Tape the F-holes shut!

[Tate Ferguson]

I visited a respected luthier recently. The guy was working on a mandolin whose F-holes were open; all kinds of stuff could easily get inside.

Why not tape 'em shut with blue painters' tape, at least until you're done making sawdust? Just a thought...

[Bill Snyder]

Why put tape on an instrument if you don't need to? A little sawdust won't hurt a thing.

[multidon]

Violin makers often put wadded up newspaper down into the F holes. They are easily removed later. Not so much for sawdust but to keep the varnish from dripping down in.

[HoGo]

Violin makers often put wadded up newspaper down into the F holes. They are easily removed later. Not so much for sawdust but to keep the varnish from dripping down in.

Tape can pull varnish when removed, especially around edges of f holes.
It's simple just to blow the dust out of the mandolin...

[Charles E.]

Don, no violin maker I have ever heard of has done such a thing. For one thing the F-holes are too tight to put newspaper into and get back out. The other is that we are brushing on varnish in a very controlled manner so no drips get into the interior.

[fscotte]

The sawdust is what a rattlesnake needs to bed in. Leave it in there.

[multidon]

Charley, I know of at least 2 violin luthiers who do that. Though not a maker, I have done it myself when varnishing white instruments. The paper is easily removed with tweezers later. Worked well. However, my experience is admittedly limited and if this is not a widespread practice I defer to your expertise. I would not want to spread inaccurate information.

[kjbllc]

I had not heard of the paper thing either.. I use the heel of my hand except for the clear overcoat . but there are a lot of different ways to varnish , that is for sure.

[Charles E.]

Charley, I know of at least 2 violin luthiers who do that. Though not a maker, I have done it myself when varnishing white instruments. The paper is easily removed with tweezers later. Worked well. However, my experience is admittedly limited and if this is not a widespread practice I defer to your expertise. I would not want to spread inaccurate information.

Don, now that I think back on it, there have been a few instruments (commercial German) from the mid 20th century that I have run across that had leftover newspaper on the inside. In my experience, most varnish drips occur on the inside of the top at the bottom of the F-holes when hung up to dry. I do not discount it, as Barlycorn said, there are a lot of ways to varnish.

[gtani7]

if you're worried about dust or stuff in there, throw a bit of uncooked rice in there, shake it around, and upside down out the F holes. Uncooked

Leave the rattlesnake tail in there tho.

[fscotte]

I was thinking of maybe using paper money. Wonder if that would hurt sales...

[Tom Haywood]

Dang it, just when I thought I had it all figured out...

I used to stuff the body with newspaper prior to varnishing. No problem pulling it out with hemostats. Problem was the ink in newspaper might run onto the wood.

Now I stuff it with paper towels. No problems.

I wouldn't use tape for fear of it pulling off little pieces of wood.

[Dan of SC]

Before I built my first mandolin I read where a guy said he stuffs paper towels in his to finish them, then take them out with chopsticks. Works great!

[fatt-dad]

I thought folks blew up a balloon inside the instrument - one on each side?

f-d

[Bill Snyder]

OP said "why not tape 'em shut with blue painters' tape, at least until you're done making sawdust?"
If you are still making sawdust the tape would get in the way. It would also be in the way when you are putting finish on it.
If you could put the tape on from the inside of the body it might work.

[Tate Ferguson]

Thanks for the interesting replies.

Over the last two weeks, I did my first (amateur) fingerboard leveling and refretting, which came out well. I made a lot of dust, and it made sense to me to tape my f-holes shut to keep it out.

Plus, when I pulled the tape off at the end of the job, a lot of dust and dirt that had been inside the mando came out, stuck to the tape after two weeks of jostling.

[Phil Goodson]

fatt-dad is right. I've seen folks blow up two balloons inside before applying finish. When dry, you just pop the balloons and pull them out. Works great.

[fox]

I have tried the ballon trick, I found it really difficult to do!
Getting the ballon inside is easy but blowing it up was not! I guess if you had an air gun it would be a lot easier but I actually found tying a knot was next to impossible for me!
You need to get your mouth so close to the top that you can't see what you are doing and the balloon needs to be well inflated if you want to seal the hole, but trying to tie a knot without putting a lot of force around the f hole was just to scary for me.... A bit of comedy sketch in my case!!
(I make carbon fibre components and I use inflated balloons on variouse internal moulds with great success)

[Champlin]

Over the last two weeks, I did my first (amateur) fingerboard leveling and refretting, which came out well. I made a lot of dust, and it made sense to me to tape my f-holes shut to keep it out.

When doing fret work I often do tape over the soundhole(s) of the instrument, and I also tape over pickups on electric instruments. This is from a repair perspective. The majority of the time I'm building an instrument however, soundholes are uncovered. Tape would get in the way.

[BradKlein]

You need to get your mouth so close to the top that you can't see what you are doing and the balloon needs to be well inflated if you want to seal the hole, but trying to tie a knot without putting a lot of force around the f hole was just to scary for me.... A bit of comedy sketch in my case!!

There is obviously a pressing need for an instructional video on this subject. "Balloon Inflation for the Modern Luthier"... followed by an angry exchange of letters in an obscure music journal. Who will take on this important project?!?!?