Mandolin Build # 2

I have started a new Mandolin build . The following pics will show the basic progression of the instrument. The following is the Hard Maple back that has been shaped to the design.

The next Pic shows the back glued to the sides , kerfing in place and reinforcing set in an X pattern for bracing . I have used solid wood cuts for the harder parts of the design as you can see .

The neck is glued up and ready for the band saw .

Gluing and clamping the tone bars in place after the basic shape of the top has been cut

The finished glued top . Note the "oval sound hole" I messed up the project as you will see soon.

The Neck glued in place with the fret board Fretted and fitted and glued in, The tuner holes have been drilled as well.

The layout of the Pearl inlays at the head angle.

The top glued in place and the unit ready for final sanding for the finish . Note the "diamond sound hole " hey I'm good lol . The color stain under the finger board was done prior to gluing

I will have pictures of my project comming up as I continue into the finishing stage . Thanx for stopping by and looking over my little project.

My Latest Repair Job

This is a Mid 1890's Tenor Banjo . The customer wanted it cleaned and restored to playable .

I spent Maybe 10 hrs on this and charged $100.00 " Man I gotta Raise My Prices "

It turned out quite nice and is very playable . I am willing to bet however that it ends up being a wall hanging .

Customer wanted modern keys on it , the friction style were quite unusable. I "believe" that is the original Calfskin head . I left the face stained , and basically cleaned the dirt . TO MUCH cleaning can detract from value . However so does modern keys ? Go Figure ?

My First Paying Job As A Luthier ! " RedNeck Resonater "

Hello all . I have a customer in my regular business who found out I do Luthrie as a hobby . He had this Mid 1930s Resonator guitar and wanted it redone . I agreed , with the proviso that I make NO GUARANTEES and NO PROMISES . He readily agreed . When I took the Resonator plate off , I found what you see below . SOMEONE had taken a guitar and tried to make a "Faux Reso " and painted a silver circle on the guitar top .

When I stopped Laughing , I called the customer and told him what I found . He said he still wanted it Done . So the Following Pics are a story of What I did .

Pained circle above , Top cracked in a dozen places and not repairable . Has to be replaced.

The Resonator Cover , I used Steel Wool and turtle wax to clean as well as possible.

The Pic above shows the "reinforcing I glued in to help stabilize the cracks in the guitar back.

The neck was warped and in bad shape , I sanded it down and used a hand plane to try and straighten the fret board side , it was "partially" successful.

The back and sides after I sanded and filled cracks and re glued any loose areas.

The above is the new top , I made it out of 2nd grade Walnut lumber I had in stock . It is re-sawn and book matched . And Yes that IS a $3.00 Metal Pie Plate to be used as a resonator cone to make the reverberation sound out .

The bracing has been glued in and the "F" holes redone to match the original guitar.

View from the front that shows the Pie Plate in place . It is held in by a screw and glue with a maple "dowel" and the bridge sits right over that screw to help with the sound vibrations.

The neck has been reset and painted black , I am using Black and Cherry stains so the neck will be part of the overall black and red theme

Gluing the top back in place .

After staining , during the Lacquer Stage , Note my Lacquer booth needs work "LOL"

The back of the finished product , Black stain in the wood grain and Cherry stain over that. You can see how the black Painted neck ties in nicely now.

The front of the finished Guitar . The Top is black stained walnut and the fingerboard is Cherry stained . So the whole effect turned out well.

The Customer paid $200.00 dollars and was Quite Happy with the results achieved . The Guitar is tuned and very playable . The sound is Actually very good for a Redneck Resonator .

I was actually impressed that it turned out to sound as good as it did , I did have my doubts .

So goes my first paying job as a luthier . The amount was not really enough to cover my time , however I did learn allot and the challenge was quite fun .

I hope you enjoyed my short trip through Redneck Luthrie