I'm looking at acquiring a drum sander over the holidays and would like recommendations on makes/models. It would be used for final thicknessing of mandolin ribs, but I'd also like it for flat...
Type: Posts; User: putnamm
I'm looking at acquiring a drum sander over the holidays and would like recommendations on makes/models. It would be used for final thicknessing of mandolin ribs, but I'd also like it for flat...
As a novice who one day would like to produce instruments that actual musicians play, I've been considering what my brand and resulting peghead inlay would look like. I've tried my hand at...
As a complete novice (one F5 under my belt in 3 years with three in the works...) I have actually tried more and more to search the archives before posting. And it really is like a database of...
Three mandolins and one ukelele (kit)...and lots of glue!
191405
I am learning to play on the first mandolin I made, an F5 style, while I build the next. While the original functions fine and everything works in terms of tuning, etc. the mandolin has a noticeably...
On my first build I made the mistake of carving the scroll on the top all the way to near finished sanding before I attached to the side assembly. I then realized that to make the edges of the top...
Maggie, I am a novice builder who has only completed one mandolin with numbers 2, 3 and 4 in the works. There are many, more experienced and more knowledgeable people on this site than me! That said,...
Thank you, Rob. I have the clamping block all ready to go.
I think my mistake thus far is that I first cut the piece then attempt to bend it. It's too small. I guess I need to bend a longer piece...
I am still a novice working on tuning my build process for F5s, and I could use some tips or suggestions for fitting the smallest rib piece at the bottom point.
I am using a heat blanket combined...
Hello, all.
I am in the middle of three different mandolin builds, all F5 models. One of these has been reserved by a friend of mine in New Orleans who mainly plays rockabilly/honkytonk music. He...
It's bois d'arc. I was lucky enough to visit a guy here in Texas who actually grows orchards of the stuff (believe it or not; long story...) and harvest a bit that he allowed me to have. The longer,...
I have some logs that I want to process in to blanks for fingerboards. Is there a particular sawing method that is preferable--quartersawn, etc. Thanks.
(P.S. - I may have posted this same...
Question: If an F5 body is roughly 3/32" smaller all around its edge than a traditional F5 (based on replicated Loar plans), is it still an acceptable F5 mandolin?
Let me explain:
I made an...
Mike,
I am an absolute amateur, so everything I post should be read with that taken in to consideration...
What I found in practicing my own sunbursting technique is that you just need to...
I got my mandolin set up nearly perfectly. I sanded the bridge bottom to perfectly contact the top plate, based on the intonation positioning that I figured out through testing, repositioning,...
No offense taken! I didn't provide any details on my background, so you wouldn't have known. I am absolutely a novice instrument builder, but not a novice woodworker.
Your references re: violin...
I really appreciate all of the suggestions and comments here. Thank you all.
As an experienced woodworker, I feel my fundamentals are fairly good. Sharpening, pattern and template making (and...
I'm trying to determine if it would be worth my time to learn to make bridges. As a novice, I have bought the "standard" ebony adjustable bridges and saddles from StewMac...and in trying to fit them...
Thanks, everyone, for your follow-up, questions and offers to help. Upon further inspection, rcc56 was correct that this was a coloration or effect placed on the binding. It is, in fact, entirely...
I've made one mandolin. I used ABS binding. Never again.
But it was perfectly smooth. For my next build I'm using celluloid binding, which I ordered and recently received. I noticed it has ridges...
That looks great, Spencer. I'm a newish builder, myself and appreciate seeing your progress. As for worrying about the number of pics/posts, I've been quite prolific myself and so far no one has...
For those of you who build fretboards out of green wood, rough lumber, "found" wood, etc... What dimensions do you cut your initial billets to to store them for drying? I'm dealing specifically with...
I'm neck-deep in several builds right now. But yesterday I acquired a piece of sitka spruce that, by my measurements, is large enough on its own to produce eight (8) mandolin soundboards--that is, as...
Good news: After removing a uniform 4mm in thickness from the neck, the truss rod appears to be functioning now. The fretboard is dead flat with the truss rod tightened just to where it snugs up. No...
So in referring back to my original image and how I'm approaching this now it seems that using a barrel nut is unnecessary and also compromises the dovetail. I should just use a regular nut and a...