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If you're interested (as I am) in knowing the downpressure on the bridge you can approximate it by multiplying the total string tension by the SIN of the break-over angle, or you can use a calculator...

I've built a number of guitars with a very similar bolt on joint. I use a mortise and tenon to locate the neck, but the rounded face that the neck sits on with this mandolin joint would do a similar...

I'm thinking of making a mandolin for a friend of mine, a guitar player as am I, and we both find the string spacing and nut width of my mandolin a tad tight for full sized fingers. I have a 1930's...

Hogo, I appreciate the advice. Normally I do as you suggest, and the fretboard is thick enough to bind flush. This neck is for one of my personal guitars and so I used a somewhat thin piece of...

I'm intrigued with your short scale soprano, scale length is 1" shorter than normal, more or less? I appreciate the reduction in tension, I am right now tuning my old mandolin down a full tone for...

It occurred to me that I routed a neck for binding yesterday, and I hadn't torn down the setup so I went out and took a few pictures of it. For the neck it's as simple as holding the neck level and...

I did my first binding job with a set of shop-made gramils, for two reasons. One, to learn how to do it the "old school" way, so I could say to myself that I'd done it. Two, because I have a deep...

Depending on the age the original solvent was either straight acetone applied with a brush in copious amounts, or a glue made from gelled acetone. I've used acetone, applied with a loop or an...

Thanks so much for all the replies. For some reason I don't build with plans, the most I do is a full size sketch so that I can build the body mold. I don't know why, I think it's part and parcel...

I live in Nova Scotia. There are some great mandolin's available, a Weber for example, and some entry level laminated far-east imports, but I was hoping for a middle range solid carved top kind of...

A friend of mine asked me to help her find a nice used mandolin for her son (grown, plays guitar, wants to branch out but doesn't play mandolin yet). Not a common instrument around here, looking on...

You probably get more difference in feel between brands of strings than that, so a tiny change in tension could just be the different brand feel. The guitar will be fine.

Prior to around 1875, veneer was sawn - usually 8 to around 15 per inch, so rarely less than 1/16th thick. Post 1875, the move towards slicing took hold, and then you could get between 20 and 120...

Veritas and a couple of other high end plane makers have a toothed blade for their ultra low angle planes, which apparently work fine but are completely opposite to this plane. This one is actually...

On my archtop guitar I made a fixed bridge. Presuming the bottom is already fitted to the top, sanded to the radius well, leave it alone. Slot the top of the bridge as though it were a nut to...

I was looking at a picture of an instrument purported to be from the 1880's that had brass T-frets. I thought that was odd, so I googled a bit and a patent for T frets was granted in 1927. I...

The thread about thickness sanders made me remember my new favorite hand tool. I ordered some wood for my next project, and got a set of curly maple sides as a free sample - they were a good size...

after a refret the fret board should be dead level, perhaps with a fall-off past the 14th fret. No hump, that's for sure. Action of 1.5 - 2/32 for G is a bit low in my opinion. The height of the...

Toothed blades are used for tough grain situations, to avoid tear-out. I use a toothed blade veneer plane (wooden body, bedded at 65 degrees, around 150 years old) then a scraper to thickness curly...

You cut and scrape the binding strip to size - say 1/4" tall by 1/16" thick, and you bend it to a perfect - yes, PERFECT - fit with your bending iron. When you glue it, it should be under no stress...

Probably the fret dress lowered the problem frets more than the others, and now the plane of the top of the frets is off a bit. The solution is probably a second fret dress, taking down all the...

What fun to read this thread and all the really excellent advice. I clicked on it wondering if my personal best advice would be there, lo and behold the first reply had what I thought was the best...

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I fill with sawdust and shellac, 1# cut de-waxed, and use an alcohol based dye. The shellac works well under the dye, you can rub it for a very even application. If I have to fix something that has...

When I did the redwood top on my recent archtop, I did a hand applied red/yellow archtop. I used alcohol based leather dye, Fiebings brand, in yellow, red and brown, used the yellow straight...