Where to start when starting over...

[Cragger]

I purchased a set of tonewood nearly 15 years ago with the thought of making an F5 from scratch. This was to be my introduction to DIY lutherie. I built a bending iron and set of side molds and managed to get the sides bent, glued to blocks, and kerfed lining installed. After that I joined the two top boards together and carved the top of the top. That is as far as I made it before getting side tracked into bamboo fly rod making which I did for the next five years or so. After many years out of the shop, I'm ready to start back with time, money, and access to a woodworking shop with whatever larger power tools I may need. Other than the Siminoff book, is there a better approach to getting started?

[sunburst]

Read everything you can about fretted instruments, or even non-fretted stringed instruments. Look at every high quality instrument you can; examine the finish, the frets, the set-up, construction details, ask questions, talk to luthiers and players and find out just how varied opinions can be and try to distill what you hear down to what works. Read the Siminoff book but don't assume the instructions there are the only way, and ignore the part about tap tuning while making your first mandolin.
Ask questions here because there is a lot of knowledge among those who visit this site.
Have fun!

[Cragger]

Thanks for the info. All good suggestions. After looking at the wood I have sitting around from 15 years ago, I actually have a nicer set of wood and a #2 grade set of wood. I think I will go through each step of the building process first on the #2. Then after finishing a step and learning from the process, perform the same step on the nicer set before moving on to the subsequent parts/steps. I will definitely be posting on here as I go and ask for suggestions and tips throughout the process.

[Explorer]

I think I will go through each step of the building process first on the #2. Then after finishing a step and learning from the process, perform the same step on the nicer set before moving on to the subsequent parts/steps.

Sometimes one runs across a detail which only reveals its effect/influence/importance much further down the line, instead of by the next step. Me? I'd be taking notes before, during and even long after each step on the first build, wait a bit and take additional notes once it's done *and* after playing it a while, and only then go on to the next build.

Whatever path you choose, good luck!

[Cragger]

Many thanks! A good point I had not thought about.

[talladam]

I am just beginning myself, but there are a few things I can suggest based on my little bit of experience. The first (I'm surprised no-one has suggested it yet) is to get Adrian Minarovic's F5 plans from Elderly instruments. I have been a bit surprised by how much is missing from the Siminoff book and the plans fill this in nicely. They're a bit costly though. The other thing that I've looked at a lot is this thread:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...o-build-thread

It's a mandocello, but most of the steps are the same. It is very detailed and illustrates the whole procedure well in my opinion. There seem to be surprisingly few places to see a build go from start to finish in detail (by someone who knows what they're doing)