My Siminoff H-5 Mandola Kit

[pchristi]

I finally finished my Siminoff, H-5 kit.

I did post a few in-progress pictures on another thread but now that I have it finished, I thought I would post some pictures here as well.

….It all started about a year ago when a friend of mine let me play his AL Smart mandola. I fell in love the way it played and really enjoyed the thick, rich tone it produced. I got to play it once a week with the Mandolin Orchestra. But, once a week just wasn’t enough and it didn’t take long for me to decide that I needed my own mandola. Buying a nice mandola turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. I looked around for something under ~$2,000 but didn’t like what was available.

I had already purchased Roger’s H-5 plans thinking I might build one… but now I just wanted to play one - not build one. That is why I ordered this kit from Roger with everything I could get done….hoping it would take less time to finish. The kit still needed some final shaping of the scroll & neck. It needed frets and fretboard installed; Cutting the binding ledge and install binding; Cut and fit the bone nut and points; and, sand & finish.

Honestly, I thought there would be a lot less work then there actually was. Seems like it took forever...but now that it's done, I am very pleased with the way it turned out. It does have a rich, smooth, velvety mandola tone and is every bit as exciting/gratifying to play as my friend’s Smart.

[Merritt]

I love that. I had just recently started thinking about a Siminoff kit. Your mandola looks so good, that it's convinced me to order a kit from Roger.

[Malcolm G.]

Well, you've done one heck of a fine job on this, and should be proud as punch!
Enjoy!

[Fretbear]

When you build them yourself, and do a careful job, you get so much more than just a good instrument.....

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Definitely a beauty. You did a great job on it, and gives me some encouragement and motivation to do one later in the year.

I am also amazed at how much work it takes to finish a kit instrument even though some of the hardest parts had already been done by someone else. I started a Stew-Mac guitar kit earlier in the year, and now that I have the body all assembled, my build process is hitting a bit a plateau as I am able to start on the neck shaping and finishing etc. Each one of these post-assembly processes is not really difficult in and of itself. But it is time consuming, and if I skimp on the effort, I will definitely see it in the results.

[JEStanek]

Congratulations. That's one to be very proud of.

Jamie

[barry k]

Thats nice, you did a great job. I might do one of those myself. How many hours did you have in it?

[tin ben dur]

You did an awesome job. My soon to be wife would die to have one. She loves her viola.

[Skip Kelley]

pchristie, you did very nice work! I love it!

[pchristi]

Definitely a beauty. You did a great job on it, and gives me some encouragement and motivation to do one later in the year.

I am also amazed at how much work it takes to finish a kit instrument even though some of the hardest parts had already been done by someone else. I started a Stew-Mac guitar kit earlier in the year, and now that I have the body all assembled, my build process is hitting a bit a plateau as I am able to start on the neck shaping and finishing etc. Each one of these post-assembly processes is not really difficult in and of itself. But it is time consuming, and if I skimp on the effort, I will definitely see it in the results.

Let me first thank you all for your suportive comments.
barrangatan, your comments about post-assembly is consistant with what I experinced as well. Seems I was really worried that I was going to mess it all up - So, I felt a strong need to stay focused on each step. Probably spent way too much time scratching my head and thinking about the current task rather than just implementing it. Don't really have any idea how may hours I have in it - Started working in ernest (some weekends and some nights) on my mandola over the Christmas break. So.... took about five months to finish.

Incredibly happy that I’m finally finished building it. Really is much more fun to play than it was to build. And, because I built it, it’s really much more fun to play. The building experience wasn't really all that bad (just slow). I got to break it in this past weekend at the Kerrville Folk Festival. That was fun, and the other instruments never even left their cases...

[Bernie Daniel]

Sure is a thing of beauty you created. For those mandolin players who has never played a mandola all I can say is that it is such a thrill -- a totally different sound and feeling with minimally different skills & effort need -- just a pure joy. I fully understand why the 'dola took over the weekend!!!

I'm taking a more timid route. I had another discussion to with a local mandolin builder who has agreed to assemble, stain and finish my kit. He builds really F-5's from scratch so I know he can handle it. Also he tap tunes so I am thinking I'll let him do some adjusting on the graduation as he sees fit. I think he is intrigued with the idea of a mandola. Mine will be stained to exactly match my F-5 Fern. Really cannot decide on what kind of inaly I'll put on the headstock -- lots of ideas.....

[Monte Barnett]

That's a *very* nice instrument. I'm anxiously awaiting delivery of a custom mandola kit from Roger. It will have Black Walnut back, rims, and neck, and a 20-inch octave mandolin scale. Supposed to ship next week! :-)