More mandolin work

The French polishing on Sean’s mandolin is well under way. I often get asked how long does French polishing take or how many coats etc. Simple answer-  there is no answer! It’s one of things that you work on and on, and then one day it suddenly looks done; it tells you when you're done.

The Standard plus has now been set-up and I’m really pleased with the initial sound- loud to say the least! It will stay strung up for about week before the final tweaking and then be polished.

It has one of my own tailpieces. One really successful aspect of these tailpieces is the ability to be able change the shape of the wooden element to complement the head shape and also to vary the wood itself; so as you can see this one is Indian rosewood to match the back and sides.

Work has started on John’s mandolin- we’ve gone for a three piece back on this one. Putting a back together like this one is a bit tricky. Because the grain in cocobolo is quite wild, it runs in opposing directions along the joint. Ideally you should always use the longest plane that you have; however, here I have had to use my low angle block plane to stop the grain from tearing out.

Then you the three pieces to align plus a black veneer in the joint; note how notches have been cut into the back to ensure that the pressure is applied evenly by the clamps.

And here we have it!