A couple of new mandolins

[Graham McDonald]

Off to the US next month for the Guild of American Luthiers convention in Tacoma WA. I will have a couple of new mandolins with me. The latest of the King Billy and Huon Pine oval hole mandolins, and the third of the D'Aquisto inspired Art-Deco series, this one of Bearclaw Sitka from Alaska Specialty Woods and quilted Big Leaf maple from Bruce Harvey of Orcas Island Tomewoods. I know James Condino will be there presenting a talk and looking forward to catching up with other mandolin folks at the convention.

[soliver]

Beautiful, Graham!

[Bob Schmidt]

beautiful work Graham!

[John Soper]

Both are lovely mandolins, but I'm especially enamored of the Art Deco creation!

[Charles E.]

Looks great Graham, pine for the top I understand but for the back and sides? Can you enlighten me about Huon Pine?

[pops1]

Love the Art-Deco lines, great looking mandolins.

[Graham McDonald]

King Billy pine is similar to North American Western Red Cedar. I suppose both King Billy and Huon were called a 'pine' by the early European settlers as they are conifers rather than anything else. The arching on a King Billy soundboard needs to be little higher and the graduations a little thicker than when using spruce. I prefer to make instruments as light as possible when I can, so the light weight King Billy works for that. Huon pine is around the same density as mahogany, has a wonderful aromatic smell and is a pleasure to carve. The King Billy/Huon combination makes a delightfully light and responsive mandolin. Both timbers only grow on our southern island of Tasmania and have not been commercially harvested for decades. We are planning a trip there later in the year partially to see if I can track down a few pieces of King Billy for a few more mandolins. The King Billy/Huon mandolin weighs around 760gm, the maple one around 880gm with all the hardware.

Cheers

Looks great Graham, pine for the top I understand but for the back and sides? Can you enlighten me about Huon Pine?

[Skip Kelley]

Beautiful work Graham.

[Jim Garber]

I love the different Down-Under woods especially the names… King Billy Pine!

[urobouros]

I love the art deco model!

[j. condino]

Lookin' great Graham!

I'm excited to see them in person and get in a few laughs at the GAL convention next month. I know there will be several other 'cafe folks attending.

[amowry]

Beautiful as always, Graham!

[tjmangum]

Are these just for "show and tell" or will they be available for sale at some point?

[Graham McDonald]

Are these just for "show and tell" or will they be available for sale at some point?

Most definitely for sale

[John Kelly]

Beautiful instruments, Graham. All the best for your venture to the convention in Tacoma.

[Schneidly]

As always, beautiful craftsmanship Graham! The details of the art-deco one grab my eye and appreciation from a building and design standpoint, but the oval hole wins overall for me. A stunning instrument! Truly, both are stunning.

[mrmando]

Went out to lunch with Graham today on his way home after the convention. We had a nice chat and Graham sampled his first mole negro! I sampled both of these mandolins. He left the Art Deco mandolin with me and I'll try to find a home for it here in the States.

Graham, I presume you showed these to James Condino? (Someone I've always wanted to meet.) Curious what he thought of them.

[Bill Cameron]

Went out to lunch with Graham today on his way home after the convention. We had a nice chat and Graham sampled his first mole negro! I sampled both of these mandolins. He left the Art Deco mandolin with me and I'll try to find a home for it here in the States.

Graham, I presume you showed these to James Condino? (Someone I've always wanted to meet.) Curious what he thought of them.

Thanks for listing the Art Deco in the Classifieds, Martin. I’m window-shopping as usual, but it’s a fascinating, subtly unique instrument and I would say quite reasonably priced.

[Davy Simpson]

Wow, that art decco mando is beautiful!