C.Mineau : My mando builds and repairs

[Buxus]

Hi mando friends,
It's a long time I've been reading you all, with a lot of pleasure and lots of learnings !
By the way I would really like to thank you all at the café for all of that, this was of great help for achieving what is below.

Today, I decided to post, to show you my personal builds and repairs.

My last build is a regular F5 :


and more can be seen at my Website :
http://www.labellenote.fr/articles.php?lng=en&pg=6


Second is the repair of an old Neapolitan mando from the years 1910s.
It was in really bad condition and I took it back to playability.
For this one, particular thanks to Dave Hynds for his kind advice :





more details on my site at this page :
http://www.labellenote.fr/articles.php?lng=en&pg=10

So, what do you think ?

Cheers from Brittany,
Christophe

[Mandocarver]

Beautiful looking work Christophe - it is nice to hear from a luthier working in France. I build instruments too, but just as a hobby.
Keep sending pictures of your work.
Cheers from Poitou-Charentes,

Dean

[Randi Gormley]

Lovely work. They both look scrumptious.
Did you repair the clown shoe case, too?

[Bob Clark]

Hello Christophe,

Beautiful work. That F5 is stunning. Thanks for posting these photos, it's really nice to see your work. Could you post a sound clip so we can hear the F5?

Best wishes, Bob

[Buxus]

Hi Dean, thanks for your word.
Poitou Charente ? You may know then Dave Hynds, he is a Brit but actually lives in Thaims near Royan.
I am not a professional luthier, I am an amateur too.
Cheers,
Christophe

[Buxus]

Hi Randi,
I guess what you call the clown shoe is the bowlback mando case ?
Yes I did, hinges were torn away , and wood was missing at their attachement.
ferules were rusted, but OK.
The neat thing of this case is its handle, rope made, wrapped with some sort wax paper. I kept it original.
cheers,
Christophe

[Buxus]

Hi Bob,
I have put a sound sample on my site, with more details about this mando.
But take care, I am way better at playing the gouge than playing the pick !! ...
thought I try to progress with time
Thanks for the encouragement,
Christophe

[Jim Garber]

Christophe. Your F5 looks perfect and the restoration work on the Umberto/Humbert Freres and the case(!) looks meticulous. I bet that case took some time to get right. Very nice.

[SGraham]

Thanks for sharing your beautiful work. I love your photo of the F5 on the chair. That ought to be on a calendar.

[Bob Clark]

I am not a professional luthier, I am an amateur too.

Professional or amateur doesn't matter. I've just had a look at your website. This is the work of a real artist!

[Buxus]

Hi Mando folks,

Always glad to visit the café.

Here is a new build from me, I have finished it a week ago, and I have just finished documenting it on my website.
I was eager to show you that

Here it is :






No, no, it is not a guitar !!
It is a tribute to the 59' burst, but it is actually an "octave-baritone" eMando

I am not a guitar player, but I must say I love the LP design and I didn't have so far any electric instrument, so I made it !

All the strory board of the build can be seen on my site :
http://www.labellenote.fr/articles.php?lng=en&pg=265

Tell me what you think about it !!

Cheers,
Christophe, from Brittany.

[billhay4]

Christophe,
This is lovely work. The pochette is quite interesting and beautiful.
Thanks for posting it.
Bill

[John Kelly]

You are a really fine builder, Christophe. Beautiful work on all your projects.

[Buxus]

Thanks John and Bill, that's really encouraging me !
I don't have so much mandolin fan in my close surroundings ..

[Ronny]

Very nice work...
I am trying to "put back in playability" an old bowlback too, but I'm sure that I won't have a result as nice as yours !

[Buxus]

Yes, another Breton here !
Ronny, I'm sure you'll succeed. It is just a matter of taking all the necessary time, with passion.
I'm sure you know Dave Hynd's site ? http://www.mandolinluthier.com/
It is the key to success for old bowlbacks surgery.
Cheers,
Christophe

[Buxus]

Hi,
Just for the continuity of this post where I started to show all my builds, here is the last one :
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...=1#post1765299

[Jim Garber]

I like that Tele-mandolin!