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i moved the tailpiece up about 5 mm and it decreased the break from 17.5 to 14. i cant really tell much about any difference in the sound yet(this poor mandolin has had it rough with the tension...

thanks guys. here are a few vital stats. the break angle on this mando is 17.5 degrees compared to 15 degrees on my eastman. i'm no mathematician but to decrease the break angle would only take...

wow kerry, that must have been a really steep angle. hans, i never thought about the tailpiece. i appreciate the input. this is not a terrible sounding mandolin but im just trying to get some ideas...

i purchased an eastman about 4 months ago. great mandolin for the money. the serial # is 111 and the date 2004. the model is a 615 with a sunburst finish. do eastman serial #'s apply to that...

i'd like some input from some experts please. My latest build has a pretty sharp neck angle. i was at a festival today and noticed that most of the mandolins i could get my hands on for comparison...

i used blk trans tint dye with denatured alcohol for the top. i was tough to get it on uniformly and took a few applications. it was very tedious sanding to keep from taking out any color. i even had...

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here are some pics of #3 blacktop

any expert luthiers out there....i know the main things to check out in setting up a mandolin is action heighth, intonation, buzzing or other unnatural noises. being a novice luthier(if there is such...

thanks for the replies guys. i did pre bend the frets and they all seated fairly well. i see the point you have about the radius block sunburst. i will definately keep that in mind next time. i...

i'm a very amateur luthier and i am in the process of re-fretting a mandolin with a 12" radius board. #i have had this same problem before....after seating all the frets and leveling the frets with a...

i just finished rubbing out my first attempt at french polishing. it went fairly well. the only problem that i had was getting a smooth wipe. i used oil but the pad still wanted to stick and leave...

thanks for the replies guys! this is my 3rd mandolin and my first varnish and french polish. After staining, I sprayed a light coat of shellac and scuffed, then i scraped the binding. I thinned the...

i'm sorry, but i did'nt realize that solid spruce could be pressed. i always thought only laminate was pressed. and i also was unaware that some pressed tops had carved scrolls. but i guess if you...

i know there have been lots of topics recently on french polishing, so i guess i'll start another one. i have brushed two coats of oil varnish on my mandolin, how many more before i start fp? when i...

the scroll will be flat on a pressed top. in other words, there will not be a ridge on the scroll. I may be wrong, but I think it would be kinda hard to carve plywood. although i'm sure there might...

I'm pretty new to varnishing. #I tried my hand at oil varnishing a white violin once and it turned out fair. #I guess what I meant by "quality" is : Does french polishing over varnish help tone at...

I'm ready to put finish on #3 and I have a can of the Stewmac water based varnish. I tried it on my #2 and I did'nt like the results and ended up taking it off and putting on nitro. After reading the...

I am setting up #3 that I just completed. The action at the nut is perfect for me, the bridge is fit to the body very well. But I'm getting a "sitar-like" sound from one of the D strings and both A...

Thanks for the replies guys. The top is already bound, so I really don't want to remove it. After looking at lots of mandolins at SPGMA this past weekend, I do agree my top is pretty thick (judging...

The back is slightly thinner at about 0.22 to 0.23 at the center and 0.10 at the recurve. To thin the top a little, I can just sand off some, right? The fingerboard is radiused and crowning the frets...

Thanks Greg. I'll post pics later. The f-holes on #3 are larger than #1. Both are one piece sitka tops with two piece hard maple backs. The top on #3 is about 0.24" to 0.25" at the center and 0.13"...

I know there can probably be many, many causes for thin tone. I just strung up #3 in the white and I get a thin, stringy sound. My #1 is almost 4 yrs old and it still has a thin chop. Can I improve...