Too much fun stuff just on this page, beautiful quilt Lauri, two thumbs up to BB on the OWGSOM ;) and Steve, the Sprite is one of the best new designs in a long time. You guys rock!

StevenS

Jul-15-2012, 9:53pm

The other side of the headstock got some color today.

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This mando is gonna be a bluegrass hamma -- the bearclaw in the Sitka is really hard which put the top right in between typical Sitka and Red Spruce. Quilted Red Maple was also harder and worked more like hard curly Maple.

Steve

Bob Bronow

Jul-17-2012, 3:24pm

Amazing figure and a fine neck . . . even Audrey Hepburn would be jealous . . .

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Steve

Simply Stunning!

StevenS

Jul-18-2012, 1:09am

Bearclaw & Quilt F8 after a bit of scrubbin' and a quick wipe of varnish.

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Steve

Arnt

Jul-18-2012, 6:46am

I was asked for sound files for the instruments I posted in this thread recently.

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A couple of friends took some of my instruments into a studio, put up some nice mics, and did these recordings to compare them. I am told there is almost no EQ, just a tiny bit to adjust for the room acoustics. Andreas Aase plays, the sound guy is Jostein Ansnes in Øra Studio here in Trondheim (sorry, these guys don't do BG...;))

Here's the A mando
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The F-style
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The Honduras RW, RS dread
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And finally, the Coco RW, RS dread
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DougC

Jul-18-2012, 7:13am

Very nice. Is the mandolin tune a hombo?

Arnt

Jul-19-2012, 2:46am

Glad you like it, Doug. The tune is what we call a "Pols", similar to the Swedish Polska, or the Polish Mazurka. It is a dance.

Marty Jacobson

Jul-19-2012, 9:28pm

OK everyone. Some updates from my shop. If you look closely, you should see some unusual details. When I get the first two from this batch done next week I will post more construction details, but for now here they are:

Did I mention these things have no kerfing, and the "rim" wraps around the top and back after they are joined?

Turns out it's a really difficult thing to get working, but now I have it fixtured, it works great!

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Kip Carter

Jul-19-2012, 9:59pm

Is that a rosette you're going to use in the last pic? These will be interesting to see completed!
Kip...

StevenS

Jul-20-2012, 1:29am

Quilt lovers unite!

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Steve

Kip Carter

Jul-20-2012, 7:04am

Quilt lovers unite!

Steve

Nice quilt to cozy up to!

Kip...

Marty Jacobson

Jul-20-2012, 8:07am

Is that a rosette you're going to use in the last pic? These will be interesting to see completed!
Kip...

Kip, that's a vacuum fixture. All the air is pumped out from underneath the top and back plates, so atmospheric pressure holds the parts down while they are roughed out at very high speeds and to very tight tolerances. The parts come off the machine (homemade CNC) looking exactly as you see them... no sanding or scraping done to any of these parts yet.

Jim Garber

Jul-20-2012, 8:29am

Very interesting, Martin, but it is unclear to me how the sides are attached. Is the rim made of one piece?

Marty Jacobson

Jul-20-2012, 9:56am

Very interesting, Martin, but it is unclear to me how the sides are attached. Is the rim made of one piece?

The rim is a 3-piece bent lamination. Mahogany, Maccassar Ebony (which is really stiff), and Mahogany. They are pre-formed and then glued around the top and back plates. Since they cover up all the end grain, no binding is necessary. Gives it a really clean look and is much faster than traditional bending, kerfing, gluing, and binding. Now it's just two steps instead of 4. At least, now that I have built the machine that does it. Which wasn't easy.
I think it has an elegant look, too. Not for everyone, of course. But traditional is not what I'm going for with this particular instrument.

billhay4

Jul-20-2012, 10:41am

Martin,
This is fascinating and innovative stuff. What's missing here is a picture of the sides so we can see how this goes together. Your work is really creative.
One thing that will interest me is the weight the finished instrument will come in at.
Bill

Dobe

Jul-20-2012, 12:31pm

I love that neck joint Martin. In fact the whole design is a thing of beauty !

hank

Jul-20-2012, 1:02pm

Steve your definitely into some good wood. Martin I used to do aerospace composite blade repair and some plastic interior parts with self made vacuum tools. We used an old refrigerator pump with wooden fixtures similar to yours. Am I correct in assuming you cut the back or front on a band saw to the outer edge pattern that fits within the outer fixture cutout. The actual vacuum is pulled in the center area within your inner caulk ring sucking the wood down firmly in your fixture. As long as your top or bottom fits tightly in your fixture all twisting forces are prevented by the wooden cut out. Are you also using a similar vacuum fixture and Mylar sheeting to pull the rim tightly against the top and bottom without clamps when bonding?

billhay4

Jul-20-2012, 1:07pm

Martin,
Since this is all CNC, is there a reason for a neck joint at all. Couldn't you just make the neck and block as one piece?
Bill

hank

Jul-20-2012, 1:48pm

Wow, I like that idea Bill. There would be more room for error with defects and grain consideration, higher cost of larger wood slabs but what a beautiful notion! An instrument made almost entirely of one continuous piece of wood. Only the upper tap tuned plate and the rim vacuum close tolerance bonded. This would be as close as you could get to one continuous piece of wood. Even if the results (tone and sound wise) were only marginal improvement think of the advertising and sales pitches that could be generated from this kind of precision building!

billhay4

Jul-20-2012, 3:40pm

Hank,
I wish it was my idea, but classical instruments have been made that way for centuries.
The big drawback is that it creates issues if you have to take the neck off the instrument.
BTW, I'm thinking laminated necks is the way to go in the future. Much stronger than single pieces. some of the guitar manufacturers are doing it now and it doesn't look bad, different, but not bad IMHO. It certainly allows the use of much smaller pieces of wood for the neck construction.
Bill
Bill

Marty Jacobson

Jul-20-2012, 4:20pm

Bill and Hank,
Orville Gibson was doing that with his early instruments, remember? The neck heel, back plate, and rim were all one piece.

Making the back and rim all one piece is fine to do, since you tune the back plate attached to the rim anyway. Peter Mix did this with the Rigel mandolins, with great success.

I personally wanted to make the neck separate so that I could french-polish the top without the neck attached yet. I really hate finishing around that fretboard extension. Additional material cost is not an issue, it actually would be less wasteful than making a separate neck block.

Hank, the parts are 100% roughed out on the CNC machine. So all the tedium is automated, leaving me with the voicing and tuning which is done traditionally. Compressed air is used to pull the sides into a good glue joint with the top and back.
I will post a detailed step-by-step process probably next week. Need to prove the concept works first, though!

Yeah, there's a lot of cool stuff to do. Let me tell you, though, that getting the CNC machined parts working right is not a shortcut. Having built a dozen or so instruments with the traditional techniques, I can definitely say that it is harder. It's taken me a year to get this instrument to this point, and am only now refining the details. But once it's set up, it's repeatable. So my goal is to fill that hole in the market for a luthier-made instrument at a price that can compete with the Chinese-made brands. We'll see if it works.

billhay4

Jul-20-2012, 4:54pm

Martin,
I see your reason for a separate neck, especially if you're going to fp. You could fp before the fretboard went on, though. Another pain.
You are going great guns here, and I can appreciate just how much work you've put into this. Let me know when you're ready to produce instruments. I'd like to try one.
Bill

hank

Jul-20-2012, 5:06pm

A channel precision cut down the center of the neck/back could give the strength and warp resistance of laminates or carbon fiber while retaining the energy transfer qualities of a continuous piece of wood. The channel could also be used to adjust the mass at the peghead if wanted. Most of us would agree a perfect fitting neck to body glue joint held together correctly in a controlled environment is fine and much more practical but I can't help but wonder how no breaks or stiffness changes across the grain from nut to tail piece would affect the energy transmission and node locations in the wood itself. In rotorwing airframes and blades changes in stiffness from repairs often shifts the antinodes to new location causing new stress locations with potential for future cracking. I know primarily our acoustic sound comes from the energy of vibrating strings with their shifting nodes and antinodes as we fret them but how well this energy is transmitted to the amplifying effect of the vibrating tone plates is the difference between average tonal and response charateristics and stellar. Sustain could be affected as well with this hypothetical junctionless neck but then again it may not have much effect at all to any of these characteristic.

hank

Jul-20-2012, 5:11pm

I wrote the above before reading your last post in reference to Bill's laminate suggestion. I think the point is moot now.

Marty Jacobson

Jul-20-2012, 5:45pm

Erk

Jul-20-2012, 8:22pm

Making the back and rim all one piece is fine to do, since you tune the back plate attached to the rim anyway. Peter Mix did this with the Rigel mandolins, with great success.

Just a point of clarification and to give credit where it is due, the Rigel mandolin was wholly designed by Pete Langdell, Peter Mix was his business partner when Rigel became a production shop.

pickngrin

Jul-20-2012, 9:56pm

Here's a little clip of the four mandos shown above out for a little test-drive before pulling off the hardware.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsxNHBdVPjw&feature=plcp

Many thanks to Randy Torno for helping me wring-out these babies before final tweaks and finishing.

Steve

You do beautiful work, Steve. Love your modern take on the curve, headstock and those sound holes! That F8's gonna be a monster.

StevenS

Jul-21-2012, 12:35am

Here's the other side of the story.

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Steve

StevenS

Jul-24-2012, 1:03am

Four coats of oil varnish and many more to go . . .

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Steve

Skip Kelley

Jul-24-2012, 12:03pm

Steve, that mandolin is looking awesome!

Londy

Jul-24-2012, 9:45pm

Wow Magnus, that is one awesome looking mando! Can you tell me more about it? Did you build it yourself? Your design?

pjlama

Jul-24-2012, 10:41pm

I keep trying to find reasons not to buy a Sprite, that design just kills. I hate this thread, way too much eye candy.

pjlama

Jul-24-2012, 10:47pm

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I'm glad I'm not the only one excited about this stuff... :-)

Got the top machining process dialed in today! First instruments are being assembled next week!

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I'm just dying to see one finished. I have great respect for guys coming from that industrial design background. I worked for Ned Steinberger for a couple years and was blown away by his ingenuity. Clearly you're throwing out the tried and true and blazing a new path here, awesome, very exciting! Do you have a pic of a completed prototype?

wwwilkie

Jul-24-2012, 11:11pm

Beautiful work Marty!

Marty Jacobson

Jul-25-2012, 9:17am

Clearly you're throwing out the tried and true and blazing a new path here, awesome, very exciting! Do you have a pic of a completed prototype?

PJ, thanks. Though I don't think I'm throwing anything out, or trying to be an iconoclast. I love traditional mandolin construction. But frankly, I am pretty ADD and there are lots of guys out there that are much better at making super-high-end instruments than I am.
The departures I've made in construction aren't really visible when the product is completed, aside from the "sides as binding" detail. Should be visible in a pretty low price tag, though.

Luthiers have been using sanding wheels and drill presses to help carve their tops for almost a century, I think of the CNC carving as a more fluid method of depth drilling with the drill press. All the important work of lutherie is still necessary to do by hand, though I do spend less time doing things like fitting dovetails, because I can automate that.

I hope to have the first prototype done this week.. I just have to stay off the Cafe so I get some actual work done... :-) Easy to get sucked in down here.

StevenS

Jul-29-2012, 1:02pm

Another quilt-shot.
Varnish is looking good, and we're just about ready for French Polishing with Shellac + Sandarac . . .

89749

Did you check out the figure on the neck? Love it!

Steve

Max Girouard

Jul-29-2012, 3:38pm

Lauri shot 6 coats on today. Lots of level sanding, then two more coats tomorrow!

Charles E.

Jul-29-2012, 4:02pm

Beautiful Max. Do you guy's have a disclaimer to " wear eye protection whan playing this mandolin"? Those are some pretty sharp points.

Max Girouard

Jul-30-2012, 4:01pm

Beautiful Max. Do you guy's have a disclaimer to " wear eye protection whan playing this mandolin"? Those are some pretty sharp points.

The points are there to protect the player from being rushed on stage, and the mandolin also doubles as a grappling hook for escape later!

Kip Carter

Jul-30-2012, 7:27pm

The points are there to protect the player from being rushed on stage, and the mandolin also doubles as a grappling hook for escape later!
<snicker>
Kip...

oldwave maker

Jul-30-2012, 8:27pm

Abandoned my holding fixture after the 1st build coat on the first mando this morning, a fine start to a vacation! Gotta love a planet that will support life like maple trees!

hank

Jul-30-2012, 10:52pm

Beautiful maple in almost every post and so much 3D quilting. Are ya'll getting better at bringing this out or everyone is into some really nice wood lately? This is my favorite thread by far to see what you guys can do with these little pieces of wood. Thank you all for sharing your artwork as it begins to come alive with coat after coat of finish and sanding.

Max Girouard

Jul-31-2012, 9:24pm

Bill that one in the middle is just amazing! Others are too but that middle ones back wood...wow!

Here is a custom F5 that we are working on for a fellow cafe member

StevenS

Jul-31-2012, 11:53pm

Mandos just flyin' outta here!

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Steve

Skip Kelley

Aug-01-2012, 6:17am

Max, really clean looking work there! Love that birdseye maple!

Steve, That bursted quilt back is amazing!

Isn't it funny how us nerds get really excited over wood?!:)

StevenS

Aug-01-2012, 9:28am

Isn't it funny how us nerds get really excited over wood?!

Skip,

Luckily, my wife has decided that it's a mostly harmless addiction, as all-consuming obsessions go.

Steve

Gregory Tidwell

Aug-01-2012, 3:22pm

Mandos just flyin' outta here!

89845

Steve

That baby's got back!

J.Sloan

Aug-05-2012, 8:40pm

It's always an inspiration to check over this category of the forum and see the incredible looking mandolins being built. Here's some pics of a F-5 that I've been working on for the past year. My spare time is very limited, but I'm getting a lot closer to stringing it up in the white. Just gotta bind, fret, and attach the fretboard...drill out the tuner holes and glue on the neck. Gonna play her for a while to make sure everything holds up.....and then do some peghead inlay and stain/finish the mandolin.
I would like to say "thank you"9002890029900309003190032 to all of the builders who post their pictures and comments. At 39 yrs old, I can safely say that this has been, without a doubt, the most challenging side project that I have ever taken on. And that includes the bathroom addition five years ago. The amount of time involved in researching, reading, watching videos, building forms, buying equipment, ...re-doing stuff(haha) ......can be exhausting, but worth it once things start coming together. Deep respect for all the serioius builders out there!!

J.Sloan

Aug-05-2012, 8:49pm

A few more....900339003490035

Mike Black

Aug-06-2012, 2:50pm

See....I have been working! :)

Mike Black

Aug-06-2012, 3:15pm

How about a couple of Virzi shots? :)

Jim Garber

Aug-06-2012, 3:32pm

Great stuff, Mike. Some details on your group portrait? It looks like there is a some variety of woods for the backs + sound port and Virzi?

Mike Black

Aug-06-2012, 3:57pm

Great stuff, Mike. Some details on your group portrait? It looks like there is a some variety of woods for the backs + sound port and Virzi?

Jim, How did you know the one with the side port has a Virzi in it?

Yes, those are three different backs. Sugar, Red & Big Leaf.

What, no comment about the little one in front? That's the A4 Piccolo (w/ Virzi) for my daughter Molly. I know she's only three weeks old now, but she's hounding me to finish it so she can start practicing. :)

Mike Snyder

Aug-06-2012, 4:12pm

You're a good Dad, Mike.

Jim Garber

Aug-06-2012, 4:40pm

Sorry, Mike. I should have looked closer to notice that piccolo. What scale did Molly request? I have a a feeling that her fistr word might be Virzi. :)

hank

Aug-06-2012, 5:20pm

Very nice Luthiery J.Sloan. Mike you've got a whole Lotta Love there. I gotta ask what you think of the effect a Virzi to your oval hole tone and if their effect is predictable?

GKWilson

Aug-06-2012, 7:35pm

Mike Black

Aug-06-2012, 8:23pm

Congrats Mike. I'm sure Molly will love that little piccolo. I really like the new A4 format. Hope I don't get a case of PAS.
Is that your personal A5 in the back. With no Virzi? And that big boy, Is it a mandola or an octave?
I look at that shot of your bench and I see a lot of happy people.
Gary

Yes, that A5 (with John Sullivan woods) is going to be my personal mandolin. And no, it will not have a Virzi. I believe the Virzi works best in Oval Hole instruments. You still get the warmth and roundness of the oval hole but with some of the projection of an f-hole instrument.

There is no mandola or octave. That's Molly's Piccolo mandolin's insides showing the tiny Virzi next to a regular A4 for scale.

Mike Black

Aug-06-2012, 8:27pm

Sorry, Mike. I should have looked closer to notice that piccolo. What scale did Molly request? I have a a feeling that her first word might be Virzi. :)

Jim, Molly wanted it the same scale length as her big brother James has on his.... 11". It's basically the nut is the 5th fret of the fingerboard on a regular mandolin.

J.Sloan

Aug-06-2012, 8:57pm

Very nice Luthiery J.Sloan. Mike you've got a whole Lotta Love there. I gotta ask what you think of the effect a Virzi to your oval hole tone and if their effect is predictable?

Thanks Hank!! I'm not even worthy to be among these guys...but I just had to get these pictures out there. Wow Mike, you've got a "stash" going on there!! I had a custom F-4 one time with a Virzi in it and it sounded great...I'm with ya on the oval hole/ virzi thing...it works quite well togther!!

burt50

Aug-06-2012, 10:28pm

That's gonna be a nice mando...good work

GKWilson

Aug-06-2012, 11:01pm

"There is no mandola or octave. That's Molly's Piccolo mandolin's insides showing the tiny Virzi next to a regular A4 for scale" - Mike Black

It must be an optical illusion. In the shop picture the A on its side behind Molly's seems larger than the rest.
Gary

Mike Black

Aug-06-2012, 11:26pm

It must be an optical illusion. In the shop picture the A on its side behind Molly's seems larger than the rest.
Gary

Yes, it must just be an optical illusion since it's next to the piccolo.

blueron

Aug-07-2012, 7:03am

Mike, I think you're making some of the best looking A4 and A2 mandolins on the market. I wish I lived a few thousand miles closer to Lawrence, Kansas.

No, strike that - I wish I was passing through Lawrence once in a while :)

sgrexa

Aug-08-2012, 10:22am

Bill that one in the middle is just amazing! Others are too but that middle ones back wood...wow!

Here is a custom F5 that we are working on for a fellow cafe member

Nice and clean Max! Can't wait!

Chip Booth

Aug-08-2012, 1:31pm

Some Fletcher Brock octave customers are going to be happy in a month or so.

90150

StevenS

Aug-09-2012, 1:41am

Lines and curves.

90165

Steve

Max Girouard

Aug-09-2012, 12:30pm

All polished up and on her way home this morning, guess it is no longer in progress!

Kip Carter

Aug-09-2012, 12:52pm

Max that is right purdy!! Sounds good just lookin at it!

Kip...

Gregory Tidwell

Aug-09-2012, 1:59pm

See....I have been working! :)

Hey Mike, didn't you have a carved out guitar-body octave too? How's that one coming along?

snoopymandolin1112

Aug-09-2012, 4:54pm

Jason you're mandolins are looking really good. I am sure with your playing ability and emphasis on tone, you will turn out a great project!!! It is nice to see your passion being utilized! Keep at it!

NG53

Aug-10-2012, 5:05am

I am posting three images of my Mike Black #17 A-4 mandolin in its current state of progress. Pictures sent to me by Mike. It will have ivoroid binding on the front and none on the back.

The colour will be a reddish sunburst colour similar to what Mike has done in the past. Nut width will be 1 3/16".

Progress has slowed somewhat because Mike and his wife have a new bub on board. I am happy with progress though.

902389024090239

Dan Voight

Aug-10-2012, 4:53pm

Almost there!

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Marty Jacobson

Aug-10-2012, 5:56pm

Almost there!

You might make the best f-holes in the biz, sir. Looking good.

GKWilson

Aug-11-2012, 12:19am

NG53. You'll be happy you got one of Mike's A's. They are great mandolins. The wait is worth it and you'll have a long time to play and enjoy it.
ADM. Dan makes nice scrolls too.
Dan. Is that Joseph's two point. He's going to love that.
Gary

Geoff B

Aug-11-2012, 9:26am

One of my students came by for some help with a sunburst. Here's where we got after a couple sealer coats...90269

Dan Voight

Aug-11-2012, 1:02pm

roady43

Aug-12-2012, 5:55am

You might make the best f-holes in the biz, sir. Looking good.

Absolutely my favorite. I couldn't imagine to choose any other mandolin than one of Dan's. Because of the f-holes in first place - they're the most elegant, coherent, well-balanced I've seen so far; just beautiful! Would Stradivari have done better on a mando?

Combined with a strong quilt back. I don't know if I could resist to order one immediately...

roady43

jmagill

Aug-13-2012, 11:24am

Yup this one is going to Joe down here in east Nashville

Hey, Dan, how long is your waiting list for a new F5?

Dan Voight

Aug-13-2012, 4:28pm

Hey, Dan, how long is your waiting list for a new F5?

I sent you a PM.

Marty Jacobson

Aug-15-2012, 5:17pm

Ok, so here is my progress. I will be stringing the first one up tonight, as soon as I can make a tailpiece for it! Can't wait to hear how it sounds. This one has tone bars, and a Sitka top.

I have parts for 5 of these mandolins in the works to be done by the end of the month. Two curly maple, two mahogany (one khaya, one swietenia), and one bubinga. Slight variations in graduations and bracing, and I think I'm going to do one with a transverse brace just for kicks. This design is more like an A-4 than an A-5, so it might be interesting.

I have a year into building this production process, so hopefully it's appealing to enough people to build a few of them.

Would be glad to know if anyone thinks it looks awkward -- the design is not nailed down by any means.

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Leroy

Aug-15-2012, 5:26pm

Martin,

those are going to look stunning! I love the forward thinking construction and design. Post more pictures when you can.

Charles E.

Aug-15-2012, 6:37pm

Martin, I really like your contemporary style. It is bound to raise a few eyebrow's but I don't think it looks awkward at all.

Jim Garber

Aug-15-2012, 10:05pm

Very nice, Martin. Hmmmmm... transverse brace....

I like the overall style and I think that bass-side soundhole would almost work as a sound port as well allowing a fuller wood top. I am not sure acoustically how the lower treble soundhole would work.

Marty Jacobson

Aug-15-2012, 10:52pm

I am not sure acoustically how the lower treble soundhole would work.

Me neither! But I guess we'll know tomorrow when I string it up.

Benedetto made some instruments with a similar soundhole configuration (not oval holes, but the same opposing offset sound hole placement). I don't see why it's much different than having two F holes, it's an experiment at this point. There will be others made with different sound hole configurations.

billhay4

Aug-16-2012, 9:53am

Nice, Martin.
Bill

hank

Aug-16-2012, 1:54pm

The look is very clean and precise, could we call it 21st Century Art Nouveau. Your original dragon and any similarly art inspired apertures could be as special to your look as scrolls are to our classic F5.
Aside from visual appeal once players move into the intermediate stage of playing they are more sensitive to a more sonically active instrument often forsaking their beloved scroll to afford one. We all know the experience, you play a new to you instrument and it seems to come alive the way it vibrates and sings in comparison to your stiffer less sonically active instrument you've become accustomed to. If your instruments can do that in a new and interesting way you'll be a very busy builder.

Marty Jacobson

Aug-16-2012, 4:38pm

So I got the "beta prototype" of the Nautilus design strung up in the almost-white today... just a light coat of sealer to keep the dirt out of the pores while I play with it for a while. It definitely has flaws, it's been through a lot, including two sets of sides, a few sets of tone bars, etc. And the heel cap isn't installed yet.

This baby is light... weighs in at 1lb 11oz with all the hardware.

It definitely has "oval hole" tone... more than I would have thought with the tone bars. Though apparently that doesn't make as much difference as we have all thought for a long time... Great sustain, dark balanced tone. Though I do want to play with trying to get the E string a little more "bell-like". Probably needs adjustments to the sound holes, I haven't played with them much yet.

Sorry for the "spatula" tailpiece... just the quickest thing to knock together. The final tailpiece will have wood accents and an inlaid opal-fossilized ammonite (which look like a nautilus shell). They're pretty, and the mass will help to damp the tailpiece. What's cool is that no tools are needed to remove the tailpiece. The "strap button" is a 1/4-20 threaded knob. Comes off really easily, but stays put.

Thanks for the comments. Now on to the other variants.

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billhay4

Aug-16-2012, 5:47pm

Okay, Martin. Now we need to hear it.
It's very nice looking. How deep is it? Looks shallow in the pictures.
Lots of very creative design elements.
Good job.
Bill

Marty Jacobson

Aug-16-2012, 6:23pm

Thanks! I'll try to record something tonight after tweaking the setup a bit.
The sides are a little over 1.375" deep. But the arches are higher... the back is about .75" deep, the top is a little less.

EDIT: Here are some sound samples. I am posting them before I listen to them and decide not to. Feedback on the tone appreciated. Unfortunately I don't have a real recording rig, so it's just computer microphone quality.

http://martinjacobson.com/nautilus_recording_1.mp3

http://martinjacobson.com/nautilus_recording_2.mp3

billhay4

Aug-17-2012, 4:09pm

Martin,
Thanks for the sound clips and the explanation of depth. Must be the high arching that makes it look thin to me.
Sounds pretty good for a brand new instrument; still a bit thin, but the sound is there, especially on the classical stuff.
Why did you choose a high arch?
Bill

hank

Aug-17-2012, 6:37pm

I agree, Martin you've done really well. You said it sounded like an oval to you but I would have guessed it was an F hole by the recordings. Kind of a F hole fundamental tone with a oval hole longer sustain.

Charles E.

Aug-18-2012, 4:18pm

Marty Jacobson

Aug-18-2012, 6:59pm

Actually, I haven't decided. I changed the thickness of the fretboard to simplify part of the process, and that changed the bridge height by a tad. Then I brought the Stew-Mac bridge way down to see if making it full-contact made any difference in tone. So it's about 1/8" higher than I had originally intended, all told. It is definitely something I will have to address on future instruments.

Steve Hinde

Aug-21-2012, 2:45pm

Next batch in progress. F Dola, 2 Maple F's , Rosewood F and a Koa F.

StevenS

Aug-21-2012, 3:56pm

Three in a row.

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Steve

Don Grieser

Aug-21-2012, 7:01pm

Martin, congratulations! That is one seriously cool mandolin and it sounds great. Very intriguing as are all the designs on your site.

GarY Nava

Aug-22-2012, 11:10am

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Thought that you might like to see this one whilst it’s in “the white”!!
This is my new Standard Plus. A design based on my popular Standard model but with an upgraded specification throughout. The neck is wenge with Indian rosewood back & sides and a red spruce top.
Hopefully I’ll be offering it for sale at the end of September.
Cheers Gary

http://www.navaguitars.co.uk/forsale.html

Tavy

Aug-22-2012, 12:11pm

Interesting figure on that Wenge Gary: it'll be fascinating to see how it looks with some finish on.

Marty Jacobson

Aug-22-2012, 12:59pm

Gary, I think that is probably the best-looking neck heel I have ever seen. The transition is sculpted but very subtle. Awesome. What are you filling the wenge pores with? Pumice?

Max Girouard

Aug-22-2012, 7:38pm

I have to agree with Martin, that is one nice neck heel Gary! Great job!

hank

Aug-22-2012, 8:19pm

The way the grain turns to match the rim grain is what I'm amazed at.

GarY Nava

Aug-23-2012, 2:59am

Thanks for the great comments, much appreciated! As for filling the neck's grain- it's so deep,but the wood itself has a wonderful texture- I think I'm going for an oil finish on the neck and the body will be French polished.
Cheers Gary

amowry

Aug-23-2012, 10:34am

Beautiful work, Gary. The whole instrument is quite elegant.

oldwave maker

Aug-26-2012, 11:28am

Two months away from halloween and already the bug eyes are out on the freshly buffed:

Clicker

Aug-28-2012, 6:48pm

It definitely has flaws, it's been through a lot, including two sets of sides, a few sets of tone bars, etc. And the heel cap isn't installed yet.

I thought the neck joinery was very intuitive. -Harry

Clicker

Aug-28-2012, 9:40pm

Glitch of the day: The printing department at the office supply store couldn't retrieve either of the .dwg/.dxf CAD files I had stored on the flash drive. Since it's 30 miles one way, I went ahead and established some key landmarks on the design and just printed the pattern sheet out on about 6 sheets. I lined up the sheets on a thin cutting board and positioned the sheets with straight pins, and glued it up. Once the glue is dry I'll try transferring the pattern sheets to the plexiglass.

-h

Max Girouard

Aug-28-2012, 9:56pm

Just finished binding 2 F5 mandolins today, Lauri bound the cedar F5. Boy our thumbs are sore. Still rough and need lots of clean up.

90994

StevenS

Aug-29-2012, 1:04am

Max and Laurie,
Nice team work!
Steve

StevenS

Aug-29-2012, 4:54pm

Dangerous curves ahead!

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Steve

Clicker

Aug-29-2012, 7:46pm

Jake Wildwood

Aug-29-2012, 10:18pm

This is my new Standard Plus. A design based on my popular Standard model but with an upgraded specification throughout. The neck is wenge with Indian rosewood back & sides and a red spruce top.

Classy!!!

Goodin

Aug-30-2012, 7:52am

The first cut. A piece of scrounged plastic glass cut a little bigger than the body
outline.

I roughed up the plastic with some sandpaper to give it some "tooth" to hold the paper pattern firmly. A bit of rubber cement and...

I roughed out the pattern with the small saw wheel and then began to shave until I got pretty close to the pattern outline.

It's as close i want to get.

Just a friendly suggestion Clicker, this job is MUCH easier on a band saw with a thin high TPI blade. With some practice you can cut right on the line and not have to do any secondary shaping. If you do need to clean up the edges just some sandpaper on a dowel will do (but a spindle sander is handy).

Another suggestion...it's a good idea for your pattern to be clear so you can see the wood as you trace it out. This will allow you to see any imperfections in the wood you may want to leave out.

Marty Jacobson

Sep-02-2012, 8:09am

Transverse-braced prototype top, and a pile of backs and tops for 5 more. Birdseye "rock" maple, ribbon mahogany, and bubinga.
This is the first true oval hole I have done.... the graduations are so different, I didn't believe it could possibly work. But it is one of the most responsive tops to date.

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Clicker

Sep-02-2012, 8:27am

Just a friendly suggestion Clicker, this job is MUCH easier on a band saw with a thin high TPI blade. With some practice you can cut right on the line and not have to do any secondary shaping. If you do need to clean up the edges just some sandpaper on a dowel will do (but a spindle sander is handy).

Another suggestion...it's a good idea for your pattern to be clear so you can see the wood as you trace it out. This will allow you to see any imperfections in the wood you may want to leave out.

Hello Goodin. I used to have a band saw and the red-headed ogre of fate got it in the settlement. Everything will be fine. -Harry

StevenS

Sep-02-2012, 10:57am

Martin,

Nice clean work AND cool jigs! The trees would be proud.

Steve

Marty Jacobson

Sep-02-2012, 2:58pm

Heron inlay for the transverse braced prototype's fretboard...

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billhay4

Sep-03-2012, 11:57am

Martin,
Your work continues to amaze.
Bill

Ken

Sep-04-2012, 7:41am

Martin,
Really like the design of the heron where you've used sawn cutouts for detailing. Very nice.
Ken

Skip Kelley

Sep-04-2012, 8:14am

Martin, Nice work! Love the heron inlay!

amowry

Sep-05-2012, 3:06pm

Two months away from halloween and already the bug eyes are out on the freshly buffed:

Ha! Googly eyes are the best invention ever.

amowry

Sep-05-2012, 3:07pm

...

Steve-o

Sep-05-2012, 5:51pm

Beautiful. Excellent photography which just complements your fine woodwork Andrew.

StevenS

Sep-05-2012, 8:34pm

Andrew,
Great shot!
Steve

Skip Kelley

Sep-07-2012, 4:00pm

Andrew, That is an awesome picture! Looks like you could be a photographer as well!!

amowry

Sep-07-2012, 10:58pm

Thanks guys-- you know what they say about giving a monkey a typewriter, or a digital SLR.

Dan Voight

Sep-10-2012, 3:50pm

Words cannot describe how excited I am about the tone of this mandolin after only being played for a few days. Clips will be up soon!

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Clicker

Sep-10-2012, 5:21pm

I finished cutting out the pattern and schmoozed the curves a bit to be more appealing to my eye. There was one transition that was too radical for what I know would be a difficult time when it came to setting the rim.

I found a nice wide piece of mahogany. It came off an old table that had been in the neighbors storm shelter for about 40 years. There is a crack developing and I'm just going to rip it and add a piece of maple. I haven't decided on a three piece back but it's tempting with this piece. -h

Skip Kelley

Sep-10-2012, 7:35pm

Dan, that is an awesome looking A model!

lauri Girouard

Sep-12-2012, 8:22pm

I just started finishing this custom A mandolin. I just can't get enough of this red. I just applied the finish. Next, sand, cure and then buff to a glasslike shine. The wood is big leaf maple and wide grain sitka spruce top from Spruce Bruce.

Steve-o

Sep-12-2012, 8:58pm

Dan,
Sweet. Looking forward to sound clips.

Lauri,
Gorgeous red stain and nice wood grain. Keep up the good work.

Skip Kelley

Sep-12-2012, 9:04pm

Lauri, Awesome job on that A model! I love the color! It really brings out the figure nicely!!

Marty Jacobson

Sep-12-2012, 9:52pm

Here's an update on my transverse braced instrument prototype... still basically in the white. It's a more traditional variant, but very similar construction process. Just has color and a couple sessions of french polish on the top, since I really didn't want to have to apply the color after the fretboard was installed.

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The tone is a good improvement over the last prototype. Sounds more like a traditional oval hole, to my ears, but not just "tubby", nice clear highs. Never was happy with the high end of the last prototype, this is much better. Better sustain and overall responsiveness, too. Will try to get a sound clip up.