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Bruce Harvie at Orcas Island Tonewoods is THE MAN. Great woods, great advice on this forum and fast shipping.

Got acquainted with the late John Renbourn when we were both in our late teens back in 63/64 and he was just starting out. Re-connected with him in 2014 about a year before he passed on. He visited...

I built an H1 mandola replica 3 years back and tried ebony and maple non-adjustable bridges copied from the orig. Gibson non-adj. design. I thought they both worked well, and the customer preferred...

Man!, that new "Loar" underarm deodorant is AWESOME!

Good health is the number one essential in retirement. Without it, all plans are trashed.....

I can't give mine away......

It definitely wasn't a great mandolin, being a very road-worn low end no-name clunker, but I'd played it for years and it was sort-of "part of me". Gave it away 10 years back and saw it recently,...

I really like the look of that.....great job!!

Got mine yesterday and have read the whole book. Congrats. to Paul for a fine study of the very complex story of Gibson mandolins. I particularly appreciated the research into Orville Gibson's...

I'll second that....the jig is a great idea James and thanks very much for posting the video link. I look forward also to the article in the next GAL American Lutherie magazine.

The best ideas...

+1 for the excellent advice from John and Don. I've also had good results buffing the final oil coat to 3600 micro mesh and then wiping on Tru Oil. Exactly as Don says, the Tru Oil seems to mellow...

I'd leave that back finish exactly as it is....it looks great and has taken around 90 years to get to that point. Once it's gone, it's gone and so has some of the history of the mandolin. Just my...

I had the chance to buy a Loar F5 here in the UK in 1965 for £75. Didn't know what it was at the time and didn't buy it......

Brian...I agree 100% with your conclusions about using the toothing plane. That's the tool I go to for thicknessing curly maple every time.

Enjoyed the video. Can anyone confirm what adhesive Gibson used to attach the binding back in 1920?

I should be seeing a pro. violin maker later this week who refers to bearclaw spruce as "spruce with hazel". This (highly skilled and experienced) maker was trained in Mittenwald, Germany in the...

Here in Europe in the violin-making world the term "hazel spruce" seems to be used for spruce that exhibits bearclaw. The German term is "haselfichte". I'm not sure that the terms hazel spruce and...

I'm building a similar shop-made binding rig, and Dave...your comments above are most helpful....thank you.

I would try different string gauges, fit a variety of bridges and try different picks before considering more drastic procedures to improve the mandolin sound.

Well, I've built 4 violins , 1 viola, 2 round hole carved top/back A model mandolins, an f-hole A5 (from the Siminoff drawings), and an H1 copy mandola. As a part-time builder, I find it all...

I agree with Ivan. That's a scraper. I have a few with varying profiles and have used them for scraping in bronze bearing bushes when rebuilding machinery. Quite a lot of skill needed (which I...

Cotcot...as far as I am aware the A,A1,A2,A3 and A4 oval hole styles of Gibson mandolins in the years from around 1912-1920 were all built to the same design. Only the finishes and inlays differed. ...

Cotcot.....Elderly Instruments (Lansing, Mich) have an excellent plan of a 1920's A2 drawn by Scott Antes. Just checked and it is still available.....search under "mandolin blueprint". I've used...

Stradivari used poplar (it is believed) for some of his cellos...the "Castelbarco" being one of these. A friend of mine built a cello with poplar back and sides and I was in his workshop during the...

John....thanks v. much again for advice re. Titebond vs. CA and your point about Titebond not hardening completely I'm sure is correct. I'll try heating the saddle to see if that will assist...