Post a picture of your IV kit

[Baron Collins-Hill]

finished or in progress, just post em up... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Bill Snyder]

Grow had his strung up in the white about a month ago. Grow is yours finished yet?
I have posted pitures of mine in progress on a couple of different threads, so I won't take up any more RAM by posting here until it is finished.

[Jim Rowland]

Here's the first,built,as you said,about a month ago. It's still in white while I complete a second and third one so I can finish them all together.
Jim

[Jim Rowland]

Another.
Jim

[Jim Rowland]

And one more.
Jim

[mikeyes]

What does it sound like? Is it worth the $89? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

I just started mine and it is a first effort. I figure it is a lot easier to screw up with this kit than with a Stew-Mac or other kit and I will learn a lot. In addition as I get better the next ones will get better.

[mario515]

nice work Jim, the headstock looks nice with the binding and the inlay, I went ahead and trimed my headstock too did a snakehead,, came out alright too, Thanks for the input on that

[Jim Rowland]

Mikeyes,I've mentioned this elsewhere,but I don't mind doing it again. I'm downright pleased at the sound and volume of this mandolin. I carved as much as I could to the specs I use on my scratch made F models (not as much wood to work with),and,basically just stuck it together. In short,a lot of sound for not much money and not much work. I'm wondering now if it's a fluke or if IV 2 and 3 will work as well.
Jim

[Tom C]

Just finished mine.
http://www.hopkinsmedicalproducts.com/images/products/bigGraphic/628012.jpg

Anyone know where I can get a case for it from?

[mandolinplucker]

I finished my IV kit. I had no idea how it would turn out so the plan was to do one with the idea of graduating the plates, tuning the tone bars putting it together,Trying to stain a sunburst and spray on a laquer finish. If it turned out ok I would order another one and try some inlay and see how pretty I could make it. Now I am mad at myself for not trying to pretty this one up. It looks pretty good for a first attempt but -wow- it sounds pretty good. I have a Morgan monroe mm3 that I thought sounded good, But even brand new the kit has much more volume than my other one. It has a brighter sound than the MM but should get darker with time,and it has a good chop. Can't wait to do another one and then try my hand at an "f". It is addictive.

[barricwiley]

mandolinplucker ---- Picture? Love to look!
Richard

[Bill Snyder]

Here (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=25184;st=0;r=1;&#entry275925) are pictures of mine.

[dperry]

Here are a few pictures of my progress with the IV kit. I now have the back glued on and waiting for the glue to dry. I dont have any pictures of that yet.

[dperry]

Here is the binding

[dperry]

Tone bars

[dperry]

And here is the back

[mario515]

looooking gooood David,, I wish I did a different binding http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif did you have any problems with the binding or did it all go smooth?

[grandmainger]

Mine is currently strung up in the white:
I too picked a different binding. My top is Black+White, and I used the original White to bind the back.
No real problems with the binding, apart from the slightly difficult areas near the neck. I think the right glue was important. I bought the plastic-binding-to-wood glue from lmii.

More photos in this thread (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=7;t=25534).
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/uploads/post-7-18625-top_side.jpg

Germain

[dperry]

Germain, that really looks nice. I have my back glued on now and I routed it for the binding. I used a dremel and a bit from stewmac. I am going to admit that it didnt turn out perfect.
And for mario's question. I didnt have any major problems with the binding on the top. I did however break it three times trying to get the bend sharp enough by the neck but did finally get it. I dont know how I am going to get the bend around the bottom of the neck though. Anyone with suggestions on bending that with ebony please help. Well as I have said before I can't wait to finally play this thing.

[grandmainger]

David,
Yeah, binding is quite tricky I think. I'm not looking forward to binding an F Scroll http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif !
My tip to you is to shape the binding first. I did that with my basic plastic one and it did help a lot. Here's how I did it:
- cut a piece of (chip)board to the shape of the body of the mando. maybe something about 1/2' to 1' thick.
- put lots and lots of pins/nails in the board, on the top and bottom, a few inches from the edge. You will use these as attach-posts for elatic bands.
- starting from the tailpiece end, tie your binding with the rubber bands, and work your way towards the neck gradually and symetrically.
- if you hit a tight spot, use a hair drier to soften the binding as you go along. the heat is the reason why you can't use your mando to this!
- leave to cool, then re-heat the lot, repeat a couple of times then leave it on this "mold" overnight.

When you remove the rubber bands, the binding will be roughly preshaped and much easier to put on!

Good luck! You top looks great http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Germain

[dperry]

That sounds good but I am not sure if a hair dryer would get the wood hot enough. The way I did the top was to dip it in water and then using a curling iron, bend it as close to the shape as I could. I glued and completely covered with binding tape.

[mario515]

lets see if this works ahh, it does http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[mario515]

anyway shes a little thick and I just messed around with it some more, I tried to wet sand her but I may have messed up again. and the action on her is killing me. I thought I had it good but it aint. Its not gonna do me any good the way it is so,,,, I guess I'll be foolin around with her some more. I dont mind shes picking up some battle scars though(its my very own distressed model)

[mario515]

heres the back http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Darren Kern]

Cool color on the back :-)

[Bill Snyder]

Way to go Mario. Just think how good the next one will be. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Adam Tracksler]

Here is my #1. I just strung it up minutes ago.
Is it the best mando I ever played, no. But not the worst either. I'm pretty amazed at the sound from this inexpensive kit. I made my own paint for the top with graphite and shellac. The distressing was unintentional at first, but I really liked it.

[Adam Tracksler]

here is another top view

[Adam Tracksler]

here is the back. Its a great yellow color.

[Adam Tracksler]

and here is a little closer view of the top....

It sounds better and better as I'm playing it.

[tnpathfinder]

Very Nice, atracksler. I think the top looks really cool. Did you shoot any pictures closer? It almost looks like a satin finish.

[Adam Tracksler]

It is a satin finish. Here is a closer top shot.

[Adam Tracksler]

if only i would attach it.

[ShaneJ]

Cool, bryce! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[kvk]

http://users.rcn.com/kvk/mak/IMGP0910a.jpg

Here's an in progress shot. Glued the back lining in today. Those paper clips worked great. I padded with a thin strip of maple vaneer on the outside just to make sure the clips didn't dent the side.

The thinkness calliper is a dial indicator I got off eBay for $12 and some scrap particle board shelving. It boings around a bit if you lean on it but if you don't touch the arms it works fine.

I did some of the shaping with sanding disks and some with scrapers. To hold the top/back in place for sanding, I ran some violin clamps through the peg holes on my wood working bench (first time I think I ever used them peg holes for anything)

The egg crate foam is a great work surface.

To glue in the sound bars, I positioned them with glue, put a small piece of stiff very 1/4" foam on them , then a piece of plywood, then 70# of weights. Only compressed the eggcrate foam under the top about halfway.

The carbon paper from marking the sound bar position and shaping the sound bars got the inside a bit dirty but I don't think people are going to be slipping a dental mirror through the F holes of my first mando.

Have a nice weekend,

Ken

[WireBoy]

i like the 'egg crate' foam idea and those binder clips look like they would work well. #good thinking.

[otterly2k]

Binder clips worked great when I was building my OM... better than clothespins, as they grip tighter.

[mario515]

atracksler,thats a nice looking mando and you have a serious recurve on that baby. I see you are into the distress look(I had no idea that achieving this much sought after(?) look was so easy and convenient http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif ). Anyway my kit is having all kinds of problems with staying in tune I will try and mess around with it when I have time but I fear something is terribly wrong http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[CrippleCreek]

Where can I get one of these kits?

[mario515]

creek,, do a search for International Violin there may be a link posted here in the cafe somwhere

[grandmainger]

Where can I get one of these kits?
Go to http://www.internationalviolin.com/, and do a search for 'mandolin'.

The kit is currently priced at $110, or $95 without the guide book. Get the book though, it's been invaluable to me as a beginner.

Germain

[Bill Snyder]

Mr. Tracksler,
I like the looks of your black top. I see you added graphite to shellac. I recall a thread asking about adding graphite to lacquer either here or at the mimf, was that you? It appears to have worked.

[dperry]

Wow congratulations to you all who have come so far with these kits. They all are looking good and its nice to see everyone's progress and different styles of the same thing. I am having trouble with my binding on the back. I cant get the bend tight enough around the heel of the neck with my ebony. The Arches' update page shows a good picture of the bend that I am talking about (which he did very well on). Anyway I will post more pictures of mine when I get the binding on the back done and strung up in the white. I still have not decided on what or how I am going to do the finish.

[Adam Tracksler]

Mr tracksler.... thats my dad! (haha) Yes, I was the graphite shellac man. It came out nicely.