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If it were me, and it was, I purchased a used Eastman 404 from the classifieds here last week.
Locally I’ve looked at and played the base level eastmans, and also some of their higher end models.
I...

Are you planning on doing it yourself?
You would learn a lot just in the careful disassembling process.
It looks like the hardware is still intact, are the tuners functional?
I would think of it...

Scraper, then steel wool

Over the last few months I’ve hoarded over 26 different Hymnals. So every day I spend an hour or more flatpicking my way through them. I know a lot of Hymns since I’ve been attending church for...

I suppose I could easily afford one. Which might explain why my answer is no.
I did enjoy playing some nice Collings’ and Gibson’s last month when I visited the big shops in Nashville.
I was...

I seldom comment,
But an effective scraper is the easiest thing in the world to make, and sharpen.
I have quite a variety of scrapers made of everything from spring steel shim stock, pieces of...

The best reason to build instruments (in my case mandolins)is to be able to play and listen and look at something you made with your own hands.
I have a friend (Paul Dunn) who lives in Bourbon...

Not sure about the depth of the scorch, however I’d make a few suggestions, if your bending iron is getting that hot you need to control it a better. I have a dimmer switch mounted into a small...

The mandolin (my first) I’m building has a top made from Douglas fir. At least that’s what it was identified as at Menards.
I was wandering through my local store last year and noticed a 2x6 with...

Interesting question,
I’m very much a newbie on the Mando. I’ve played the violin for about 10 years.
I would put it this way, even though it’s hard to get and keep all 8 strings perfectly tuned,...

So,
After a fairly lucky purchase of a performax 10-20 drum sander this morning for $200 I went looking for a local source for sanding rolls. Here’s what I found, neither Rockler or Woodcraft stock...

One of the nice things about mandolins I think is that they are not so large as to make it difficult to have a few extras laying around.
Maybe someday you or someone you know will decide to build a...

So I’m hardly an expert, but if the fret pops out then it’s under tension.
You’re going to have to figure out why. Next question, what kind of fret wire are you using?
I recently refretted an old...

This happens all the time with violins, and is pretty easy to adjust on the fly.
Of course with a fretless instrument intonation isn’t as critical since you’re always creating your own notes.

It’s amazing what a little humidity will do.
I’ve made a lot of things from thin wood I’ve resawn and have been surprised at the way it can change shape
In ways I didn’t expect. Sometimes just...

Thanks for all the great responses.
It looks like my best option is to learn to work quicker with my HHG

I was considering Lmii glue for the top sound board and back.

I’ll research it. Thanks

So here’s my question: is there’s any reason I shouldn’t be using hide glue for a modern mandolin I’m building? I’m pretty comfortable using it, and I like the quick tack time.
It might sound...

I’m recently rehabbed a similar bowl back.
Acetone (a very safe solvent) is the only reliable way to remove CA (superglue). However it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to use it in such a way that...

That violin is worth about $20. You could pay to have a new fingerboard put on for about $200, and then you’d have a $220 dollar violin. Those tuning pegs look like they were carved with a...

That’s good to know.
I like to collect things, so collecting things that are in general not of any great value fits my budget.
My crack repair seems to have done the trick, and the D string tone...

Thanks for the link to the string tension calculator. I’m rehabbing an old bowl back, and wanted to experiment with some different string combinations, but also to keep the string tension low.
Levi

This is my first post at the cafe, so I’ll tell you a little about myself.
I’m 60, I’ve spent the last 8 years learning the violin, and have just recently got serious about the mandolin. In my...