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Hi John - Yes I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Manus visited to try the prototype bouzouki. He's a great player - no doubt about that!

Here's that great photo you sent me of...

Here are a few more photos of the build for you. We left it with the carved neck and top block fitted into the building jig. The next job is to bend up and fit the sides.
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While the glue is...

Hi All

Manus Lunny got in touch a while ago about building a new bouzouki to replace the one I made for him 20 odd years ago. The old instrument has had a very hard life - years of touring with...

Hi Wayne

To be honest I've never been a fan of bouzoukis with pin bridges. To me they just don't sound like a bouzouki should. Much of the characteristic voice of a bouzouki comes from the...

Hi Colm, Well done for finding this one in the archives!!! Yes, the heel block and neck are all one piece. The heel is marked up using a template and offset the thickness of the sides. I then cut it...

Hi All

I've just finished building an LBB for a customer in Co. Clare. He already has an SBB which he loves, but this commission was to be a special instrument. He wanted to include some woods...

Finally got around to taking some finished pics of the bouzouki - I hope you like them.

All the best

Andy

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Hi Bob - That's great, I'm really glad that you've enjoyed the posts and have found them helpful. I'll take some shots of the finished instrument and put them up soon.

All the best

Andy

Hi John - Finishing / spraying / lacquering the instrument is probably the least enjoyable part of the whole process, so when I say I like to do it myself, I don't really, I'd just sooner do it...

Hi Everyone Here's the next instalment.....

The bouzouki is now just about ready for finishing, just a final rubdown with 320 and then 400 paper before getting it ready.

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Hi Brendan, Great to see you on the Café and I'm really happy to hear that the LBB is going well for you. Interesting what you say about Elixir strings. I've not used them before on the bouzoukis,...

Hi John, Yes I use the Stanley for the heel as well as for the bit at the nut end - I think it's called the 'volute'. In fact I use it for loads of jobs. It's a really useful and underrated tool and...

Hi Nick, Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the videos. I've figured out how to take the video on the new camera and get the clips onto the laptop, but haven't got a clue what to do with it from...

Sorry guys - been a wee bit distracted here, the sheep are playing havoc and the builders are busy turning the house into a pile of rubble !!

Anyway - where did we get to - Ah yes, final tidy up...

Hi John, yes it's coming together now. Well spotted, after I took that photo I was wondering if anyone would figure out what the wedge is for !! Well, when I'm cutting the vertical rebate for the...

OK, it's time to fit the purflings and bindings to the body. But before I do that the body will need a good tidy up first. Use a router to trim away the overhanging excess from the top and back and...

Hi John, yes I made the spool clamps. They're really useful things to have in the workshop. Very simple to make - just some 35mm dowel with a hole drilled through the middle and a 6mm nut embedded in...

OK, the top's all finished now, so I need to get the body ready so I can fit the top. So after cleaning up the edges of the back with the router, it's time to take the body and neck out of the jig....

Hi John, sorry, I forgot your reply - this is an SBB with a scale length of 632mm. Hope that helps - Andy

Hi John, I'm really glad that you're finding this interesting and inspiring. I think you're right, many people would love to have a go at building their own instruments, I hope that this helps to...

OK, making the top is the next job on the list.

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so the two halves are glued together in exactly the same way as the backs are on my trusty piece of very old MDF. This instrument will be...

Really glad that you like the pictures John. The last one didn't come out for some reason, so here it is...

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So the next job is to fit the kerfed lining to the sides before fitting the...

OK, here's how the bouzouki is progressing.

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The two halves of the back have been glued together and are sawn to shape. Now the thicknessing can start.

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I like to use a small...

Hi John, No secrets I'm afraid, just a piece of 25mm MDF with a bit of candle wax down the middle of it to stop the glue sticking. It's getting a wee bit tatty now though - I can't think how many...

Hi Nick, well there's nothing wrong with simple !! The jig system I use seems to work very well for me. It's quite different to a more conventional guitar style mould which is a method that works...