Octave Mandolin - Templates, parts etc.

[skitzo]

Hi everyone,

I have been aspiring to build an Octave Mandolin. I've been building stick dulcimers (see pic on bottom of this message) but that's about it and it'll be a jump for me to go to the OM. So, I'm looking for a place I can get templates for an OM - where I can simply trace the design onto the stock and cut it out. Does anyone know where I can get this?

Also, I'm a little uncomfortable with the neck at this point - especially since I've never made anything with a truss rod. So, is there a place to buy an OM neck or just parts? I mean... I'll try it, but it would be nice to have something to look at.

I like the idea of kits also, but thery are still REALLY expensive. When a kit is twice the price of an already assembled OM then I don't really see the point.

I've also seen threads on cheap OM's out there but the links seem to be dead. Does anyone know where I can get a cheap trusted (probably offsore) O.M.?

Thanks!
Doug


95628

[otterly2k]

Don Kawalek, who sells very nice kits, also sells the plans to his kits... so you could use those to do a scratch build. http://donkawalek.com/pages/plans-only.php

Also, while I won't speak for him, I imagine that if you were working with his plans, Don might be willing to sell you just the neck with truss rod along with the plans and you'd do the rest yourself. At any rate, I encourage you to contact him directly and see.

He is one of very few who sells kits or plans for OM specifically.

Re: prices. The kits are twice the price of super cheap OM's. But half the price of the quality of OM's you would get from doing a good building job with a decent kit. What makes sense will depend on what your goal is. Do you want just the building experience? Do you want an instrument that looks nice and plays well and sounds good? Or do you just want a beater to try out?

[belbein]

There are a bunch of online places that have used Octaves. It's not hard to find. Some of the Cafe advertisers have them right now I believe.

As for why kits are more expensive: first, because you're supporting someone who is producing these as a small/cottage business (like Kawalek) and second, because the materials and machining are often far superior to the cheap mandos, and third, because you're paying not only for the materials, and the finished instrument, but [the experience of learning to build. To those of us who build--well, to me anyway--that learning is worth a great deal of additional money. Also, with some kit makers, they are very willing to talk you through the tough parts of the build. Kawalek has been that for me, and for some others here. I talked to Simonoff, even though I didn't buy from him for my first build, and he also seemed very willing to be a resource. That's also worth some money.

I spent several thousand dollars building my first $500 boat because it was going to be "cheaper" to do it myself before I came up with that "value of learning" rationalization. I don't know if it's true: I do know that my wife bought it.

[Ben Vierra]

I'd recommend getting Graham McDonald's The Bouzouki Book, which covers octave mandolins as well. It's a great reference, and if you can build a nice strumstick then I'm sure you're already capable of building an OM from scratch--there'll only be a few more tricks to learn, and of course a bigger time investment.

Good luck!
Ben

[Rob Grant]

Doug,

From the photo, it looks like you make a rather nice stick dulcimer.

OK, so an OM or a standard flat or arch topped mandolin is slightly higher tech. I think if you're a keen researcher and reader you can glean enough from one of Graham McDonald's books or even Roger Siminoff's "bible" on building an F5 to fabricate a decent OM.

As for truss rods, there's no rocket science there. A simple stainless steel compression rod is all you really need. Basically up-scale Siminoff's suggestion for the rod and its placement in the neck he gives in his book.

Been there, done that and it works for me...

95652

[skitzo]

Wow thanks for the advice! Im still looking at kits and varying sizes of mandos

[belbein]

skitzo: Dude! Stop looking and dive in! My Kwalek kit looks and sounds great. It took me only 6 months, very very part time, and 3 months of that was designing, cutting and inlaying a pretty complicated inlay. So in the time between your first post and now, you could have finished one kit and be working on a scratch build! Wait no longer! Dive! Dive! Dive!