IV kit finished

[chipotle]

I finished my second IV kit and while I am happy with the end result, there are quite a few things I would have done differently. I am not sure how thin the top is. I was pretty meticulous when I sanded the top and back down using the Siminoff book as my guideline. However I was extremely unhappy with the first attempt at staining and had to sand everything down so much I have no idea what the final thickness is. I also took the nut down too far, I am in the process of making a new bone nut but I am taking my time.

It sounds good (to me), a bit louder and brighter than my first kit. I am using lighter strings then the J-74's I have been using. I may make another one, each time has been a great learning experience and fun.

[Matt DeBlass]

Lookin' good!

[bmac]

I would suspect that the additional sanding to remove the first finish helped the tone. On my first IV kit I was very conservative in graduating and while the mando looks decent the tone is weak. On my second I was much more agressive in graduating the top and back... and that may account for the improvement in volume and tone. I am building another to see if I can duplicate or improve the tone even more...

Some folks put the IV kits down as being substandard. But they are only substandard if the builder is careless. The IV kits are very nice for this kind of experimentation, and normally you can get a decent looking and sounding instrument for a very reasonable price. The most important thing is that you can learn a lot from each build.

[ndlxs]

I am about 1/3 of the way through my first IV kit; I am pretty much done with graduating the top and back. I think I might have it too thin; my homemade thickness gauge from a large Harbor Tools C Clamp and depth gauge doesn't help. Next time I am going to buy better tools.

Andy Alexis

[fatt-dad]

Hey, I have a question. In the IV kit, there is a plastic strip and a similarly long wooden strip. Are either of these to be used as binding (i.e., whether you want the white look or the wooden look)? I ask 'cause there is also two similar-sized (but shorter) wooden strips that I guess are glue strips for attaching the back.

After four years, I'm back on my IV kit (just last night). I cheated though and am using a local builder to graduate the top, set the tone bars, graduate the back and glue up the box. I'm just going to do the staining.

Cheater, eh?

f-d

[Avi Ziv]

f-d,

The plastic strip is for binding. The wooden strips is the lining the top and bottom

Good luck with the build

[Rob Giuffrida]

I wanna hear some clips of it, chipotle!

[bmac]

ffat-dad:

Sorry,, but the THE JOKE IS ON YOU!!!

You gave the builder the easy part!!! the staining and finishing of it can be an experience in good intentions gone bad. When I did my first the staining was a disaster... One suggestion is that you might be wise to give it a coat of shellac before finishing to close up the pores. Once you put a color on it it goes right into the wood, sometimes literally through the wood to the other side.,,,, and it becomes nearly impossible to change if you are dissatisfied. The shellack makes it easier to remove most of the color and give it another try.

Good luck!!! They can be nice sounding instruments.

[Dick Hutchings]

Where will the stain go if you do that?

[fatt-dad]

I was told to apply an egg wash and then apply the varnish. Ken (at IV) sold me the varnish with the stain already mixed in. I'll use that and the micromesh to polish up (after sufficient cure time).

I'll keep you posted.

Regarding the builder - yeah, I don't have a thickness gauge (the one I made wasn't too good) and I don't have 50 of those screw clamps to glue the back and sides.

f-d

[fatt-dad]

I was told to apply an egg wash and then apply the varnish. Ken (at IV) sold me the varnish with the stain already mixed in. I'll use that and the micromesh to polish up (after sufficient cure time).

I'll keep you posted.

Regarding the builder - yeah, I don't have a thickness gauge (the one I made wasn't too good) and I don't have 50 of those screw clamps to glue the back and sides.

f-d

[bmac]

Don't know anything about egg wash but if it acts as a sealer you are undoubtedly in good shape. Sounds like you'll do fine.

On my second kit, an oval hole, I used a clear finish and it looks pretty good... a whole lot better than my first. I am starting a third build but haven't decided what kind of finish to use.

[chipotle]

Thanks for the input everyone! I did a light seal on the top, but my red on red faux burst looked awful so I sanded it off. I figured if my second attempt went bad too I could always wind up with a blacktop. I did use a maple binding instead of the provided white plastic. It was easier to glue in but harder to bend. When I do another one I will take more time and clean out the binding slot better. I am thinking I may need to replace the thin strip inside with some real kerfing.

[fatt-dad]

So, the other piece of wood strip is a second binding option? I may use that. . .

f-d

[chipotle]

The little wood strip is meant to be used as kerfing for the back. I purchased a maple binding to try it out since I had such a bad time getting the plastic to adhere on my first one. I am afraid that the little strip is too small to hold the top or back on if the binding slot is cut to far.

[bmac]

In my kit builds the sanding of the kerf channel was important to get a comfortable fit. The binding supplied was a nightmare to glue in place. It kept coming loose. The brief instructions with the Kit are inadequatre here, if I recall. It is best to lay down a coating of glue on the kerfing channel to seal the wood (as mentioned in the Siminoff book), and then sand lightly to even out the channel. Then the glue has a much better chance of sticking. On my last build I finally switched to another glue and it worked pretty well. There was a thread on this problem a year or so and there were several interesting glueing alternatives mentioned, if I recall.

[Bill Snyder]

What is a kerfing channel. A kerf is the space cut out by a saw blade. Kerfed linings are called such because they are linings made bendable by cutting little kerfs in them.
Do you mean the binding ledge?
I am not meaning to sound like I am picking on you, I just think things might be less confusing if you use the correct terminology.

[epicentre]

Thanks for the input everyone! I did a light seal on the top, but my red on red faux burst looked awful so I sanded it off. I figured if my second attempt went bad too I could always wind up with a blacktop. I did use a maple binding instead of the provided white plastic. It was easier to glue in but harder to bend. When I do another one I will take more time and clean out the binding slot better. I am thinking I may need to replace the thin strip inside with some real kerfing.

Nice job, Chipotie. The maple binding really sets it off.

I used the plastic binding on the one (round hole) I just finished. BUT, when it's string changing time, the binding's coming off, ledge is getting cleaned and either maple or cherry binding is going on, recurve is getting rescraped....

....................or, maybe buy another kit and.................they get addictive.

Pretty nice mandolins.

[Dick Hutchings]

"I used the plastic binding on the one (round hole) I just finished. BUT, when it's string changing time, the binding's coming off, ledge is getting cleaned and either maple or cherry binding is going on, recurve is getting rescraped...."


Been down that road. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't. After building 3 I've come to the conclusion that it's much better to accept what you have done and just start the next one. Time spent repairing mistakes could have been better spent not making them or doing things different on the next one. At least this is my new philosophy. Although, I feel I've gained a lot of experience in doing repair work.

[fatt-dad]

Well, mine is done. The local builder called me last night and told me it's all glued up and ready for finish. He used the white plastic binding and did not mention any problems. Now it's just a matter of patiently applying the varnish. . .

Can't wait 'till it's photo-worthy!

f-d

[epicentre]

"I used the plastic binding on the one (round hole) I just finished. BUT, when it's string changing time, the binding's coming off, ledge is getting cleaned and either maple or cherry binding is going on, recurve is getting rescraped...."


Been down that road. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't. After building 3 I've come to the conclusion that it's much better to accept what you have done and just start the next one. Time spent repairing mistakes could have been better spent not making them or doing things different on the next one. At least this is my new philosophy. Although, I feel I've gained a lot of experience in doing repair work.

Yer ablosuitly right. A new kit will be in the offing.

Soon as I fix this one. ditto on the repair work. lol.

Hey, it's a hobby.

[bmac]

Regarding the instruction sheet with the IV, Saga kit:

I just realized that my third IV kit has no printed instruction sheet.... Although one could probably do a reaosnable job without it, it was a good overall view of the project for me on my first build. There are a couple of words of caution which I would tell kit builders which weren't in the instructions and one can make some mistakes which are hard to rectify unless one approaches the kit build systematically. In either case I would highly recommend the Siminoff book as an overview of your project so that you can better understand the subtleties of your project. It tells you where and how you can optimize your project to get the most and best sound.