New Model Mandolin: 6

Time now to shape the neck!

Also, I have a brief chat about the tools needed for this process. After running through the shaping process, I start the clean-up in preparation for setting-up the mandolin, “in the white.”

Cheers Gary

New Model Mandolin: 5

In this episode, I design and make a new jig for routing the neck joint. Then: fit the neck, the fretboard’s supporting wedge, and the fretboard itself. Quite a lot there to take in!

I skim over the fretting process as I’ve demoed this many times before, but if you’re interested in how I fret, have a look at thisvideo- 

Although I fret my short scale bass, the actual process is the same, just the scale is different!

Cheers Gary

New Model Mandolin: 4

The body of the mandolin is now together, so what’s next? In this video, I look at routing the rebate for the purflings and bindings. The purflings take quite a while to fit as there are tricky mitres to cut and the bindings (made from walnut) need to be bent on the bending iron to fit exactly. All good fun! Oh, and a bit about the fretboard too!

Cheers Gary

Making the Archtop’s top-plate

Here’s the latest video! In this one, I run through the process of making the top-plate for Archtop #4. I’m using some fantastic Sitka spruce for this one, fine grain and dead on the quarter.

In parallel to working on the top-plate, I’ve been making the tailpiece. The tailpiece is from the same piece of Macassar ebony as the head overlay; so a nice match.

Whenever I use a tailpiece jack-socket, I like to fit the tailpiece once the top has been glued to the rim and before the back goes on. This way the tail block can be supported whilst drilling the jack's 12mm hole and you don’t get the drill bursting out of the back surface. It also means that the top’s overhang is trimmed at the this point too.

Youhei’s mandolin revisited

Some of you will remember this lovely quilted maple mandolin that I made for Youhei in Japan.

 

I just stumbled across this delightful YouTube video of Youhei playing it.

Thanks for posting Youhei; great to see you both in action!

Don’t you just love mandolins!

Here’s brilliant new video of “Mr Charlie Pig” playing “Tripping up the Stairs” on his Nava Standard Plus mandolin. Great playing! Enjoy!

And in case you’re wondering. All the constructional work on Patrick’s twin point is now complete; it’s been set-up and is now being polished. Here are a couple of photos of it, in the white, before it was disassembled.

Paul’s Standard Plus Mandolin

Just in case you’ve been wondering what’s happened to Paul’s mandolin, here are a couple photos of the purflings and bindings. The herringbone has come out really well- I like to use brown (as opposed to black) herringbone so that visually, it merges with rosewood bindings.

 

 Here’s the completed tailpiece.

 

And the story so far!

Bound up

It continues to surprise me, that there is a growing trend to leave some instruments unbound. The bindings serve the very real function of protecting the delicate edges of the soundboard and back and to me, leaving them out is inconceivable. Here you can see the vulnerable top edge of Heikki’s Standard mandolin; how could I leave that unbound?

Obviously, it’s a stage which takes a fair bit of time, care and skill to carry out, but is essential to the longevity to the instrument. 

To contrast with its bubinga back and sides, I’m using rosewood for the bindings, which has to be bent using the bending iron.

Cloth tape is the method that I like to use to hold the bindings in place whilst the glue dries. You can get a great deal of pressure with the tape and ensure a good bond. The only drawback is the 10 to 15 min that it takes Amanda and me to get it all untangled once the glue is dry!

  And here’s the body of Heikki’s mandolin; fully bound.

Wenge Neck

In case you’ve been wondering! Here are a few pictures of the Standard Plus; the wenge neck has turned out really well. It was hard work to shape it; the wenge doesn’t like spokeshaves and I had to use a rasp for virtually all of the shaping but visually it was certainly worth the effort. I love the whole dark look and the relic finish tuners that I’m going to use will look spot on.

I posted these photos on the Mandolin Café forum and was blown away by the kind comments that my fellow luthiers left- all greatly respected craftsmen. You can read them towards the end of this page. http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?80-Mandolins-in-progress&p=1081869#post1081869

Setting up

One of the things that I really like about making instruments with floating bridges, is that you can get it set-up (action and intonation) before any finish is applied. Once you’re 100% happy that the instrument is at its optimum, you can take it apart again and apply the finish. This eliminates the angst of filling saddles and nuts on a freshly polished instrument.

Here you can Sean’s twin-point going through that procedure. Another use for that pattern maker’s vice- again, you wouldn’t do this with neck that’s polished!

Quite a few things!

There’s quite a few things going on in the workshop at the moment. John’s koa guitar is looking really good- I’ve just about finished applying the French polish and it now needs to fully harden before the bridge goes on.

Speaking of which, here is the bridge; it’s made from Brazilian rosewood to match the head overlay. This too is beautiful wood; I’ve got a fair number of Brazilin rosewood billets which I got hold of in the 1970s and never used. The trouble with luthiers is, we put stuff aside for “something special” and expire before that day comes! So I’ve decided to start using it!

So, in between applying polish to John’s guitar, I’ve been putting Alan’s twin-point mandolin together. You can see the body below- yet more beautiful cocobolo with a red spruce soundboard. Without doubt, the twin-point mandolin has become my most popular instrument and (without blowing my trumpet, pardon the musical pun) because I’m willing to incorporate custom features, no two are alike.

I’ve also been cutting abalone- lots of little diamonds for the rosette on Charlie’s twin point mandolin.  The photos below give an idea of how I cut them. 

Whilst I was in the mood I also cut the N logo for the head (and for the following two mandolins!)

Awhile ago I was thinking about phasing the N logo out, but everyone who orders from me likes it, so it stays. It is however, gradually changing shape. Whenever I cut one, I don’t use a template, I draw it straight on to the shell. I like the idea of each one I make looking the same but being different; like your own signature. Each time you sign your name your signature has its distinct characteristic, but each version will be subtly different. The logo is gradually getting slimmer- so here’s the next three.

Brendan’s Mandolin Part VIII

The last piece of woodwork that I do is to shape the neck. I like leaving the neck square until the end as it makes fretting easier- the flat back of the neck blank can supported to stop it bouncing and the instrument can be held in a vice to work on the frets. Also with the fingerboard finished, you can get a better feel of what the neck will be like.

Spokeshaves and rasps are the tools that I prefer for this.

Whilst the mandolin can be held in the vice, I rough shape the heel and nut area, and then I work on the middle section.

On my more recent necks I tend to keep the depth of the neck constant from the nut towards the heel and take more material away from the heel area. To my mind this gives easier access to the higher frets. Compare my finished heel with this plan for a Gibson style mandolin.

I think that many luthiers feel that by removing too much wood in the heel area the neck will be weakened. However, consider the length of a bolt on electric guitar neck and how thin, long and strong they are. This is one the reason I’ve enjoyed making a variety of fretted instruments over the years- everything feeds back into your pool of experience.

As the neck is the last phase of construction I keep working on it until it’s ready for polishing and then clean-up and prepare the rest of the instrument.

When you’re using a cork sanding block this size and 500 silicon carbide paper you know that you’re nearing the end....