Mandolin building cost per hour

for someone who makes really nice insturments you dont read very well, its all right there for you to read before you make a silly comment like that. i never said it was easy, but hell man its a kit, and im totaly into perfection, especialy anything i make with my hands.
i said i want a mandolin with F holes and varnish, and also would like it to have a TUNED chamber. i have friends who will help with that.
the only mandolins i am aware of that are varnished etc, are 10 grand and up.
i quote myself i said "im not sayin im gonna go out and buld a mm, but it will be a hoss im sure.... "
go ahead and read it for yourself, its right there in an unedited post on the previous page!

[Hans]

Well, we finally got a Ford/Chevy debate! #

[Bill James]

Lemmonhilljohn you sound like a colorful character. I like that you keep your sense of humor even when people take a few jabs at you. Lord nows the world needs more people like that and something tells me you'll enjoy building your mandolin no matter how it turns out.

And hey....if it doesn't turn out well, you can put it on E-bay and pump it up as a GIBSON KILLER!!!##*&%%$##. Someone might buy it for $10,000.00 and you can come back and tell us how much you made per hour.

[markishandsome]

LHJ-
You might want to read some of the old threads on "varnish" and other types of finishes. And air chamber tuning for that matter.

There's a varnished Mowry F5 in the classifieds for 3,250 (NFI).

I guess what I've been trying to say all along is that while you claim building your own is your "only option", you clearly have not explored your options very well.

Be sure to post some pics in progress once you've started
I'm sure you'll take a different approach than the usual.

[billhay4]

Why do you guys keep discouraging this boy from building? Let him do it. He'll learn; he might even get the bug. He just might build a first class instrument. Some have early in the game. Even if he doesn't, the world will be a better place for his having made the effort.
Bill

[Links]

Sorry Rick! This thread has taken a turn!

My last Explorer - 160,000 miles - 3 sets of rotors, each turned about three times - numerous pads

Bill - I agree - let him build it, even if his logic may not be perfect (at least to many of us). I still think he should build it because he "wants to", as opposed to "needs to" (which I think has been proved not to be the case).

My present Tahoe - 215,000 miles - 1st brake job at 205,000 (not even new pads til then)

[sunburst]

Why do you guys keep discouraging this boy from building?

I don't see anybody discouraging anyone from building. We're all saying build away, and have fun!

What we are saying is that we think the logic is flawed in thinking that one can build a better mandolin, on the first try, than one can buy, and we are especially saying that the logic is flawed in thinking that building is the only option for anyone.

It is a simple fact that you can buy a varnished, top quality mandolin for far less than the mentioned $10,000, and that fact has been stated by several people here.

A good reason to build a mandolin is because you want to. To conclude that you have no other option is simply not an informed conclusion.

Build for the challenge, for the fun, for the sense of accomplishment, but if you want a good mandolin and you're not an experienced builder, the economics of the situation say you're better off doing what you do well, and using the funds from that activity to buy the best mandolin you can afford. See? we really haven't left the whole dollars per hour theme behind.

[Rick Turner]

John Hamlett, Voice of Reason.

Thank you, John...

[Rick Turner]

Oh...all mandolins have tuned chambers.

What note, what degree of resonance, what the overtones are of that tuning, how that relates to the top and back tap tones...those are the issues. And nobody I know has ever figured all that out on the first instrument.


"Tuned chamber" is marketing talk...

[Dale Ludewig]

Lordy, this discussion, such as it is, has gone so far afield that I might even feel compelled to disagree with John in one sense- it has nothing to directly to do with what a luthier makes per hour. I do agree that one should build if one wants to, regardless of the economic consequences. In the world of fly fishing, for example, it's far cheaper to buy your flies than buy all the materials and tools and learn the skills to tie them yourself. But there is a certain satisfaction you get when you tie your own and catch a fish (or many) on your own.

Tuned chambers? Please excuse me. Marketing talk is an understatement, IMHO.

So, what do we luthier types make per hour after all the overhead, capital expenses, learning time (down time) make per hour? I'd guess, far too little, but as Rick has stressed, if your livelihood depends on it, you'd better be paying attention to it.

ok so i was totaly bsin on that.... gently ribbing hehe for real im on my own.

ill let you all know how it goes. im buying a kit next week after a root canal. yay