PDA

View Full Version : Snakes Alive! Traveler #34 Comes to Life!!!



Steevarino
Jun-05-2009, 11:18am
You've just got to love our mandolin community! Here we have a mandolin I just built for a fellow Cafe'er, Dominic. Of course, this mandolin is equipped with one of his awesome and distinctive tailpieces!

I guess I'm letting the snake out of the bag here, as Dominic hasn't even seen these pictures yet. Due to the pattern on the binding, neck heel button, and pickguard, the "shop name" for this RedLine Traveler was "Snake Farm", but I like the name Dominic came up with, "Anaconda".

I stumbled upon this snakeskin patterned material while shopping for cream colored material for the Gold Top Travelers I built recently. Fortunately, my customers are often the adventurous types when it comes to this sort of thing, and Dominic gave me the OK on this stuff from a verbal description over the phone. I think this material blends nicely with the Australian Lacewood and Carpathian Spruce that makes up the body of this-s-s-s-s Traveler!

This one should be slithering his way in a day or two....

mandomania7923
Jun-05-2009, 6:15pm
That's awesome steve!

DomO
Jun-08-2009, 1:02am
Hey Steve, #34 looks better than what you described over the phone. I really like how the lacewood and the snakeskin binding/pickguard works together.

With this mandolin I could join a Charismatic Pentecostal "Snake Scet" Praise Group. Or, I could reform my Country Punk Kinky Friedman Tribute Band.

Either way, I am looking forward to the "Anaconda" showing up at my door.

You are truly an Artiste!

Dominic

John Bertotti
Jun-08-2009, 3:05am
I am having an Orrico tailpiece put on my Oldwave also. I have one more Orrico tailpiece in reserve for a project of my own. I love those tailpieces. They are a work of art.

D.E.Williams
Jun-08-2009, 6:00am
That's wild...


:mandosmiley:

Ken Olmstead
Jun-08-2009, 9:53am
....and the boots to match!! :)) Really cool and very unique! Nice work Steve and DomO!

Jim MacDaniel
Jun-08-2009, 10:14am
Nice work Steve! (It is apparent that you are having quite a bit of fun building these. ;) )

John Bertotti
Jun-08-2009, 11:00am
How was the lace wood to work with. I thought it was a real resiny wood? I have never had any in person to confirm that though?

Steve-o
Jun-08-2009, 11:38am
Steve and Dom - That's hands down the coolest Traveler I've seen. Keep pushin' the envelope!

bhGreen
Jun-08-2009, 12:02pm
Looks sharp, great work :D

Jim MacDaniel
Jun-08-2009, 12:16pm
BTW, I really like the shot of it sitting on the work bench -- that wasn't staged at all was it? ;)

Steevarino
Jun-08-2009, 1:06pm
Hey All --

Glad to see this thread wake up! I was thinking for a day or two that maybe Dominic and I might have pushed the envelope a bit too far!

John, the lacewood was not really that hard to work with. The sides are a bit more difficult to bend, but with the proper amount of soaking, heat, and sweat, I seem to have muddled through somehow. I also find that I make my lacewood sides a bit thinner, as this stuff does have a tendency to crack while other woods bend at the same point. If you aren't careful, you run through 2-3 rim sets for each one that makes it to an instrument. In this case, I got it the first try, but I do have a couple of cracked sets floating about the shop. Also, this lacewood is very "Quartersawn Sensitive". By that I mean, if you want to get the grain to look the way it does on the back and sides of this instrument, you have to have almost perfectly quarter-cut wood. If you get very much away from that, the wood starts to look far less impressive. Concerning "resiny", it doesn't seem that way to me. I have been storing this particular wood for over 10 years, so it's about as dry as it's gonna get. No problems gluing it, or anything like that.

Jim, believe it or not, that "Slab Shot" (final assembly) was hardly staged at all. I was just finishing up The Anaconda, took a moment to look at the mess I had made, and thought that might make an interesting shot. I got two Cafe caps when Scott first offered them up to us. I actually do keep that one (in the picture) right there, as it covers a small bench vise that is there. It keeps me from accidentally banging up my headstocks...

John Bertotti
Jun-08-2009, 1:23pm
Thanks Steve god info! Love that mandolin! Maybe DomO you should start casting brass tuner plates to match the tailpiece!

Jim MacDaniel
Jun-08-2009, 1:29pm
...I got two Cafe caps when Scott first offered them up to us. I actually do keep that one (in the picture) right there, as it covers a small bench vise that is there. It keeps me from accidentally banging up my headstocks...

LOL! I thought the hat sitting there was intentional "product placement". ;)