Official Luthiers Forum!

Don!!
You mean you quit using the weed whacker?
No wonder the inlay looks soooo clean.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

I wrote to Stewmac and asked. They said router.

Yes, a CNC router.



Let's face it, the pearl was cnc'd and there's no reason why Red Diamond mandolins would cnc the pearl and not the pocket too. This isn't a big deal. They aren't saying in the ad that the bit and routing tool shown in the picture was what created the pocket. It's just a staged photograph for representational purposes.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

But......didn't you use a dremel to make the lancelot??????

(Don took a dremel, and carved up a chainsaw to make his lancelot.)

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Red Diamond is Don MacRostie, right ?

I found this on:

http://www.shopbottools.com/mApplicatio ... uments.htm

"CNC machining was the hot topic at a recent American Stringed Instrument Association’s (A.S.I.A.) Annual Symposium and Luthiers Frolic. Several sessions covered topics ranging from software design to outsourcing your machining. Many cautious warnings were heard on the complexity of 3D machining, inlay work and producing parts in quantities. Some of the largest instrument manufacturing companies told of their steep learning curves and large start up costs. In their midst came a very different, down-to-earth, session from ShopBotter Don MacRostie called, “You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks.” Using inexpensive CAD software and the ShopBot digitizing probe, Don demonstrated that even complex 3D carving and intricate inlay is not rocket science. By reverse engineering his own parts, Don was able to shape his F5 mandolin arched top that he cut on a PRTalpha BenchTop at the show. The tool was sent to Stewart Macdonald after the show to produce their popular mandolin kits. In addition to producing his high end Red Diamond mandolins, Don also works on development projects for StewMac and was instrumental (sorry) in getting some of their kits into production.

Although Don’s BenchTop only runs a few hours a week, he is able to stock some parts for months in advance. His tool has changed the way he manufactures parts, and he is a true innovator in new CNC methods for musical instruments. One example is in how his ivoroid bindings are produced. They are pre-shaped in a mold cut to size and baked in his oven (150 degrees at 20 minutes I believe). When they come out they are ready to glue directly onto the headstock without a struggle. His intricate rosewood and abalone fingerboard and headstock inlays are cut with small micron size carbide end mills and will rival the quality of machining centers 20 times the cost of a BenchTop ShopBot.
"

Thanks for that Windsurfer,
So now that I'm somewhat proven correct, let me just say: I've got to get me one of those machines!

Oh yes, and also... I told you so...

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