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Here is my newest instrument.
Irish Bouzouki / Octave Mandolin -- flat top, pin bridge

Curly Soft Maple back and sides
Adirondack spruce top
Curly Soft Maple neck
Ebony fret board and headstock veneer
African Blackwood Bridge
Spalted Birch and abalone rosette
Gotoh mini tuning machines
23 inch scale length
KTM SV finish on body
Colortone alcohol dye sealed with shellac and a coat of System 3 epoxy.
Waterlox oil finish on neck with FP headstock veneer.

Stunning !! I love the look ! Excellent effort .

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http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Gorgeous. A Beauty.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Very nice! Love the finish.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

Looking great Ron, nice maple figure on the back and sides.

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Great work Ron. Absolutely beautiful. Is that straight tobacco or a mixture of amber and tobacco or something other? How is that waterlox finish? Is it speedy? Inquiring minds!

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...

Thanks for the terrific comments. I really appreciate them.
Chris - for the color I use 4 oz. of alcohol, 60 drops of Tobacco Brown, 36 drops of Vintage Amber and 36 drops of Red Mahogany.
I really like the Waterlox. It is not speedy, but I can get it done in the time I let my KTM SV on the body cure, usually 2 weeks.
I sand to 220 and use a small square of t-shirt material to pad on a couple of coats then I fill the pores by applying with 400 grit wet or dry paper and wiped with a cloth after the application. I may need to do that a couple more times to get the pores filled. After that I apply 5 or 6 more coats and buff with 0000 steel wool to get a satin matt finish. I dispose of the cloths after each application.
At the same time I French Polish the headstock veneer. In future I will also FP the heel cap.
Waterlox is commonly used as a durable finish for floors and it is dead easy to repair.

Awesome looking instrument. I'm sure it sounds as well as it looks...Mike

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Wow! Stunning.


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That's a real beauty. I love the color on that maple

Love it!