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Thanks, John! I actually hadn't heard of him and will definitely reach out - looks like he's just 30 minutes from me. I appreciate the tip!

Hi everyone! I've recently had some trouble securing mandolin neck blanks from my current supplier due to high demand. I'm guessing this issue is wide spread among all suppliers, but wanted to see if...

No not at all! Just wanted to make sure that you heard from me. Hopefully another one will become available for you to grab. They're great mandolins.

Hey Patrick! Yes, that one on my website sold very quickly and was such a great sounding mandolin. I'm sorry you didn't get my response - I had sent an e-mail over on Saturday letting you know that I...

Thanks, Cathy! The gentleman who originally posted was a customer of mine and we actually ended up ordering an inlay from you guys. The inlay was beautiful and we both were impressed with the quality...

I listened to their cd in my shop this morning and loved it. Sounded new and familiar at the same time.

Thanks so much for your responses! They've been extremely helpful. John's description of what could go wrong with the bone material is exactly what I've been fighting. I always fix it, but it would...

Hi! I've been using bone material for my corner points, but have seen a few F5's lately that looked like the corner points were made out of a celluloid and the points blended seamlessly with the...

Thanks for your input! I may try the parchment paper in the tight areas.

Thanks for your reply! This mandolin has a spirit varnish finish and has been sitting for about 9 weeks. I'll have to look into the Enduro-Var.

I think you and I have gotten sidetracked with...

I've just finished my 6th mandolin and although the varnish is hard enough to string up and play, the case is pretty tight in some areas and I'm concerned about the possibility of fabric imprinting....

Thanks! I probably should have clarified that it was a spirit varnish. Much easier to use than oil varnish from what I've heard. The finish on mine was sprayed on. After sanding the shellac, the...

Thank you! This one had actually been spoken for. I've been thinking about doing an A style, but it will probably be a few builds away.

QUOTE=J.Sloan;1507178] "IMO...it's one of the best tonewoods out there for mandolin tops. To me, there's a piano like clarity, very balanced and yet strong and loud."


I've been having a...

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

Thanks, Jason! It has a Carpathian top which is something that I was first turned on to by one of your mandolin videos. Such a great tone wood. Thanks for the influence!

Finished with #5! This was my first time working with varnish and there was a learning curve to say the least. The longer curing time took me by surprise, but I doubt that I'll ever go back to...

Thank you! I've never seen over spray that looked like this, but I think that's exactly what it is. It looks NOTHING like lacquer over spray, but it did seem like it was coming from the air brush....

Hi! I'm spraying a mandolin and it's the first time that I've used spirit varnish. I've used lacquer for years and am experienced with finishes, but this one has me stumped. I started with a sealer...

Yeah, not sure what happened there. Thanks, Marty!

Yeah they're definitely less traditional. When I first started building these, I was given some advise from a high end builder and he recommended not overbuilding the tone bars. I've always sized and...

My number 5 is almost ready for varnish! First time using Carpathian, but will definitely not be the last. Such a great tone wood.

I used water a few times to raise the grain and then sand down, but I let it dry out before applying the dye. Lightly wetting the wood before dye application makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the...

Thanks Adrian! I'll try the 2 lb cut and take your advice on spraying as little as possible until there's some build up. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond!

Regards,
Tyler

Hi there!

I have experience with lacquer finishes and and sprayed sunbursts, but i'm trying to expand my horizon and am having some issues with the hand rubbed burst when using a shellac finish....