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Thread: A5 build plans

  1. #1
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    Default A5 build plans

    I am ready to start on an A5 build and am wondering what plans would be best. I have tried searching for A5 plans, but surprisingly the search engine is not coming up with anything.
    I have the stew-mac plans but have read on posts here that they have some issues. I have read that Adrians plans are best for an F5, which will be my next project. Does the contouring for them work for an A5? Will the stew-mac plans work for construction details aside from contouring?
    Bob Schmidt

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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    Check out this these plans from GenOne formerly Georgia Luthier Supply:https://genone-luthier-supply.com/co...mandolin-plans

    I'm using these plans now for a restoration but I'll thin the top to something less than their 6 mm.

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    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    James Condino drew up a set of plans for a Gibson Snake Head mandolin....

    https://luth.org/instrument-plans/mandolin-family/

    That might be a good starting point for body outline, dimensions, peg head shape, etc. There was some discussion here years ago about plans for the "Griffith-Loar A-5" but I do not believe they ever were made available to the public.
    Charley

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    Registered User j. condino's Avatar
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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    The Griffith plan is in the works as we speak....

    6mm top thickness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF......I know people who bring double bass tops to that dimension!

    If you take my A plan mentioned above and combine it with HoGo's F5 plan, you have everything you need.
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    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    To back up what James said, read post #7 from Darryl Wolfe in a previous thread about the Loar A-5...

    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...r-A-5-drawings
    Charley

    A bunch of stuff with four strings

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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    I did read the thread on the griffith A5 a couple of times. It diverged quite a bit, and was interesting reading since I have not had the exposure to many mandolins other then my A, but it, along with a couple of other related threads still leaves me with some questions.
    Do I use the snakehead drawings for the body construction? It appears that the fret board is glued to the top as on my A model.
    Would I use the F5 drawings to build the neck and head block?
    Which of the 2 would I use for the contouring of the top and back?
    Is the increased thickness mentioned in the Griffith thread on either one of these drawings or is that unique to the griffith A5 and additional information?
    Sorry for the confusion, but the couple of builds I have done so far have been in the octave mandolin catagory, and since I have so little experience with mandolins I will have to rely on plans, so I am not sure how to mix the 2.
    Bob Schmidt

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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    Poking around in the arrchives I did find a few more threads on the subject, and it helped to clear things up a bit. It seems from what I found that while the StuMac plans make an A5 instrument they are not true to the Loar specs which I assume the snakehead plans are. Is that correct?
    Bob Schmidt

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    Registered User j. condino's Avatar
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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    All of the historic Gibson A bodies used the same mold and shape, so any one will do.

    Combine that body with a longer F5 neck dimensions and you have it. Beyond that, morph and merge the rest as needed. A creative process will help you much more than a dogmatic approach where you copy every single detail as described with no interpretation.
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    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    Quote Originally Posted by j. condino View Post
    All of the historic Gibson A bodies used the same mold and shape, so any one will do.
    I've never been interested in making A style, but read all the discussions just to learn something new and I remember Gail Hester once mentioned (and posted comparison pics) that there were likely two slightly different A style body moulds. He showed two examples and one had slightly more elongated "neck block area", perhaps 1/8" or so difference in body length. I wonder which one is the Griffith?

    Here is the thread...
    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...rse-paddlehead
    Adrian

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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    Thanks John, I tend to have be creative, mostly to cover up mistakes, but I do want to start from a good place. My goal is a good sounding mandolin in the end, not a clone of a Loar Gibson, but that seems to be a good starting place.
    I do really appreciate everyones willingness to share their expertise and experience.
    Bob Schmidt

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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    Bob: Feel free to call the shop and we can nerd out as much as you'd like on the Griffith and other mandolins to get you on the right track. It is a great starting point with a proven body geometry and air volume to produce a very good instrument.

    I don't believe that a production oriented company like Gibson would make up a completely different set of molds for a one off instrument that only varies 1/8" from what they already have available. I attribute the differences more to human error and expansion / contraction of materials over 100 years. Also remember that this was not just a single body mold. It was a series of production steps all indexed off that shape- the body mold, the fingerboard extension pieces, where and when in sequence that the top plate was cut and mounted. If they made a new mold, they would have to make about a half dozen different adjustments and other jigs. Anyone that has ever worked in a factory setting knows that is not how things are done....very different from small builders who obsess over minute details.

    ".......I've never been interested in making A style......." If you played the Griffith, it might change that viewpoint. It is a tremendous mandolin all packaged up in a tidy simple production package, as good as almost any Loar F5 I have played. If it had a strap hanger, many would call it one of the top 5 in existence.
    www.condino.com

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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    If you haven't seen it, Max and Laurie Girouard have been working on a Ms. Griffith copy and they have been posting the progress to a blog. It is interesting reading.

    The Griffith Project
    Last edited by MikeEdgerton; Jan-25-2021 at 6:20pm.
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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    I know this is totally self-serving, and I don't mean it to be - just trying to answer the question. We have A5 plans on our site at: www.siminoffbooks.com. Specs were taken from the original A5 mandolin when Tut Taylor owned it. A few photos of that mandolin are also in the drawing set.
    Roger

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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    Mike, it is an interesting read. It makes you wonder what some of these old instruments would have to say if they could talk.
    Roger, thanks for the link. I had tried to find it earlier from the straight up strings site but could not find it.
    Bob Schmidt

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    Registered User Tom Haywood's Avatar
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    Default Re: A5 build plans

    I'll mention the Stew Mac A5 plan, which I think is a Don McRostie drawing. I built one mandolin with it about 3 years ago. The scale drawing, at least on the copy they sent me, is out a tiny bit in the lengthwise direction. I made the slight adjustments from prior experience. It made a killer mandolin. The size is a little smaller than the Griffith, but the mandolin fits perfectly in an F travelite case.
    Tom

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