Pete Jenner
Jan-19-2012, 4:47am
After 10 months of research, hard work and frustration, I have completed the rebuilding of my mandolin 'The Pagan'.
Here are a before and after shot, although in the before shot, the soundboard had not yet collapsed along the lines of the tone bars. (The back also collapsed in along the centre joint.)
8119281193
The mandolin has a long scale - 14.5 inches or 369mm.
All future mandolins I make will probably have this scale length, mainly because not many people are doing it. I'll draw up my own plans very soon.
Work done by me:
Removal of the collapsed top - I destroyed parts of the ribs in the process:-(
Repair of the back.
Removed the old, nearly one mm thick, ugly, satin, nitrocellulose finish with paint stripping Gel.
Replaced the kerfed linings and sanded the top of the ribs flat (eventually).
Carved a new soundboard from European spruce wedges from Stewart Mac.
X Braced the soundboard.
Lined the soundhole with hardwood.
installed the rosette (What a mess I made of it!!!).
Drilled out the endpin hole and installed a piezo quartz pick up.
Removed the ugly yellow binding from the fretboard and pickguard.
Glued on and trimmed the new soundboard
Made new bindings from a piece of bluegum flooring. I didn't route a binding channel because the ribs were so damaged and thin in places that I'm sure they would have disintegrated had I tried. I bent the Bluegum using a spray bottle and a soldering iron with a fat tip, held in a vice. The bindings have strengthened the ribs and covered many holes and errors.
Made a spruce insert to support the end of the neck and fretboard above the soundboard.
Levelled and crowned the frets.
Made 4 new antique bone nuts - pne of which I got right.
Made 3 bridges from ebony - two of which I got right (Wow I have a choice of bridges - luxury;-)).
Installed new side dot fretboard markers.
Made new brackets for supporting the pickguard.
Learned how to French Polish the hard way.
Spent 3 months French Polishing the soundboard, headstock and pickguard. - Danish Oiled the back, sides and neck (can you blame me?)
Modified and installed the new Allen AR-2 gold tailpiece.
Modified and installed new Grover 309FG tuners. These are really stiff under full string load - does anyone know how to free them up a little?
Texts used include:
Myriad websites including those of Peter Coombe and Darrell Sheppard.
The Mandolin Project" by Graham MacDonald
The Ultimate Bluegrass Mandolin Construction Manual by Roger Siminoff.
Thanks are due to a lot of people for their help and advice. A special thankyou to two cafe members; Bill burke from Arizona USA ( I met him at a festival in Australia) and Brett Byers from Weber. Thank you both for your generous advice and support. Apologies to anyone I forgot to thanks for their help.
Work still needs to be done to improve the action at the bridge end. As soon as this is complete I will post a sound clip of my dreadful playing if anyone wants to hear it.
Here are some more pics.
811948119581196
Cheers,
Pete Jenner
Blackheath
Here are a before and after shot, although in the before shot, the soundboard had not yet collapsed along the lines of the tone bars. (The back also collapsed in along the centre joint.)
8119281193
The mandolin has a long scale - 14.5 inches or 369mm.
All future mandolins I make will probably have this scale length, mainly because not many people are doing it. I'll draw up my own plans very soon.
Work done by me:
Removal of the collapsed top - I destroyed parts of the ribs in the process:-(
Repair of the back.
Removed the old, nearly one mm thick, ugly, satin, nitrocellulose finish with paint stripping Gel.
Replaced the kerfed linings and sanded the top of the ribs flat (eventually).
Carved a new soundboard from European spruce wedges from Stewart Mac.
X Braced the soundboard.
Lined the soundhole with hardwood.
installed the rosette (What a mess I made of it!!!).
Drilled out the endpin hole and installed a piezo quartz pick up.
Removed the ugly yellow binding from the fretboard and pickguard.
Glued on and trimmed the new soundboard
Made new bindings from a piece of bluegum flooring. I didn't route a binding channel because the ribs were so damaged and thin in places that I'm sure they would have disintegrated had I tried. I bent the Bluegum using a spray bottle and a soldering iron with a fat tip, held in a vice. The bindings have strengthened the ribs and covered many holes and errors.
Made a spruce insert to support the end of the neck and fretboard above the soundboard.
Levelled and crowned the frets.
Made 4 new antique bone nuts - pne of which I got right.
Made 3 bridges from ebony - two of which I got right (Wow I have a choice of bridges - luxury;-)).
Installed new side dot fretboard markers.
Made new brackets for supporting the pickguard.
Learned how to French Polish the hard way.
Spent 3 months French Polishing the soundboard, headstock and pickguard. - Danish Oiled the back, sides and neck (can you blame me?)
Modified and installed the new Allen AR-2 gold tailpiece.
Modified and installed new Grover 309FG tuners. These are really stiff under full string load - does anyone know how to free them up a little?
Texts used include:
Myriad websites including those of Peter Coombe and Darrell Sheppard.
The Mandolin Project" by Graham MacDonald
The Ultimate Bluegrass Mandolin Construction Manual by Roger Siminoff.
Thanks are due to a lot of people for their help and advice. A special thankyou to two cafe members; Bill burke from Arizona USA ( I met him at a festival in Australia) and Brett Byers from Weber. Thank you both for your generous advice and support. Apologies to anyone I forgot to thanks for their help.
Work still needs to be done to improve the action at the bridge end. As soon as this is complete I will post a sound clip of my dreadful playing if anyone wants to hear it.
Here are some more pics.
811948119581196
Cheers,
Pete Jenner
Blackheath