anybody know of a place that will pattern carve a mandolin back?

[Mark Marino]

I bought a partially finished f5 second hand but it came from the estate of a builder. It's clearly not a kit and what's done is done well. I'm hoping to complete it but the only intimidating step (for me) is carving the back. The back as provided is cut to shape but not thickness.. its a solid 3/4 inch thick chunk of figured mahogany- and that's a whole lot of wood to remove and risk of gouging too far.

Are there any companies/builders who have a pattern carver where I could send this back to get carved closer to ideal? I searched the forum but didn't come up with anything. Now that Siminoff is out of business I'm not aware of any place that would offer such a service.

[Mike Conner]

Kind of out there as an idea, but Northfield is in Marshall MI. I think their bodies are carved in Asia, but maybe they could recommend a local source?
//mike

[Jeff Hildreth]

Have you called (what's left of) Siminoff ? Someone there had the equipment and personnel to do it.

or Stewart MacDonald ?

[Br1ck]

Or Arches? Perhaps Jerry Rosa or Audey Ratliff would. They don't CNC it, but can rough out a back pretty quickly.

[4ForAll]

Give David Smith at Smith Creek Mandolin and Tonewood a call.

http://smithcreekmandolin.com/cnccarvingservice.html

[Vernon Hughes]

I second Dave at Smith creek..

[Ivan Kelsall]

Contact Tom Ellis & ask him. I'm not 100% sure,but i do know that he uses CNC routing in his MOP business,& i feel sure that he uses CNC to 'rough out' his tops & back before hand finishing them,
Ivan

[Mark Marino]

Give David Smith at Smith Creek Mandolin and Tonewood a call.

http://smithcreekmandolin.com/cnccarvingservice.html

Thanks! I've reached out to David and keeping my fingers crossed. From his website it's confirmed that he offers carving service- I'm now hoping he can work with this back already pre-cut to shape as the examples are all cut from rectangle blocks.

[Jonathan Ward]

If no luck there, Andrew Mowry or Marty Jacobson would likely help you out. They're both CNC mavens and really good guys.

[Dale Ludewig]

I could probably do it for you also. I could run it using my normal pattern but I'm not sure how this will all work out because your top is already cut out and I don't know if my pattern (or anyone else's) is going to line up with your outline. PM me if you want to.

[Timbofood]

I'm not so sure that "pattern carving" is the right service to seek, what you need is someone to "rough out" the previously cut material. The thing is, someone taking on the project may want you to realize they are taking on a piece of material they know nothing about and if there is a problem they must not be held responsible for any internal problems which become visible like pitch pockets or anything else. Just a non instrument builders perspective.
Pattern carving is something that is used when all the outline parameters are constants, everyone sees their shape a touch differently, just an observation.
I suppose that is paraphrasing what Dale just said.

[Mark Marino]

I could probably do it for you also. I could run it using my normal pattern but I'm not sure how this will all work out because your top is already cut out and I don't know if my pattern (or anyone else's) is going to line up with your outline. PM me if you want to.

Thanks Dale- had a few days off so just getting back to respond. I see what you are saying and kind of agree that since this is already cut to final size, it's risky. I think I'm just going to buy a pattern cut back and abandon this piece. Really appreciate your input