Mandolin weight

[Tiderider]

I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this question but here goes. As a custom fishing rod builder I weigh everything including the epoxy finish. I know precisely how much a rod will weigh when finished. Is this as much an issue building mandolins, do you builders consider weight? When you carve plates do you know it's right by weight?
By the way if anyone wants to add their finished mandolin weights here is a start. The four I currently own:

Weber Diamondback (F5) 2lb. 5.4 oz
Gibson A9 (no finish) 1lb 11 oz
Kentucky KM900 (A5) 1lb 15.1 oz
Regal A 1lb 9.3 oz

[mtucker]

i'm not a maker, i'm an end user /consumer, but instruments on the lighter side of their range seem to play and sound better for me.

[sunburst]

I weigh tops and backs, and I weigh completed instruments. I strive for lightness, within reason, when building, but never at the expense of strength or structure.
The last one I finished, and A5 style of hard maple and red spruce weighed 802 grams. The last F5 using those same (heavy) woods was 869 grams. Those weights are typical of what I end up with.
For those who can actually manage to think in lb. and oz., those translate to 1# 12.3 oz and 1# 14.7 oz.
I've had A5s as light as 733 grams and F5s as light as 809.

[Hobo]

I also build fishing rods.
http://caneflyrods.us/

My Eastman MD-515 is lighter than my other mandolins and it is also much louder than the others. I have to think weight/mass plays a part in the sound of the instrument.

[Marty Jacobson]

John, that's good information to have -- is that with hardware and strings?
Mine are coming in at 750-800 grams with hardware and strings, and I'd be interested to know how that stacks up... not that this one metric tells the whole story, of course.

[sunburst]

My final weights are strung up and ready to pick. If there is a pick guard, it is not included.
I've started one with all European wood (first time). I'm interested to see how much it ends up weighing.

[DerTiefster]

There's a Bryce 2-pointer in orange that one of our Virginia compadres had at a mando-tasting hosted by jim_n_virginia a while ago. That was a strikingly light mandolin to me. Lightest I've ever felt not made of Styrofoam. It's in the lower left corner of this photo:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=73618&d=1308946249
I don't have a weight for it, but perhaps the owner will pipe up...or maker.