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Thread: No Power Tool Mandolin

  1. #176
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Just for more inspiration, you can try to make yourslef some thumbplanes like this... You can see the guts as this one is case from epoxy resin. I've meade few like this out of any hard wood. You can do it out of single block (start with square and roud off after you chisel the inside) or make walls separate and twopieces for front and back and glue them together (in this case you will learn how to join small pieces precisely). For blade you can use piece of old knife (close to 1/16" thick would be best) or ask at local machinist for thrown awy piece of carbon steel or HSS (dull blade of machine saw is perfect).
    You should make the sides a bit taller at the pin so the wood won't crack. The epoxy seems to hold well.
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    Adrian

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  3. #177
    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Gentlemen, I have the distinct feeling that we are entering the world of classical mythology rather than luthierie in this thread. I am minded of Hercules and the labour of cleaning out the Augean stables, and Sysiphus condemned eternally to rolling a huge boulder up the hill only for it to roll back to the bottom each time.

    Pranav, you will have to be careful with your choices of wood you try to bring back to the USA from India. Many species are now forbidden under CITES and other legislation and I would hate to hear of you turning up at Customs with your chosen timbers only to have the wood confiscated and maybe have a heavy fine imposed on you. I'm sure some of the professional builders who have already input so much into this thread will be able to advise on current banned timbers, or you could just check on the internet. Just typing in "luthiers and CITES" gave me 79,500 hits!
    I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. - Eric Morecambe

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  5. #178
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    What a lovely bird house! I, at one time, was stubborn enough to persist in using exotic woods for a mando top other than those recommended to me by many of the expert builders and members of Mandolin Cafe. The finished project was fantastic looking---very impressive. When I had completed stringing it up and began to play, reality set in and I discovered how wrong my convictions were. I redeemed my invested hours of labor by converting the mando into a bird house and hung it in my back yard.

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  7. #179
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by HoGo View Post
    Just for more inspiration, you can try to make yourslef some thumbplanes like this...
    Adrian, I love that resin thumbplane as well as that thumb that goes with it. Either that is a very big thumb or a very small thumbplane.
    Jim

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  8. #180

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by pelone View Post
    What a lovely bird house! I, at one time, was stubborn enough to persist in using exotic woods for a mando top other than those recommended to me by many of the expert builders and members of Mandolin Cafe. The finished project was fantastic looking---very impressive. When I had completed stringing it up and began to play, reality set in and I discovered how wrong my convictions were. I redeemed my invested hours of labor by converting the mando into a bird house and hung it in my back yard.
    Sorry, but if you were trying to change my mind, it's not going to happen. It might not sound like a Lloyd Loar, but I personally think I will like it. Time will tell how it turns out.

  9. #181

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Also, I will be making a flattop because it will help balance out the shrill, loud, quick, treble from using a hardwood top, and it might just be me, but flattops always sound more bassy to me.

  10. #182

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Pranav Ajay Warrier View Post
    I said an arch-top flat-back.
    You are back to a flat top again, right?

  11. #183

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    You are back to a flat top again, right?
    Now I am, yeah, because I am using poplar.

  12. #184

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    How can you be in high school and spend so much time on Mandolin Café?

  13. #185

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    How can you be in high school and spend so much time on Mandolin Café?
    Lunch break, finishing work quickly, and a lot of free time at home.

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  15. #186
    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    I hope you are aware that poplar does not handle humidity changes very well, and is reputed to warp over time, especially in thinner pieces. It also can look "greenish" tinged, so unless you get a very white piece or plan to stain it dark, beware. Poplar is used quite a bit for electric guitar bodies. Not so much for acoustic instruments. There are reasons for this!

  16. #187
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber View Post
    Adrian, I love that resin thumbplane as well as that thumb that goes with it. Either that is a very big thumb or a very small thumbplane.
    The thumb is of average size, blade is actually 12 mm (1/2") wide or so... The bottom is made of bone. Resin did wear in no time and wood was not hard enough as well so I replaced it with piece of bone I had at hand. My go-to thumbplane ever since...

    PS: sorry for the unusually bad grammar and typos in my previous post. I was typing in hurry during short break and didn't read it it again before posting.
    Adrian

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  18. #188
    I may be old but I'm ugly billhay4's Avatar
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    I hope you are aware that poplar does not handle humidity changes very well, and is reputed to warp over time, especially in thinner pieces. It also can look "greenish" tinged, so unless you get a very white piece or plan to stain it dark, beware. Poplar is used quite a bit for electric guitar bodies. Not so much for acoustic instruments. There are reasons for this!
    I am not sure this is entirely accurate. Eastern poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is widely used in upholstered furniture as casing. I cannot believe they would use a wood warps easily is such a large commercial application but I may be wrong.
    I does has a greenish tinge is some cases, but there are also wonderfully figured and colored (purplish) examples from old poplar trees. I would think a nice quarter sawn piece would be worth a risk.
    Again, I may be wrong on all of this, but I've dealt with a lot of poplar.
    Bill
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  19. #189

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    I hope you are aware that poplar does not handle humidity changes very well, and is reputed to warp over time, especially in thinner pieces. It also can look "greenish" tinged, so unless you get a very white piece or plan to stain it dark, beware. Poplar is used quite a bit for electric guitar bodies. Not so much for acoustic instruments. There are reasons for this!
    I am going to wait for others' comments on the humidity and warping, as for the green tinge, that's what I love about it. I find it very appealing. If the warping humidity problem is a thing, I will use spruce or pine. I'm not gonna build something if I know it's gonna be an outright failure. I will still keep it flat top though, because I think I like the sound, and I think I'll build an archtop in India, where the wood is cheaper. Also, I didn't mean I want to bring wood here from India, I meant I want to build the instrument while I am at India. I think this is looking good if I end up having to use spruce.

  20. #190
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    From my experience, poplar is very stable at "furniture" thicknesses. Like 3/4" and up. I don't have any experience using it at like 1/8" thickness that you'd be using for a flat top mandolin which will be braced underneath. But it could still do what we call the "potato chip". The top could move and warp despite the bracing. In poplar, the green will go away and turn to tan. The purple will go away and turn darker brown. If you're looking at that $12 piece of spruce from StewMac, I'd say go for it. I'm not trying to convince you of something or change your mind. Just talking from experience and lessons learned the hard way.

  21. #191

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Ok I am 100% no question using spruce or pine for the top. I know you probably don't trust this because I keep going back and forth, so I will calm down on this thread until I get my piece of wood, my plans, practice, and get started.

  22. #192

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Would this work as well? I should be getting a $20 amazon gift card this weekend, and I don't have to buy any more tools right now, so it would cover the cost.

  23. #193
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    According to the dimensions of the wood based on your link, that stuff isn't long enough for a mandolin top. Technically, it could possibly work because you normally cut the top off where the neck comes in, but it would take careful planning by someone who's done it before. I know I wouldn't risk it. Pranav, do you have a set of plans?

  24. #194

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Dale Ludewig View Post
    According to the dimensions of the wood based on your link, that stuff isn't long enough for a mandolin top. Technically, it could possibly work because you normally cut the top off where the neck comes in, but it would take careful planning by someone who's done it before. I know I wouldn't risk it. Pranav, do you have a set of plans?
    Not yet.

  25. #195

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Dale Ludewig View Post
    According to the dimensions of the wood based on your link, that stuff isn't long enough for a mandolin top. Technically, it could possibly work because you normally cut the top off where the neck comes in, but it would take careful planning by someone who's done it before. I know I wouldn't risk it. Pranav, do you have a set of plans?
    But it would be 18" long when put together. I thought that is enough?

  26. #196
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    No. The boards are apparently 12.6" long and a little over 9" wide. You need 10" wide minimum for a mandolin. And you can't glue the "boards" together end to end. I would suggest humbly that you get a set of plans before you go on your adventure. Kind of like a map before you set out to sea. I forget the name of the Scandinavian guy that did his adventure, but check out Kon-Tiki. A wild ride on a raft across the ocean. Maps and plans are a good thing. At the least, they're helpful.

    I believe you are of Indian descent. And I love Indian food and do my best to cook it often at home. And some things are problematic for me- like cooking dosa. I have recipes. I can buy the batter at a local store. I've watched videos and watched it cooked in restaurants and friends' homes. And it's still hard to do right. It's a lot like building a mandolin.

  27. #197
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Dale Ludewig View Post
    ...I forget the name of the Scandinavian guy that did his adventure, but check out Kon-Tiki. A wild ride on a raft across the ocean....
    Thor Heyerdahl.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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  29. #198
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Drawings are on the way. Hard to tell when they get there...
    Adrian

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  31. #199

    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Dale Ludewig View Post
    No. The boards are apparently 12.6" long and a little over 9" wide. You need 10" wide minimum for a mandolin. And you can't glue the "boards" together end to end.

    I believe you are of Indian descent. And I love Indian food and do my best to cook it often at home. And some things are problematic for me- like cooking dosa. I have recipes. I can buy the batter at a local store. I've watched videos and watched it cooked in restaurants and friends' homes. And it's still hard to do right. It's a lot like building a mandolin.
    I thought that is how bookmatching works (at least for archtops)?

    Haha, luckily, I happen to be good in that area . I'm surprised (and delighted) you know about dosas, considering the fact that most Americans only know about North Indian foods (it gets tiring telling people I don't know how to make naan and chicken tikka masala).

  32. #200
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    Default Re: No Power Tool Mandolin

    Bookmatching works with the long grain of the wood, not the end grain.
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