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Perhaps Frank had an old can of the Zinsser Traditional Finish and Sealer (or the product has gotten better since 2001), because I've used it for various things in past few years, both as an...

I made a soprano ukulele sized mandolin a while back, with 8 nylon strings. It turned out pretty well. I made a custom set of strings out of singles for it, but I see Aquila has a set of nylon...

I ordered a banjo case from Musicians Friend that should fit. Thanks to everyone for the responses.

I emailed them just now. Thanks!

Apparently these are hard to find. I made an octave mandolin recently and I'm having a problem finding a case for it. There is a listing on Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194MNV9G/ )...

Someone should make a folding mandolin....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_D2RMBUn8U

I've not used it for pore filling, but this UFO CA from Satellite City is pretty much odorless and non-irritating. It does take a little longer to cure, though, and it's relatively expensive.

I don't think anyone has mentioned using CA glue to fill pores.

Sweet gum tends to warp and twist when it dries, so be prepared for that. If you get some relatively straight boards, I can tell you that it makes a pretty good mandolinetto:

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I have an American Conservatory bowlback much like yours. I put extralight GHS strings on it (.009-.032).

https://www.stringsbymail.com/ghs-mandolin-extra-light-gauge-9-32-full-set-5793.html

This speaks volumes.

That giant bandsaw in the video is awesome.

If you have a cat I hope you saved the shavings and dust from the olive wood. Cats love the stuff. :)

I use something like an inside mold exclusively (actually mine are both inside and outside), and I've not had a problem gluing tops on while still in the mold. Doing this keeps the sides from moving...

I have an ukulele I made 22 years ago with the original strings... 'course they're nylon and apparently unaffected by climate. It hasn't been played all that much, but the strings sound as good as...

Never mind.

You could plane some solid surfacing material, like Corian, down to 1/16 or so and use that, but Formica (or maple) seems like a better choice to me. ;)

I used to make Corian blocks I glued up...

Nice find!

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Oh, they're still around.

Not much difference in thickness in various brands, no. It varies between .020 and .030 mostly, occasionally slightly thicker. You could also use Micarta sheets, which come in all sorts of...

Formica (plastic laminate) scraps can be had from the trash behind your local friendly shop that makes plastic laminate countertops, cabinets, etc. Or you could ask them. ;)

You could also use a...

Shellac will stick to anything...

My alternative personal favorite is Western Redcedar, which I get from Lowes, mostly. In the past I've had success with redwood for guitar tops (expensive now, though it wasn't then). I've made...

Perfect is the enemy of good enough. ;)

+10 on this. This solves the problem of the string posts binding when you have a tapered thickness peghead and the posts go through it at a slight angle.

I've made several instruments with softwood necks. I can't tell any difference in sound, but the softwood necks dent a lot more easily. I have an acoustic guitar that started out with a canarywood...