Mandolins in progress

[wwwilkie]

Beautiful work Marty!

[Marty Jacobson]

Clearly you're throwing out the tried and true and blazing a new path here, awesome, very exciting! Do you have a pic of a completed prototype?

PJ, thanks. Though I don't think I'm throwing anything out, or trying to be an iconoclast. I love traditional mandolin construction. But frankly, I am pretty ADD and there are lots of guys out there that are much better at making super-high-end instruments than I am.
The departures I've made in construction aren't really visible when the product is completed, aside from the "sides as binding" detail. Should be visible in a pretty low price tag, though.

Luthiers have been using sanding wheels and drill presses to help carve their tops for almost a century, I think of the CNC carving as a more fluid method of depth drilling with the drill press. All the important work of lutherie is still necessary to do by hand, though I do spend less time doing things like fitting dovetails, because I can automate that.

I hope to have the first prototype done this week.. I just have to stay off the Cafe so I get some actual work done... :-) Easy to get sucked in down here.

[StevenS]

Another quilt-shot.
Varnish is looking good, and we're just about ready for French Polishing with Shellac + Sandarac . . .



Did you check out the figure on the neck? Love it!

Steve

[Max Girouard]

Lauri shot 6 coats on today. Lots of level sanding, then two more coats tomorrow!

[Charles E.]

Beautiful Max. Do you guy's have a disclaimer to " wear eye protection whan playing this mandolin"? Those are some pretty sharp points.

[Max Girouard]

Beautiful Max. Do you guy's have a disclaimer to " wear eye protection whan playing this mandolin"? Those are some pretty sharp points.

The points are there to protect the player from being rushed on stage, and the mandolin also doubles as a grappling hook for escape later!

[Kip Carter]

The points are there to protect the player from being rushed on stage, and the mandolin also doubles as a grappling hook for escape later!

<snicker>
Kip...

[oldwave maker]

Abandoned my holding fixture after the 1st build coat on the first mando this morning, a fine start to a vacation! Gotta love a planet that will support life like maple trees!

[hank]

Beautiful maple in almost every post and so much 3D quilting. Are ya'll getting better at bringing this out or everyone is into some really nice wood lately? This is my favorite thread by far to see what you guys can do with these little pieces of wood. Thank you all for sharing your artwork as it begins to come alive with coat after coat of finish and sanding.

[Max Girouard]

Bill that one in the middle is just amazing! Others are too but that middle ones back wood...wow!

Here is a custom F5 that we are working on for a fellow cafe member

[StevenS]

Mandos just flyin' outta here!



Steve

[Skip Kelley]

Max, really clean looking work there! Love that birdseye maple!

Steve, That bursted quilt back is amazing!

Isn't it funny how us nerds get really excited over wood?!

[StevenS]

Isn't it funny how us nerds get really excited over wood?!

Skip,

Luckily, my wife has decided that it's a mostly harmless addiction, as all-consuming obsessions go.

Steve

[Gregory Tidwell]

Mandos just flyin' outta here!



Steve

That baby's got back!

[J.Sloan]

It's always an inspiration to check over this category of the forum and see the incredible looking mandolins being built. Here's some pics of a F-5 that I've been working on for the past year. My spare time is very limited, but I'm getting a lot closer to stringing it up in the white. Just gotta bind, fret, and attach the fretboard...drill out the tuner holes and glue on the neck. Gonna play her for a while to make sure everything holds up.....and then do some peghead inlay and stain/finish the mandolin.
I would like to say "thank you" to all of the builders who post their pictures and comments. At 39 yrs old, I can safely say that this has been, without a doubt, the most challenging side project that I have ever taken on. And that includes the bathroom addition five years ago. The amount of time involved in researching, reading, watching videos, building forms, buying equipment, ...re-doing stuff(haha) ......can be exhausting, but worth it once things start coming together. Deep respect for all the serioius builders out there!!

[J.Sloan]

A few more....

[Mike Black]

See....I have been working!

[Mike Black]

How about a couple of Virzi shots?

[Jim Garber]

Great stuff, Mike. Some details on your group portrait? It looks like there is a some variety of woods for the backs + sound port and Virzi?

[Mike Black]

Great stuff, Mike. Some details on your group portrait? It looks like there is a some variety of woods for the backs + sound port and Virzi?

Jim, How did you know the one with the side port has a Virzi in it?

Yes, those are three different backs. Sugar, Red & Big Leaf.

What, no comment about the little one in front? That's the A4 Piccolo (w/ Virzi) for my daughter Molly. I know she's only three weeks old now, but she's hounding me to finish it so she can start practicing.

[Mike Snyder]

You're a good Dad, Mike.

[Jim Garber]

Sorry, Mike. I should have looked closer to notice that piccolo. What scale did Molly request? I have a a feeling that her fistr word might be Virzi.

[hank]

Very nice Luthiery J.Sloan. Mike you've got a whole Lotta Love there. I gotta ask what you think of the effect a Virzi to your oval hole tone and if their effect is predictable?

[GKWilson]

Congrats Mike. I'm sure Molly will love that little piccolo. I really like the new A4 format. Hope I don't get a case of PAS.
Is that your personal A5 in the back. With no Virzi? And that big boy, Is it a mandola or an octave?
I look at that shot of your bench and I see a lot of happy people.
Gary

[Mike Black]

Congrats Mike. I'm sure Molly will love that little piccolo. I really like the new A4 format. Hope I don't get a case of PAS.
Is that your personal A5 in the back. With no Virzi? And that big boy, Is it a mandola or an octave?
I look at that shot of your bench and I see a lot of happy people.
Gary

Yes, that A5 (with John Sullivan woods) is going to be my personal mandolin. And no, it will not have a Virzi. I believe the Virzi works best in Oval Hole instruments. You still get the warmth and roundness of the oval hole but with some of the projection of an f-hole instrument.

There is no mandola or octave. That's Molly's Piccolo mandolin's insides showing the tiny Virzi next to a regular A4 for scale.