Just getting on..........

 I’m in the middle of applying the finish to Allan’s e-mando. It’s had a number of thin coats of Tru-oil applied and you can see how the grain is already greatly enhanced. A few more and we’ll be there!

Tip of the week! - I just made up this thingamajig, inspired by a fret-rocker, from scrap acrylic.

When carving a neck (archtop #4 in this case) you need to use a straight edge to ensure that there are no bumps or dips along the neck’s length. No problem on a guitar, but on a mandolin the distance between where the neck starts to curve into the heel and the angle for the head is comparatively short, so 150mm rulers etc don’t work; they’re too long to rest only on the neck, hence the thingamajig. Super handy!

And below is the finished neck- some lovely flamed maple, laminated with black veneer and sapele to complement the body.

So that’s the construction of #4 done- on to the setting-up etc.

As an aside, my favourite tool for shaping necks is a Japanese Shinto rasp and one that I’d unreservedly recommend. I noticed that my one hasn’t been cutting as efficiently lately, losing its sharpness, so I just bought a new one- and there’s quite a difference. 

Shan’t complain as the old one lasted 77 necks! Yep, I record that sort of stuff.

The real thing?

Last week you saw my aluminium alternative inlay; this week- mother of pearl. Here’s the head for Andrew’s twin-point; pearl inlaid into some very nice African Blackwood.

Fitting the Headway transducer

In the last post, I mentioned that Rob’s Standard mandolin was not quite standard.  Rob has a couple of custom requirements; one of my handmade tailpieces and a Headway transducer.

One issue with using an under saddle transducer on a mandolin is housing the battery. Fitting a battery through the sound hole is a tight squeeze and all of the strings have to be taken off, which in turn means the bridge moves. The Headway solves this issue by using an external prep-amp which can also be used as a phantom power source for the transducer thus eliminating the need for an internal battery. With a stereo lead, one channel is used as the transducer’s output and the other as its power supply. The preamp itself is quite a neat thing and can go on a belt clip, if you wish.

 Here’s the completed tailpiece……………

…………….the large 12mm diameter hole is for the jack socket endpin.

 So, the soundboard is glued to the rim, the excess spruce trimmed and the position of the tailpiece carefully marked out, checked umpteen times, and the pilot holes for the tailpiece's screws drilled.

The tailpiece is screwed in place and a 12mm hole is drilled through the rim and tail-block. 

The transducer can then be test fitted. You can see why it’s a very good idea to use plywood for the tail-block, anything else and you run the risk of the block splitting. 

With the various nuts and washers adjusted for a perfect fit, the transducer is removed. Next, I like to glue the backing nut in place with CA; this helps with the final fitting once the mandolin is complete and you’re working blind through the soundhole.

 And after one last clean-up, the back is glued on to form the magic box.

The Ambassadors and more……..

I’m sure that you’re familiar with Holbein’s painting, The Ambassadors; all the objects with their associated symbolism etc.?

Well, there were a few items at this week’s market that I couldn’t resist buying and when I laid them out, I thought that if Hans were to pop round to paint me, he would probably choose a very similar selection of symbolic objects……..

 The mandolin is a traditional Neapolitan bowl back from the 1900s; it probably doesn’t have any great value but it’s a lovely thing. So, do I restore it, or just let it adorn the workshop as is?

 Also, I couldn’t resist, yet another plane- a Stanley No 4, this one, is made in England, but has brass fittings instead of aluminium alloy and the casting looks a bit heavier and sharper compared to the other No 4 plane that I restored a while ago. 

Although there are plenty of websites for the dating of American Stanley planes, I can’t find any English ones.

Oh and the Keep on Truckin' badge, who didn’t have one of these on their denim jacket when they were 16?

 Anyway, back to the real world! I’ve had Paul’s Standard Plus playing in the white and now I’m about half way through the French polishing process- you can see how the wood really comes alive with some finish on it.

 

The next mandolin is a not-so-standard, Standard for Rob. Here is the completed rim- bubinga sides and rosewood end graft, with solid double thickness maple linings.

Heikki’s Standard Mandolin in the white

This week saw all of the construction completed on Heikki’s mandolin and it strung-up in the white. Once I was 100% happy with it (action and intonation), it was stripped back down and cleaned-up, ready for the finishing process.

In the “before and after” shots below you can see what a difference a few coats of shellac make.

Safe in the Highlands

Another tense few days, whilst Martin’s mandolin was in transit; it took almost as long to get to the Highlands as Youhei’s did to Japan!

Anyway, it arrived safe and sound and here are few photos; spruce soundboard, maple back and sides, sapele neck and a fair old smattering of cocobolo!

Martin’s mandolin

This week saw Martin’s mandolin; strung up, “in the white.”

This is the first time that I’ve used this particular design of rosette and combined with the all the other cocobolo details, the design of the whole instrument is coherent. Aesthetically a limited pallet of tonewoods works really well.

Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes the bug……

Sometimes you look back at the week and think, “What on Earth have I been doing all week?” and sometimes you think, “Well that was a good one: I deserve a beer!”

So couple of photo sequences for you- the cocobolo bindings going on to Martin’s and the neck on to Chris’s.

I'm going to have that beer.

Cheers Gary!