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Just checking:

dry fit:

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Compared to my Mexi-Strat:


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163126

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Done! Far from perfect but I'm happy. The sunburst looks harsh on camera but is much subtler to the eye.

https://i.imgur.com/KhTEmtP.jpg

With several coats of Tru-Oil on the mandolin, I'm ready to finish the finish, but I'm fuzzy on the steps and order. What I think I need to do is:

1. Let the oil harden a couple of weeks
2. ...

Oh yeah, no way I was going to clamp that through, I worked it down to a gap somewhere past 1/64 before I glued and clamped, I can barely rub a bit of dust into the remaining spots. It came together...

Strung it up and it didn't implode! Sounds pretty good to me, sustains well, but I'm not a mandolin guy so I don't know. String height seems to have come out well, too. Now on to finishing.

I'm within a mm of having the neck seated, like so:

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And I'm measuring by running a straight ruler between bridge and 1st fret (held slightly over the 1st with another metal ruler's...

Erm, I guess it's a set neck? No bolts, vertical dovetail. To adjust I'll have to shim and sand.

On my build I'm about ready to glue the neck. Fitted dry I measured the 12th fret string height (straight edge across the bridge to first fret, metal ruler providing the first fret height, probably a...

I'm still practicing on scraps, but am I going the wrong way with this thinking: A leather dye black/mahogany on maple side, spruce top edge, blending into a darker tobacco brown and then an amber? ...

I'm at the moment of truth, about to fit the neck and glue the body. My concerns right now are:

1. The top is rather thick at the perimeter compared to graduation maps I see on the web. .16 or...

Update: Did some testing, I think I can get it down to flat and only take off .03 or so, which at worst will get me around .7 at one point that is midway through the side. I'll be in 2.x MM land...

Yes, equally rough on the inside. I suppose I might have been measuring in the valleys rather than on the ridges, I'll do another set of measurements tonight and see if I'm boned.

Starting on the graduation now, but a question: the back is already quite thin in places, less than .2", and there is still a considerable amount of sanding to do to smooth the back. Do I want a...

Ha, understood, I appreciate the information. I just need some time to sit down with the mandolin and eyeball it before I can digest what you've said.

My caliper does both, and I tend to think in thousandths of an inch as well (from gunsmithing.) Sounds like I need to have the bridge handy while fitting the neck so I can check what I'm doing.

Thanks for the information. I would think I would work on the neck and leave the head alone, the neck seems more solid. Just lay a straight edge from nut to bridge to check string height? Maybe...

Thanks for the response. About the neck, I'm wondering if physical fit is necessary, or am I just going for a perfect surface to surface fit so the glue takes maximum hold? I would assume I want...

Hello! I'm building my first mandolin from this kit, and wanted to ask a few questions, if that's all right.

I have some limited woodworking experience (hand dovetailing, table building, etc.) but...

The gap in question:

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Hello! I'm building my first mandolin from this kit, and wanted to ask a few questions, if that's all right.

I have some limited woodworking experience (hand dovetailing, table building, etc.)...