More Padauk Build Pictures

I have been working on the Padauk Mandola a bit more . With all of the rain , I cant spray laq. so I am working more on the wood building part . When "if" it ever decides to stop raining I will get some finishing done and post pics then.

Thanks Again for stopping by and having a look see . If you would Like to see More pics of some excellent builders ( many posted on side bar ) go to http://www.luthiersforum.com/ and have a look around . You wont be disappointed .

More Of Padauk Build

I have spent a bit more time on the Padauk Build. I had to find Quarter sawn Material to bend the sides before I could finish . This is beautiful wood , however its a Pain to bend . VERY hard.

Bending side and fitting to the shape jig

I had Berton Legeyt make me some tuner knobs from Padauk Material to match . If you need tuner knobs he can be contacted here legeytguitars@gmail.com

He does great work and is very reasonable on pricing

Mandola Body Glued and kerfing in place with end blocks .

Glued and clamped the face on , all the tone bars are in place and the " F " holes cut.

Gluing binding around outer edge of top . Binding is Cocobolo material like the trim on the neck.

And the neck is mounted and checked for centering and angle .

Thanks for stopping by .

Purple Heart Build

I have started anothe build in my spare time , so I have 4 builds going right now ! Nuts huh ! LOL This is Purple Heart wood . Yes that IS its natural color . I hope you enjoy my little wood working passion . Thanks

Thanks for stopping By . Have A Great day !

Ole Hik'ry

I have a friends that had a baby boy about a year ago and ive kinda adopted him as a grandbaby . He is the cutest lil fella and all the girls swoon and make over him .

Anyway , The candlelady and I discussed the need for all lil boys to have a wild stallion to break and ride when they are searcing the world for the bad guys , and trying to outrun mommy and her nasty tasting medicine !

I had a stash of Hickory lumber I had bought to make a couple mandolins, and decided it would make a real good stallion .

Soooooooooooooooooooooo

Ian has a new buckin bronco , and gandpa needs a new stash of hickory.

Walnut handles on the head and saddle area .

That tail is actually grey , but looks bluish in pic.

Walnut "sturrips"

He is finished with Lemon Oil and as he gets older he will age naturally .

Thanks for visiting "Ole Hik'ry"

Pear Blossom Update

I have been working on the pear blossom build a little more lately . If you look down a few post you will find it in the state as shown in the first picture .

Its fairly easy to determine why I chose pear blossom as a name .

Any way , I have been working on the finish and the pick guard . The pick guard is in the following picture and should " I hope " continue the theme . It took several hours and several beers to finally decide on the configuration . LOL

The colors in the following pics are not as nice in the pic as they are in real life , because quite frankly , I'm NOT a photographer . The top I tried to capture the greens and spots of a pear . I actually bought one and tried to copy the color .

The back and sides are made of Cherry , so I used cherry stain and then I distressed it and used the same green from the front and leaf pick guard and blended it in . Again the pics don't do it justice .

Thanks for the time and stopping by my little project , Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question . Have a great day everyone .

New Mando In progress

I have started a New Mando recently and am enjoying working with this wood . The color you see is natural color. The down side is that the dust gets EVERYWHERE and its orange so it shows on everything.

The Orange wood is called Paduck , and the darker wood is Cocobolo . The Top is Spruce and the bracing is Spruce as well.

Hope you enjoy the Pics .



The Basic Wood Cut and the Neck Blank Glued Up.

Yes this is the Natural Wood Color

I have started the neck and as you can see the CocoBolo wood is being used as stiffener and as binding.

Cut the Tenon and angle of the neck heel on table saw.



Cut the basic neck shape for the heel and neck angle , ready for carving / sanding

Braced the Back

Lay out and brace the top and cut F holes

the wood pattern you will see in the Back when finished

The wood grain in the top . Notice how straight the grain is.


Angle of the Back Bracing after carving and sanding . This idea was a new one on the bracing shape. No guts no Glory ! LOL I hope !

The Top Bracing is made with a 1/4" end to end curve that is approx 20'-0" radius. And the back brace is 3/16" side to side to help hold the shape. I have carved them down and will tune them after gluing the top on.


I hope You have enjoyed seeing my little project. Stop by again and feel free to leave a comment .

Have a great day

Of Tools And Walking Canes

As most of you know by now , my mind is a lil warped "lol" The following series of pictures shows what I did this weekend . My older brother is /was an electrician . He is currently disabled due to a fall from a crane on the job.

I decided he needed a new walking cane , so in my twisted lil mind I decided to make another TOOL CANE . I have fashioned this one to be a Pipe Bender .

The pic above shows the Foot pad for the " Bender " used when bending pipe

I Tried to at least make it look somewhat like the bender in that it has a slot part way up for the pipe . However i was afraid that if I took it all the way around it would be uncomfortable .

This pic shows the pipe catch to hold the pipe and start the bend

Most benders have a series of angles printed into the side , I decided that 90 deg was enough for the cane . Don't wanna take away from the canes comfort by having to many carvings in the side

And Finally the full cane with the red "Pipe Bender " Handle complete with a good quality rubber tip !