Bill used his pocket knife... Just sayin' ha,ha,ha
Bill used his pocket knife... Just sayin' ha,ha,ha
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... I'm a California Man!
I used green scotchbrite, but mine's an Eastman and wasn't as thick.
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Perry, nice job on the finish work! You should be very proud of your good work!
Impressive results!
Steve
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't understand the fascination with a Gibson black and orange sunburst. This is so much more beautiful!
A great little project. I'm thinking of striping down my Eastman for finishing practise - it's either that or I sell it.
Great job! That looks phenomenal. Thinking of trying that with my Loar LM-500..
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2003 Collings MF-5
The Loar LH-600-VS
Gold-Tone OB-250
Martin 00-15M
Eastman E20D
Thanks everyone! Finishing wood is one of my specialties, but I have to say these little boxes have so many nooks and crannies (particularly F Style), it is a challange to be sure. Once again if you have a mandolin that you probably aren't going to sell and can rarely stand to play, and some time on your hands, some woodworking skills (particularly finishing), or are just bold and adventurous, it is a worthy project to take on. I am pleased with the results but there are a few rough spots. I have learned a lot from this first project. Oh and Tru Oil rocks!
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... I'm a California Man!
I would think an Eastman would be a good candidate, particularly if it doesn't sound great. I think the finishes they use would be easier to get off and I think it would start out being basically a better (and more expensive, yikes) instrument than this MK ever was. Part of what I did was to carefully reshape the recurve which I believe has helped a great deal with the volume and quality of sound. No sign of sinking top so far, I think I might be OK.
I have a couple of nieces that live in NSW with their families. We visited in 2006. Very beautiful and unique country. They live in Cronulla...
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... I'm a California Man!
Chemical strippers might eat up the binding as well, so I would test carefully. They wouldn't touch the MK finish, not at all! The Hunter Valley kicks butt!!
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... I'm a California Man!
The finish on my Eastman (2006 model) was pretty thin and came off easily. It was an afternoon job and I was playing again in a few hours. A friend of mine, who inspired me to alter my own mandolin, stripped his Eastman down to the bare wood and rubbed a bit of lemon oil (I think) on it and just left it. It turned out to be a really nice sounding instrument: tons of volume and character.
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Hey I love the finish on the mando! Looks great. I also love the strap too. I love the black ends and the strap itself brown. Who made the strap?
Ha,ha,ha,ha - A while back I saw a Dudette strap on ebay at an amazing "closeout" price and impulsively bought it at the last minute. After that, I noticed it was size extra small or something like that. Well I'm not size extra-small, so I was bummed but loved the quality of the strap when I got it. I had been using a Morgan Monroe bullwhip strap which was basically the same concept but much cheesier. The cheesiest part was the loop at the top and button extension at the bottom. I took the ends from the Dudette and wove them into/onto the Morgan Monroe strap with the original ends removed, sewed it up with an awl wove the leather finished it off and have been using it for 6 or 7 years. I like a sturdier strap and the bullwhip style looks so cool with an F Style mandolin... BTW they are both brown but the ends are much darker. Every once-in-a-while I rub it with Hubbards Shoe Oil and it darkens nicely.
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... I'm a California Man!
Hey Perry its not the Hunter that kicks butt, its all the wine from those magnificent vineyards, um yummy!!
Cheers
Maccka
Well GREAT job all the way around! Mandolin and strap. They both look really nice.
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