Completed Mandolin

The mandolin is completed and its new owner, Peter, has collected it. It’s always good to see the reaction on client’s face when they pick up the instrument that they’ve been waiting months for. It’s a great leap of faith to place an order with a Luthier and I always appreciate the trust that’s placed in me.

The spruce classical nears completion, as you can see the bridge has just been glued on. I find this stage the most nerve wracking. Having spent ages making and varnishing the guitar, the area where the bridge is glued on has to be scraped clear of varnish, back to bare wood. One slip and aaaaggghhh…..a wrecked guitar.



I’ve introduced a line of green into the latest rosette. I don’t normally like to use dyed wood, but the green complements the cedar front. The next stage is to remove the wood between the two sets of lines and inlay the mosaic tiles.

You may remember I mentioned a commission for an SG style electric. After many emails and ‘phone calls with Andy, the guitar has morphed into a Howard Roberts style jazz guitar. I think that the great thing about a custom built guitar is that the client can have a real input into the design process and end up with an instrument that suits his/her requirement exactly.