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LOL! I almost swallowed the hook on this one!

If you are VERY careful, you might try to sand and steel wool ALMOST all the lacquer off the neck, stopping before you get into the stain. In other words, patiently leave a thin coat of the lacquer...

Thanks guys! Its nice to see that there are choices. I think I'm going to try PhilGE's method first, but I may try the under the fingerboard extension methos too just to compare and see what feels...

Dumb, I know...but I have these leather straps with circle/notch on one end to attach to the endpin and a wide slot to run the strap through itself on the other end. I've tried wrapping it around the...

Please tell me how you failed on the first three? What went wrong? An electric mando neck is not that hard to do if you have simple woodworking skills. Maybe we can walk you through it the right way.

It all boils down to which A? Which F? Take the same wood (theoretically) graduate the tops and back the same way--F holes in both tops--same neck joint at the same fret--make an F and an A, and I'd...

When you spray outside, you soon learn about all the airborne dust, bugs and stray plant stuff blowing in the wind. Things you never saw before become really visible. It can be done, but a wet...

Hey Dave...yeah, thats pretty ambiguous, LOL....sorry. I want to explain myself, but I'm afraid I'll probably be digging myself in a deeper hole. I think "focus" is the wrong word. All I was trying...

I tried to follow the Siminoff tap tuning method using my ears to get a full step between the tone bars when tapped. The closest I could get was a step and a half. He even seems to run into the same...

Well, I don't know how to answer. The F5 is a more complicated build. The rim, binding and carving are much more involved than an A style. I think this is generally reflected in the price difference...

I went out to local lumberyard and found a board of flame maple 2"x6"x6 feet. I cut a couple of neck blanks and used the rest as sides.

Mandoplyr---Thanks for the tips!

I just did an A rim and used one piece. I didn't want to deal with the whole joining at the tailblock thing. Its not that I'm smarter, its that I'm unskilled in that procedure and just decided to...

Spruce--Again, thanks for the tips. That is great stuff to know. I'm thankful that I can converse with someone who knows more about wood than I will in my lifetime. The insights are invaluable!

Once I get it good and flat, and it all dries out, will it basically stay that way?

Also, how long should I wait before I glue these boards up--assuming I can perfect the light tight edges for...

Spruce--the towels did the trick. Actually, iI left it on the towel a bit too long and it started to slightly cup THE OTHER WAY! So I gotta let it dry and see how much adjustment is needed. The towel...

Bruce--Thanks so much for the tip! I'm going to try it right now

Don--Thank you for your offer as well. Let me see what i can do here and I will get back with you!

I wnt to a local sawmill yesterday which advertised tonewoods for builders. My aim was to get some spruce for a mandlin top. When I got there, he had one 5 foot board, spruce, which was 2" thick. I...

Question: does it make any sense to put a light coat of shellac around the rim where the glue joint is? I would think this could be sanded off fairly easily and prevent the glue from penetrating the...

I don't know beans about the differences, but all the reputable luthiers and companies that make prized mandolins use some form of spruce. I don't know of anyone who uses pine, so, by rational...

See this:

http://www.thefishnet.com/makemandolin/dude153.jpg

The last frets arent really frets--just pieces of plastic sunk into the fret slots. That step is optional. you could just fill the...

You could always do the scoop.

Hi Mark--Thanks for the nod! You've got the right attitude--just take your time and make each step as perfect as you can. The first one is the hardest, but you'll learn so much that the second one...

Definitely. i agree. Some materials burn at high speed so you want to be able to adjust the speed.

The sound clips sound wonderful. The mandolin looks amazing too. One thing I wish is that I had a model to refer to when I did #1. Its one thing to look at plans and its another thing to absorb the...

Sometimes you have to do the difficult thing in order to advance. Its gonna work out great in the end.