For my current mandolin build, I set out to answer 2 questions: 1. Whether to use physical deflection or frequency analysis to measure stiffness, and 2. How well can I measure wood quality in rough sawn form? (T. Gore says it needs to be planed smooth and rectangular for frequency analysis.) I have 4 different topwood species available for my current build: California Sitka, Englemann, Lutz, and Coastal Redwood. The billets range from 37…
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Hello Neil, I also measure wood properties when I build mandolins and what you did is very similar to what I have tried, so I'd like to share some thoughts and comments. From my engineer point of view,…
I've been building up my "2 car garage shop" for about 10 years preparing for retirement from health care. This spring I finally quit punching the time clock. Over the same time I've build 13 mandolins and 4 guitars. Now I pretty much have all my tools in place and enough wood stored to build for quite some time. My work benches are built with a heavy door for a top and base cabinets I scavenged from work. Lately I have toyed with the i…
That's impressive! I found a Sjoberg's Elite in very good condition on FBMP and offered the seller a ridiculous price. They bit, so that's what I ended up with. I hurt for 2 days after tearing apart t…
A friend of mine gave me his locally built mandolin for a neck reset. The glue in the dovetail has started to fail, and left a large gap at the bottom and a separation from the fingerboard and body. I've taken my brownstone and tried to heat the joint up enough to soften things up, but to no avail. I have no idea what type or where the joint is exactly. There are some indicators that this instrument was built with several flaws in the c…
The previously glued scroll on a mandolin headstock has broken off again. I've seen Frank Ford's fix, where he routs and glues in a spline, but I am wondering if there is a simpler fix for a less expensive instrument. Thanks.
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This works if you can glue it so it holds in place. Carefully drill a hole from treble side of the scroll, into the other side. Then epoxy a carbon fiber dowel in. Make the dowel slightly shorter…
Hi all, just sharing a couple of shots of my latest build, an A5-style mandolin with a goth soul 😉 Tonewoods Top: Alpine Spruce (Italy) Back & sides: Flame maple (France) Neck: Birch (Sweden) Fretboard & bridge: African Ebony Dimensions Scale length: 352.4 mm Nut width: 30 mm Fretboard radius: flat Total length: 660 mm Body width: 260 mm Finish Hand-rubbed stains and acrylic satin finish Features Hammered steel pickguard and truss rod cover Moose antl…
Hey! So I've got a customer who has dropped off with me one of the nastier headstock breaks I've seen in recent memory. There is excess glue of some sort (rock hard, clear) all inside the break, along with the threaded tracks of the screws. I'd usually just recommend a replacement neck in this case, but the customer is desperate to keep this neck as it holds some sentimental value to him. He's aware the repair will not be invisible, how…
Some people have painted over faux wood. It would certainly be acceptable on this instrument to give that a whirl. We did an episode with joe glaser on the subject. Nikki Walters did a fine article on…
