Here is the first.
Here is the first.
A closer look at the peghead
Next
Routing top
Another step
Back glued in.
Back going on.
Another view
Front and sides.
kerfing. Slightly out of order
Body assembled
Sorry, got the order of pictures a little wrong.
PB
That's OK, it's easy to get mixed up when you are SOOOO EXCITED!
A masterpiece in the making! I love it!
Bill James
www.axinc.net
I like the first picture of the four headstocks, all those billets of mando wood in the background look pretty cool stacked up like that....a lot cooler than my office.
The day I spent with Hans was one of my best. What a treat to be confronted with 10 of his mandolins laid out on the workbench so we could sample, compare and play each.
There were samples of top woods, finishes, and ages.
We "eliminated" some of the mandolins and after spending time doing this, we moved to the wall of Hans' shop and went thru the billets. We selected the top and back and it was lots of fun watching Hans tap-tune the individual billets, trying to have the top and back woods complement themselves on the mando he was going to build.
What a cool set of photos!
Spending a day with Hans sounds like a mando-freak fantasy!
Thank you VERY much for showing us pictures of the process!
Chris
OK, here we go again. The scooped fingerboard extension will be fretted. Hans is carving the neck. If you look closely, you'll see 2 neck profile schematics that we agreed on.
And now the back is on.
<sarcasm on> Let me guess, he couldn't find any maple with decent flame, and this is what you had to settle for. Well, if I were you, I'd drop off his list and let somebody else take that nasty looking thing away...<sarcas off>
... somebody like me, patiently waiting for Hans to start mine in October!
Here are the latest "baby" pictures.
The first is of the back of the neck Hans is carving. After comparing the neck of my Rigel(which I like), to some of the mandolins had me sample, Hans took measurements at a couple of spots and made templates, which you see in the picture.
An this of the fingerboard being glued on. I asked Hans to scoop and fret the extension. That means a bunch of extra frets to challenge me.
Strung up in the white for the first time.
..nice stuff..are you going dotless?.....bet you cant wait huh?....how long before you get it?
Scotti,
Hans put on a scooped, 29 fret fingerboard. I couldn't tell from the picture, but it looks like he is putting in the frets next week.
Nope, not dotless.Going with small snowflakes in place of the dots.
I'm assuming the pickguard goes on last.
Once the frets are on, he starts working on the varnish finish. I expect that will take quite some time to apply, and then he lets the mandolin hang and dry for more time.
I'm guessing August sometime. Given the length of time I've been waiting, its hard to believe, but I'm not in a hurry.
The summer weather is hot here, and I'd almost rather it get shipped when there is a stretch of cooler weather.
For me the hardest part will be when it does arrive. Hans wants folks to limit their playing time to a few times a day and 10 minutes per session. The mandolin, in contact with your warm body retards the curing and hardening of the varnish. Now THAT will be difficut, looking at it and only playing it a few minutes a day.
...sorta like giving water to a drowning man huh?
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