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I chose a middle-ground option with a 1913 A that had been completely stripped and random hippie sanded. I wanted it to go from nasty dull brown to “well loved” pumpkin. I also had to re-color the...

I’ve been looking for the right instrument to do this conversion. A few weeks ago, on Craigslist, I found a 1965 Harmony tenor guitar, model H950T. It was a two hour drive away but after seeing the...

Looking good, James.
Here's what's on my bench...
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Here's some pictures of my banjo I started building years ago, but ran out of time to work on it. Started it in 2006, and it's been sitting in its case with no finish for 10+ years in this condition....

Hmmm.... I once left a banjo on the back seat of the car. When I came back, I found that someone had broken in and left another one!

Sorry!!!!!

Made a bit more progress since the last post. Neck glued on as well as rosette inlaid and set.

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I thought this might be of interest to folk who frequent the builder's forum. It's a project that a high school kid made in shop class, and I found the concept and final result very interesting. A...

Just put the color on my second mandolin build, it has the first 2 coats of lacquer. Still some work to do but it's well on its way. I had it strung up in the white and it sounded great, curious to...

Rhino3d and Rhinocam do work, they're about the bare minimum I would recommend. The nicest feature in that combo is the automatic tab generation, which allows you to make jigs and fixtures really...

Just finished this guitar...
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So...
I went right back to the bench and took this shot after walking to the computer and seeing this thread. I put the removed rosette material on the top of the guitar so show what had been done,...

A good friend of mine is an inventor/ tool maker and not long ago gave a seminar on this subject for the Gwinnett Woodworkers Association who recorded it. It's a bit long but you'll dang sure know...

Hi Tim, I really enjoy doing my wood art and selling it. I'm retired after 30 some years of pharmaceutical research. I don't try to make too much money doing this, just enough to buy mandolins and...

Over different builders and different mandolin types, both bracing patterns and plate graduations vary from completely symmetric to considerably asymmetric. Nevertheless, all of the normal modes of...

1) Listen to tunes. Get an idea of how you want to sound.
2) Practice those tunes. Try to make that sound, even it's slow.
3) If you run into a problem, make a drill out of it, even if it is only a...

A friend took this photo at a recent performance (thanks Kevin!) and I just think it is a very fine shot worth sharing. Actually, was the first time I noticed how close the 'burst on the F-5 special...

A little bit of fine-tuning on the drivetrain for the SXS prototype. Swapped out the nut, bridge and tailpiece for this little hotrod . . .

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Amazing how small, specifically targeted...

I think MAS is perfectly normal... One mandolin gives you one voice. Two gives you two and three gives you three voices. To me it is not a matter of cost. It is a matter of voices. You can get these...

Sorry, man. :) I DO have another set of BRW on a different guitar from a small unknown maker, but I think I'm going to try my hand at re-topping, re-necking, and re-finishing it. Plus, it's not...

From my first mandolin, I waited 4 years for an upgrade.

But it was one hell of an upgrade.

As for setting milestones to upgrade, I advise against it. It's a form of self-punishment based on...

Correct, you are. Gasses (like air) can migrate slowly through finishes, moisture can migrate slowly through finishes, but the purpose of a finish is to keep as much stuff away from the wood as we...

About 10 years ago I collaborated with Peter Mix on a project to create a series of videos demonstrating the great instruments being built by modern builders. I have re-published the series on my...

My GOM was in this batch, and I received it yesterday. I had just enough time to tune it up and play it for a few minutes before I had to run off to rehearsal and decided to take it along. I have...

More wood from a galaxy far, far away.............

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