Harlan #3

[Kent Barnes]

I strung it up yesterday. #
Adirondack top, red maple back/neck/sides, abalone inlay & dots, side-bound, Schaeller tuners, Allen tailpiece, 12" radius fingerboard, lacquer finish.

Sounds pretty good to me!

[Kent Barnes]

a few more....

[Kent Barnes]

last one....(for now # #)

[JimRichter]

Mighty nice, especially for a number 3. Excellent work.

Jim

[Bill Snyder]

Mighty nice Mr. Barnes.

[jasona]

Wow! Looks super, and a great finish!

[french guy]

Kaybee , I remember your first attempt some years ago, you start a topic saying :" Just start my mandolin tonight "
And I've start maybe 1 or 2 months just before you , and give you some advices , as for example : " do your own carved top , you will not regret " .
Now some years after , I must say that you are just impressive .
you do a great job , really great .

[Skip Kelley]

Nice job on the finish! The mandolin looks awesome!

[mandoryan]

Superb number 3! That's a mighty fine looking mandolin there boys and girls.

[Moose]

Beautiful wood-grain - 'specialy the BACK!!! - Thanks for sharing! Moose

[csstanley]

That is one mighty fine looking mando.

Really like that finish.

[Scotti Adams]

..something to brag about....very nice.

[Keith Wallen]

Absolutely beautiful Kent and I am not just saying that because my first name is Harlan...
I love the color and the lighter burst so you can really see the grain. I also like the dot inlay, the sidebound, and the overall fit/finish. Outstanding!

[ShaneJ]

Kieth, that is beautiful. I'm gonna have to drive out to Flower Mound one of these days to hear it.

Was the side binding easier than top binding, or about the same?

Also, what stain/finish did you use and how'd you apply it? It's beautiful. Congrats!

[Kent Barnes]

Thanks everyone. #I would welcome the opportunity for anyone to stop by and give it a try!! #Flower Mound is a suburb of Dallas.

SJennings - the side-binding was a bit easier to do (those pesky corner mitres on top-binding are a pain), but you have to 'make' the binding (glue & scrape 2 pieces to make the side binding), so in the long run it probably takes longer.
I used several different colors of TransTint dyes mixed with denatured alcohol - Honey Amber, Reddish Brown, Medium Brown - applied with an airbrush. #I then spray a couple of light coats of McFadden's nitro lacquer to seal the instrument, then scrape the bindings. #Topcoat is McFaddens's sprayed with a standard paint gun. #I spray 4 coats, level sand, 4 more coats, level sand, then 2 coats. #Final sanding is with MicroMesh sandpaper - 2400 grit up to 12000 grit. Then just a light polishing with clearcoat compound.

[ShaneJ]

It does look nice, Kent.

I dare you to do a varnish finish on the next one! I'm sure with your talents, it'll look awesome.

[sboneill]

Kent, that's a real beauty. I hope it sounds as good as it looks. How is the Kentucky?

Scott

[Stanley Cox]

Great job Kent, I am glad I was able to see a lot of the building steps done on #3. It is magnificent. Keep up the good work.
Stanley

[Kent Barnes]

SJennings - I might do varnish if you "triple-dog-dared" me . #


Scott - The Kentucky is great, but now that this one is complete and sounds so good, that KM1000 may be for sale again. #But I have enjoyed it! #It sounds great and is easy to play!

Stanley - Thanks! I hope to see you Sunday.

[Mando4Life]

Awesome. Great looking F-5.

WBL

[ShaneJ]

OK, I triple-dog-dare you!

[mandoJeremy]

Kent, that is one excellent mandolin. How does it sound?

[austin]

Kent,
Absolutely gorgeous. I wish my #3 had looked so good. I may just have to try finishing with laquer. Did I mention I am jealous??
-Austin

[Stanley Cox]

I second the "triple-dog-dare". Allthose in favor???

Stanley

[mandowood]

Kaybee- That's amazing! Great job. All of you builders do such incredible work for just starting out. How does the learning curve shoot up so fast? I'm consistently impressed by you guys.

By the way, if you decide to sell that KM1000- let me know!