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Hi, All. My buddy, Steve, asked me to help him build a mandolin for his wife. It commemorates their 35th anniversary. I don't know much about mandolins, but the two of us muddled through and finally managed to finish a nice little instrument. The design is all about simplicity of construction. We started with an f-model shape, but simplified it in every way possible. This means flat top and back with induced arch, a horn instead of a scroll, a bolt on neck, and a heel that butts squarely to the body. Rims were sanded on a 12-inch radius dish, and the top and back were also braced on this dish, so the thickness of the instrument tapers nicely in all directions from the center.

Top is redwood. Back and sides are Missouri black walnut. Neck is black walnut with a lamination of maple veneer along the center line. Decorative veneers are burl walnut. Fingerboard and bridge, which we also built, are rosewood.

I am still fussing over the truss rod cover and the pick guard, so the lady will probably receive her gift before those are mounted. Still, I think you'll get the idea. This is the first instrument my friend has built, and only the fourth for me. He participated in all the steps, and I gave a lot of help along the way. It was a case of the blind leading the blind, but we're pleased with the outcome.

Beautifull work ! I like the design and the " simplicity " of the mando as you say.
Personally I prefer the Mando's to have less "glitz" as it were , to me it makes the Quality of the wuwerk stand out . But thats just my view point.

Either way im sure she will be happy with it , love to hear a clip of her sing !

Great work.

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Hi, again, and thanks for the compliment. We couldn't find an experienced player to record a sound sample for us, so the new owner's son made a sample for us yesterday. Nothing fancy here. He strums through some chords and lets each one ring, and then plucks and tremolos some single notes in the last fifteen seconds.
I think it'll give you an idea. You'll find the sample here:

http://hotfile.com/dl/93252928/1a06d32/ ... 2.MP3.html

Here's a final shot showing our heart-shaped sound hole, and the pick guard in place.

I love it , Sound's excellent to me , plenty of tone and sustain there ! I look forward to seeing more of your work !

Beautifull job !!

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/