Hi all, I'm a "new chum" here. I did post about a year ago about elec.double basses and have lurked whenever I wanted specific information. Mostly I make elec. double basses. In the last two years I've built a double bass, an archtop guitar, a viola and now two mandolins. I'm quite happy in the carved top/ moveable bridge family.
Two bluegrass mandolins, carved tops and backs. This won't be a build thread just a series of progress shots.
The mando with strings is about 2 weeks old. It has a top made from old Oregon fascia( d. fir), very tough and brittle after years in the weather, it gave me a bit of trouble doing the purfling. I was too close to the edge and it crumbled on the end grain and chipped in other places. I repaired what I could and made it into an "artifacto" and learned my lesson. The back and sides are PNG rosewood, the neck and bridge are maple, f.b. is rosewood with ebony/qld. walnut veneers.
The unfinished one is w. r. cedar top, blackwood b/s, Qld.walnut neck, solomon blackwood f.b., bridge and veneers. I'm planning an oval sound hole one as well but will first complete an archtop guitar that has been gathering dust.
These instruments are based on the drawings for the Gibson F5 and A models. I've added an upper bout not standard to Gibsons but used before by others. The upper bout gives some of the visuals of an F5 without all the work. The only bling on these will be the purfling and a violin overhang top and bottom.
![[:Y:]](./images/smilies/smiley20.gif "Thumbs Up")
keep it up and dont be a stranger we need all the posters we can here !! look forward to seeing more of your excellent work !
