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Just finished up my first mandocello. This has five courses rather than the typical four. It has 295 lbs total string tension and hasn't imploded which makes me happy. It sounds good and plays good too. I play mandolin and octave mandolin, but I've never played a mandocello so I'm having to figure out what I can play on it with the longer scale length combined with the tuning in fifths which makes for long stretches.

I posted additional info over in the Mandolin - Mandola - Ukulele subforum.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

The front looks great Jay, what about the back?

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

So good… nice work, Jay! The thread in the other forum has more pics. The binding!! Really nice.


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I found it. Back looks great too!


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Well, that was a problem I didn't see coming. When I went to string up the mandocello above for the first time, I discovered that the 0.070 strings for the C-course did not fit through the holes in the tuner posts. Huh. That possibility never occurred to me. Fixed it with a small tapered cylindrical file. Phew!

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Love that buttery golden koa.
Also, it's rat tailed file...

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

I cut and filed the back to an archtop to fit in the form I have to hold it when rough carving. I'll rough it in steps. The first 9/16" or so with 1/4" shims under it, and then the second 1/4" or so with 1/2" shims under it. I use my hogger, and the Lei Neilson that they don't make anymore. The chips look the same, but the hogger chips are much thicker. The metal plane is set for a big cut, but not as big as the hogger, and the angle is lower. It just slices; the hogger is more like gouging.

For roughing, I'm just looking to get the edges even at about 5mm or a little less. Carve the long arch to blend to the edge, and the end of the upper block. Blend the cross arches up to the long arch. I don't think it will end up with 24 mm of arch; the belly is 19 mm; so it will have lots of stock.

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Why be normal?

Looking good, Ken!

I refreshed the Menzerna compounds that I use. The previous sticks were almost a decade old. I’d had them for 8 of those 10 years.










Brad


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We drill these out much faster takes only several seconds and works great.

In the electric guitar world heavier strings and drop tunings especially on the low E and on seven strings the B have clients wanting strings larger in diameter than the tuner post holes came from the manufacture.

We also have a client who is an internationally famous jazz player who likes his low E to be a 0.075" string. He plays vintage Gibsons and Epiphones so we have to drill those out too.

Anyway give it a try you will be surprised how soft the metals that they make tuner posts out of can be, I was.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

After a few hours yesterday, I'm down to getting the arching height. I have the edges even and 4.5 mm, but I don't want them over 4 mm. I did that on my drill press with a little mill tool. I need to find a way to make the table higher, the spindle lower, or find a 1" longer tool so I can set the table to the right height, and not have to pull the handle down, and move the back around. I roughed it to mostly about 5 mm, where it was over, I stopped, and carved it lower first.

Once I get the edge down another .5 mm or more, I'll set the arch height. You plane the ridge flat, and keep getting lower until the tone of the scratching across the flat goes down in the middle, instead of up. Then you have the highest arching that you can get.

But, you are supposed to match that tone with the scratch from the belly. So I'm thinking that if it is still high, you can rough the whole thing down some more, and reset the arch height again. Keep going until it matches? I guess. The viola back matched the belly the first try. We will see.

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Why be normal?

This is where I'm at after getting side tracked with trains
I'm ready get back to building and finishing some projects but I think need a little more organization. It's hard to imagine in this mess. Anyway, hello again.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I've been there Hutch. Luckily most of the projects that I have started fit nicely stacked up in boxes under the benches!

I have the back of the archtop ready to start tuning. The center is started, but I forgot that I have to tune the edge too. It was WAY thicker than I thought. I set it at 4.5, but the drill press must have give. It was all about 5.5 mm thick. I did it all with small planes in little cuts. The ribbon figure can bite you.

I might have it down to about 22 mm high. The body is not real wide; 390 mm (15.35" That's as wide as the stack of (6?) spruce pieces came out); the same as the viola is long. 7/8" arch is fairly high for a 15 1/4" back. Yes. English measurements are awkward, aren't they? I'll do the rest of the outside on the table without the holder. I pick it up and tap, and scratch to my ear. I'm just using scrapers now. A few different radius scrapers, and a couple straight one that to almost all of it.

The little flat plane is good for removing more stock; but even with it set fairly low, you still have to be careful of tear out; even across the grain. The center area is a real bear. Funky grain, and pores the size of sink holes.

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Why be normal?

Great progress, Ken!


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Some inlay work tonight…







Brad


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CNC's were made for precise guys like you Brad. What size cutter will do the squiggly line? Probably just big enough to leave the perfect radius.

I probably have another afternoon on the outside of the back. I found that besides tapping on the back hard to hear the front, or scratching on the front to hear the front; you can tap lightly on the front, and hear a ringing tone of the front. some spots are completely different, and checking with scratching, they are high. So another tool to use to double check before taking off wood.

While tuning, you find that the parts you tuned before are now a little high. That's because the arch got lower at the end, but didn't change at the top; so somewhere it is bulging. I try to take long swipes with the scraper to not just get the spot that is high. With a sharp scraper you can feel when it hits a high spot. I always go in every direction with smooth swipes. Spin the scraper in arcs too.

I noticed on the viola that the arching is not just long and cross arches. It is arches across every section that you could cut out of it. Each section will have 2 low points and a high point. The high point doesn't have to be in the middle, the arches on either side are not the same. But they have to flow together, and a bulge on either side will have to be smoothed out.

The ribbon figure on the Padauk shows this on the lower treble side here on an angle:

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Why be normal?

The shell cutter is .023” from PreciseBits. The pocket in the ebony is first “cleared” with a .031” end mill and then a final cut with a 023” end mill same as the shell.

It’s pretty amazing accuracy really. I open up the pocket by +.002” and the shell drops right in with a light hammer tap.

You can see more here - https://youtube.com/shorts/0Z9Cu-pRAlE? ... m5t8av_XNv

Brad


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I like the Tulsa inlay.

Looks great Brad. In my case, thank the lord for ebony dust and epoxy.

Well, I'm semi retired now and hopefully I'll be able to finish up my guitars and start some more. But first, I had to remove the HO train benches that I somehow thought was a good idea to include in my shop. Here's the mess. I'm planning to build an assembly bench that I can walk around and keep the big power tools down at the other end. All that scrap pine lumber is from the train benches, I hope to use some of it for shelves and things.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Just finished up this all domestic wood uke (inside and out)













Can you guess all the woods that were used?

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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&
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I'll bite. Osage, black locust or box elder, walnut and desert ironwood.

Is the body Myrtle?

BTW: I heart Osmo





Brad


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I love the Osmo one coat for refinishing my oak front door (black finish) every year due to dog scratches. How is it for feel on necks?

I used it on my daily driver and love it. Neck is slick as chicken grease.

As you know, there isn’t as much protection as nitro or polyester.

I follow Josh House’s schedule - https://youtu.be/mfdZWVTNyzE?si=nL7ZZRBU2CTHs8NY


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I like that and will try it on my current neck. Headstock overlay will still get nitro.