Mandolins in progress

[Jill McAuley]

Nice, looking forward to seeing the completed project!

Cheers,
Jill

[oldwave maker]

Lacquer build coats, not sure how that scrolly thing snuck in amongst the ovalation, seems to have a testoresque heelbutton. Todays weather report- 100% chance of dust!

[Steve-o]

Nice. Delicious looking wood and mandos that we expect from you Bill, served up with the usual singular sense of humor.

[Ed Goist]

Here are some more pics of Jason's on-going work on my Highland Strings Orpheus 2-Point mandolin (# 047 - The Raven).



The entire album for the build up to this point (over 100 pics now) can be seen here.

Here are some pics of 'The Raven' in the white.
I really like the white purfling Jason has installed around the stylized raven's head headstock inlay.
Jason reports that the mandolin's voice is right along the lines of what we were shooting for: a very deep, rich tone with plenty of warmth.

[Steve-o]

Nice lines on that one Ed. Looking forward to hearing how it sounds in your hands.

[D18dave]

...After a fun weekend of spraying.

[Ed Goist]

Hi Steve:
Thanks very much...
I, too, am filled with anticipation.

[Marc Berman]

New Smart photos. These are after a couple coats of spirit varnish. Last I heard he's been french polishing. Any day now!

[Ed Goist]

Marc; absolutely beautiful!
Love the unique headstock shape and inlay!

[Geoff B]

Boy that Smart looks good!

Here's a tasty inlay I'm doing for my mando-building class, the school logo.... made from cinnamon, paprika and pearl dust...

[Marc Berman]

Geoff - Very nice headstock. I like the mountain inlay. Lawrence's headstock represents the Idaho Rockies. The inlay is a columbine flower.

[fswaf]

Here's a picture of Paul Newsons first 2 pointer sans color. Picking it up this afternoon.

[eastmountain]

Here's my first attempt at building: Harlan #1 waiting on my lacquer order to arrive so it can shine!

Looks like Harlan #1 is awaiting his massuese, lol.

[Dobe]

Pretty darn nice for #-1 I hope we get to see the finished product. Isn't it amazing how many really nice 1st builds are coming out in the past few years ?!!

[Bill Snyder]

He finished it about 7 or 8 years ago and has built several since. The post that eastmountain has quoted is from July of 2003.

[roscoestring]

Not my first mando but my first neck. Has a piezo pickup.

[crazymandolinist]

That's amazing

[Charles E.]

Well this is taking a lot longer then I expected but daily life keeps getting in the way. I wanted to show the ground coat that I use on the top. It is from Old Wood and is made for spruce and maple. It gives a lot of color before any finish goes on. I am using a pale baltic amber varnish from Joe
Robeson. It seems to dry fairly quick and hard in the UV box. I hope to have this done for Mt. Airy.
Oh, the back and sides are Aussie Blackwood and this is the first coat of varnish. The top is Engleman.

[Mike Black]

Starting another Loar style A5.

[Skip Kelley]

Mike, that is one sweet looking piece of maple! Nice work!

[Steve Sorensen]

Sorensen mando #2, is "Pacifica #1" -- sounds pretty good in the white.

Following my Pacific Coast muse, the top is really old salvaged sinker curly redwood, back and sides are curly claro walnut. "Pacifica" herself, is abalone and white MOP. Double-bound tortoise just to make that task as challenging as possible.

So fun to play, it's gonna be hard to take the hardware off and start the finishing process. Got to say, I love the Bill James tailpiece.

"Pacifica" versions #2,3,4 on the way (each has a different top wood and mermaid). Since I'm doing them in order, poor #1 has suffered a lot of learning. Can't wait to see how her siblings turn out!

Thanks to Walt for wave-theory inspiration and Bill "Old Wave" for curly redwood carving tips (to name just a few). This community is simply amazing ! ! !

Steve

[Skip Kelley]

StevenS, Nice work! How does the Claro sound? I have been wanting to build one for myself for awhile out of Claro. Looks great!

[Steve Sorensen]

Mike,
Congrats on the nice article in Mandolin Magazine. Seeing wood like that is sure sets the heart a-flutter!

Skip,
Love the curly claro. Wish nobody else felt the same way . . . keeps getting more expensive. The idea with this set of 4 is to find the top wood that marries with it the best (and to hone my process by repeating each step 4 times).

Steve

[Mike Black]

Mike,
Congrats on the nice article in Mandolin Magazine. Seeing wood like that is sure sets the heart a-flutter!

Steve

Thanks Steve!

[Marc Berman]

Getting Very Very Close!! Latest from Lawrence Smart!