A Squadron of Planes?

Before I start the next in my series of archtop mandolins, I thought that I’d make a couple more planes. I’ve made the soles of these two to be more suitable for shaping the outside of the top and back plates. Although they are both curved, they are only shaped in one direction. One for general shaping and the other specifically for the re-curve.

The thing with making these planes is not to be too precious. It would be very easy to spend a long time sanding the wood and polishing the brass etc. but the main concern is their function and if, when in use, they don’t work as intended, I can feel that I can readily reshape them.

So, here they all are, sharp and ready to go. Ever wondered what the collective noun for group of planes is?

Sneaky Peak!

Just I thought I’d show you how the Tru-oil was going on!

Getting there……….

As you saw in the last video, the neck and fretboard joined the body and we now have a whole e-mando! Since then, it’s been fretted, neck carved and had a jolly good clean-up.

So, the next thing is to work on making/fitting the hardware, getting it playing and then taking it apart ready for finishing. This one will be done in Tru-oil; I know there’s quite a bit interest in using this finish, so I’ll do another video to show you my process.

Nava Archtop Mandolin Demonstration

Well, here’s a treat for you! Craig, the new owner of archtop #4, sent me a video of him putting the mandolin through its paces. Amanda and I were delighted to receive it and really enjoyed hearing Craig's playing; hope you do too!

Thanks again Craig.

Neck on!

The neck has been fixed to the body on my latest e-mando and it’s all in the video below! It's getting exciting now!

Chambered Body Update

I’ve just finished work on the purflings and bindings for the new chambered body electric mandolin and I must say, I’m pleased with the outcome on a couple of levels….

It was quite time-consuming process, as practically all of the 16 pieces had to be glued on individually.

Now the bindings are on, you wouldn’t know how difficult it was to achieve- the maple (for the bindings) was 2.5mm thick and had to be bent to some pretty extreme curves and also the points had to be mitred cleanly. The white maple is very unforgiving as any gaps in the joints can’t be filled as you can do with ebony or rosewood.

The body is now really complete; one of the aims of this project was to see if I could actually create this shape by bending wood and to get a good idea of the geometry of the top. So, me thinks, an acoustic mandolin built to this shape would be possible!

Happy Holidays!

First thing’s first; Amanda and I wanted to thank you for your continued support and friendship throughout this most difficult of years and wish you Happy Christmas and best wishes for the new year!

The body of the electric mandolin is now together and all that extra internal work hidden from view- unless you watch the video!