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Thread: Stew mac videos - thoughts?

  1. #1
    Registered User mikeo2's Avatar
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    I was curious to know what everyone's opinions on the Stew Mac, "How to build a Carved-Top Mandolin" VHS set is. How truly useful are these videos for someone who has played and done lots of minor setup & repair work (nuts, bridges, etc), but is interested in learning to build?

    Can this info be acquired more easily or more cost effectively else where?

    I was thinking about trying one of their A5 kits with these videos... any thoughts?

    Thanks!
    Summit F-200S (1994)

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    Registered User Mark Franzke's Avatar
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    I would definitely start with the A kit and the video. The video shows every aspect including how to carve and bend from scratch. The kit lets you see and feel what it is supposed to look like, making the first one from scratch much easier, I think.
    Mark Franzke
    Franzke String Instruments
    www.mfstrings.com

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    I really like the stewmac video. It is very informative and shows both building from a kit and from scratch. It also shows just how important it is to keep sharp hand tools (watch the fingers). I would recommend it to anyone.
    Charlie
    CHARLES VICKERS

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    ISO TEKNO delsbrother's Avatar
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    Well... Almost everything. You still need the videos on fretting and finishing... But those rock too! I like watching the mando ones just to see Don's array of jigs. It's like watching how a man's brain works.

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    I just got the A5 kit but I passed on the videos until they are out on DVD. I think it would be a much better resource if I could get to the part I needed, say locating and carving F-holes, rather that fast forwarding and rewinding around to get a certain part. I wonder if StewMac has a huge backstock that they need to sell through before releasing a DVD, since other videos have made it to digital?

    Jeremy

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    Well, the three resources I used for my first instrument were Siminoff's book, Stew-Mac / McCrostie videos and Stew-Mac / McCrostie plans. Siminoff's book was okay, I guess, but the Stew-Mac videos were much more helpful. The three biggest challenges for me were graduating the plates, installing binding and fitting the neck joint. The video covered these subjects very well. Just all around solid advice.

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    I purchased these video,s early last year, very informative, I watched it three times, the more I watched it the more I learned from it. I also have a older Roger Siminoff book on building a bluegrass mandolin. My last mandolin building was very successful , I built it from scratch, Doesnt quite have the sound I am seeking, but is better than the first two I built before the video,s came out,, I am grateful,,,, Dennis In yuma Arizona
    DENNIS RUSSELL

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    The video is now out on DVD. The VHS just arrived in the mail a few days ago and now it is available on DVD. What are the chances?
    Everybody has to believe in something, and I believe I'll have another beer.

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    Years and years ago I bought the StewMac Videos and had the siminoff book. From my perspective now, there's nothing to learn from them, but for a begginner you can get a rough start from them. I think I still have the videos in a box in the basement, if anyone wants them I'd sell 'em cheap.

    -Ben

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    I live in the UK and I`m very grateful for the video resources you have there in the states. I have the McRostie videos and think they`re great. I even adopted his method of cutting the neck dovetail on the table saw using a moulding block. Took a while to regrind a set of cutters to the correct profile, but the effort was worth while because it now only takes me a couple of minutes to cut a neck dovetail.
    Bob Deacon

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    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stew mac videos - thoughts?

    REVIVING AN OLD THREAD

    Any thought on the usefulness of 'How to Build a Carved-Top Mandolin' from Stew-Mac - now on DVD?

    I'm interested in a more thorough understanding of traditional mandolin construction for my occasional repair work, rather than planning a career building. It's a fairly pricy set of DVD's and I wonder if there are alternatives - YouTube, I suppose - or critiques that I should know about before considering a purchase. Thanks!
    BradKlein
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    Default Re: Stew mac videos - thoughts?

    I found them to be more specific towards building the kit. There are a few detours for building from scratch, but it's mostly glossed over. Probably not worth the money to get the information you are looking for. A set of Hogo's plans and searches on Youtube might yield more information for you.

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  15. #13

    Default Re: Stew mac videos - thoughts?

    Quote Originally Posted by BradKlein View Post
    REVIVING AN OLD THREAD

    Any thought on the usefulness of 'How to Build a Carved-Top Mandolin' from Stew-Mac - now on DVD?

    I'm interested in a more thorough understanding of traditional mandolin construction for my occasional repair work, rather than planning a career building. It's a fairly pricy set of DVD's and I wonder if there are alternatives - YouTube, I suppose - or critiques that I should know about before considering a purchase. Thanks!
    I think spending an equivalent amount of time on YouTube would yield quite similar results. Or better yet, 30% of the YouTube time and the rest of it spent carving plates and building an instrument. If you want insight into how instruments work, that's the real quick road.

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  17. #14

    Default Re: Stew mac videos - thoughts?

    I own a lot of videos annd have taken things away from all of them. In my first how to finish video, Don and Dan Erlewine look like pretty young guys. Don's mandolin video would be very helpful to someone just starting out. He makes it look like you need to build a very complex contraption to do a dovetail joint but look that up elsewhere. He also has a section on sharpening tools thats worth watching.

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  19. #15
    working for the mando.... Bluetickhound's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stew mac videos - thoughts?

    I went the route Marty suggested. Watched some YouTube, got Roger Siminoff's book, signed up here and dove in head first on a scratch build H5 mandola... It didn't quite make it to completion but I learned so much by actually DOING things that I'm convinced that's the way to go. I can't imagine that there's an angle (on a beginner level, anyway) that hasn't been discussed here ad nauseum so do look up topics using the search function.

    It's not the least expensive way to learn, that's for sure but the dividends will pay off down the road... They actually already hav because each subsequent build has gotten better. Now that I'm on #5 I feel a lot more confident and am starting to understand aspects that previously weren't obvious to me.

    One thing I will say is that of all the learning resources I have, the folks here at the Cafe have (by an exponential factor) by far been the most valuable. I'm still amazed and very appreciative that many of the worlds best builders are here and are very free with knowledge that was hard learned for them. Most of them have Facebook pages and/or websites. Do yourself a favor and visit all of them! The inspiration alone is worth the time.
    "A creative man is driven by the the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."

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