Mandolins in progress

[Steve Sorensen]

Max and Laurie,
Nice team work!
Steve

[Steve Sorensen]

Dangerous curves ahead!



Steve

[Clicker]

The first cut. A piece of scrounged plastic glass cut a little bigger than the body
outline.

I roughed up the plastic with some sandpaper to give it some "tooth" to hold the paper pattern firmly. A bit of rubber cement and...

I roughed out the pattern with the small saw wheel and then began to shave until I got pretty close to the pattern outline.

It's as close i want to get.

[Jake Wildwood]

This is my new Standard Plus. A design based on my popular Standard model but with an upgraded specification throughout. The neck is wenge with Indian rosewood back & sides and a red spruce top.

Classy!!!

[Goodin]

The first cut. A piece of scrounged plastic glass cut a little bigger than the body
outline.

I roughed up the plastic with some sandpaper to give it some "tooth" to hold the paper pattern firmly. A bit of rubber cement and...

I roughed out the pattern with the small saw wheel and then began to shave until I got pretty close to the pattern outline.

It's as close i want to get.

Just a friendly suggestion Clicker, this job is MUCH easier on a band saw with a thin high TPI blade. With some practice you can cut right on the line and not have to do any secondary shaping. If you do need to clean up the edges just some sandpaper on a dowel will do (but a spindle sander is handy).

Another suggestion...it's a good idea for your pattern to be clear so you can see the wood as you trace it out. This will allow you to see any imperfections in the wood you may want to leave out.

[Marty Jacobson]

Transverse-braced prototype top, and a pile of backs and tops for 5 more. Birdseye "rock" maple, ribbon mahogany, and bubinga.
This is the first true oval hole I have done.... the graduations are so different, I didn't believe it could possibly work. But it is one of the most responsive tops to date.

[Clicker]

Just a friendly suggestion Clicker, this job is MUCH easier on a band saw with a thin high TPI blade. With some practice you can cut right on the line and not have to do any secondary shaping. If you do need to clean up the edges just some sandpaper on a dowel will do (but a spindle sander is handy).

Another suggestion...it's a good idea for your pattern to be clear so you can see the wood as you trace it out. This will allow you to see any imperfections in the wood you may want to leave out.

Hello Goodin. I used to have a band saw and the red-headed ogre of fate got it in the settlement. Everything will be fine. -Harry

[Steve Sorensen]

Martin,

Nice clean work AND cool jigs! The trees would be proud.

Steve

[Marty Jacobson]

Heron inlay for the transverse braced prototype's fretboard...

[billhay4]

Martin,
Your work continues to amaze.
Bill

[Ken]

Martin,
Really like the design of the heron where you've used sawn cutouts for detailing. Very nice.
Ken

[Skip Kelley]

Martin, Nice work! Love the heron inlay!

[amowry]

Two months away from halloween and already the bug eyes are out on the freshly buffed:

Ha! Googly eyes are the best invention ever.

[amowry]

...

[Steve-o]

Beautiful. Excellent photography which just complements your fine woodwork Andrew.

[Steve Sorensen]

Andrew,
Great shot!
Steve

[Skip Kelley]

Andrew, That is an awesome picture! Looks like you could be a photographer as well!!

[amowry]

Thanks guys-- you know what they say about giving a monkey a typewriter, or a digital SLR.

[Dan Voight]

Words cannot describe how excited I am about the tone of this mandolin after only being played for a few days. Clips will be up soon!

[Clicker]

I finished cutting out the pattern and schmoozed the curves a bit to be more appealing to my eye. There was one transition that was too radical for what I know would be a difficult time when it came to setting the rim.

I found a nice wide piece of mahogany. It came off an old table that had been in the neighbors storm shelter for about 40 years. There is a crack developing and I'm just going to rip it and add a piece of maple. I haven't decided on a three piece back but it's tempting with this piece. -h

[Skip Kelley]

Dan, that is an awesome looking A model!

[lauri Girouard]

I just started finishing this custom A mandolin. I just can't get enough of this red. I just applied the finish. Next, sand, cure and then buff to a glasslike shine. The wood is big leaf maple and wide grain sitka spruce top from Spruce Bruce.

[Steve-o]

Dan,
Sweet. Looking forward to sound clips.

Lauri,
Gorgeous red stain and nice wood grain. Keep up the good work.

[Skip Kelley]

Lauri, Awesome job on that A model! I love the color! It really brings out the figure nicely!!

[Marty Jacobson]

Here's an update on my transverse braced instrument prototype... still basically in the white. It's a more traditional variant, but very similar construction process. Just has color and a couple sessions of french polish on the top, since I really didn't want to have to apply the color after the fretboard was installed.



The tone is a good improvement over the last prototype. Sounds more like a traditional oval hole, to my ears, but not just "tubby", nice clear highs. Never was happy with the high end of the last prototype, this is much better. Better sustain and overall responsiveness, too. Will try to get a sound clip up.