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Thread: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

  1. #1
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    Default Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    I finally finished the bouzouki I have been working on for almost a year. Here are a couple of photos. It is a thrill to actually string it up and play it.
    Thanks for all of the advice I have received from this forum with the issues I encountered, and a special thanks to Graham McDonald first for taking the time to write the book on building a bouzouki, and also fro answering every email I sent him. This is a special community for being willing to share information so freely.
    I will probably post a thread on finishing since I encountered some issues there.

    Thanks Again
    Bob SchmidtClick image for larger version. 

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  3. #2

    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Wow, that's gorgeous! Great work.

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  5. #3
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    What a beauty! Enjoy!

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    I may be old but I'm ugly billhay4's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Nice work. Let's hear it.
    Bill
    IM(NS)HO

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    Registered User G7MOF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Stunning! Can I borrow it for a year or two?
    I never fail at anything, I just succeed at doing things that never work....


    Fylde Touchstone Walnut Mandolin.
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  11. #6

    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Congratulations. There is nothing quite like playing an instrument you built yourself.
    Silverangel A
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    Registered User Timbofood's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Strong work! Looks very nice indeed.
    Timothy F. Lewis
    "If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett

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  15. #8
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    I played it in a session this week and it blended nicely with the other instruments. It is clean sounding and well balanced. It is a lot of fun playing something you made. I learned a lot and am ready for the next build; either a short scale length octave, or an F5.

    Thanks for all of the compliments
    Bob Schmidt

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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    That's a beauty. You should be proud.

  17. #10
    Registered User Rick Jones's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Looks fantastic!
    All my life I wanted to be somebody, now I realize I should have been more specific.

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  19. #11
    Registered User crooksj's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Excellent job! Not easy to pull off a blonde top. Good luck with your next build.

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  21. #12
    Kelley Mandolins Skip Kelley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Nice work, Bob! It looks great!

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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    That is an amazing instrument and all the more so since it was a first instrument! Awesome! Did you have wood working skills be for starting this build?
    Bernie
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    Due to current budgetary restrictions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off -- sorry about the inconvenience.

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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Great accomplishment. It looks fantastic.

    Jamie
    There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946

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  27. #15
    Registered User Reinhardt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Wow Bob. That's an incredible result for your first build. Archtop?

    John

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  29. #16
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Reinhardt - yes it is an archtop. I used Graham McDonald's book as a guide for carving it.
    Bernie - I have done large scale woodworking in the past, and some instrument repair on my own instruments but this has been quite a learning experience. I can see why it takes years to get proficient at it.

  30. #17
    Registered User bpatrick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    A thing of beauty!

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  32. #18
    Registered User Dave Fultz's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finished first build - Thanks for all of the help

    Wow. Just lovely. You have done yourself proud.

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