Tribute to Monte !

**RI Jim** · Jul-29-2004, 7:26pm

Inspired by the greatest mando builder of them all ! Well, that i can relate to ! < G >

Macassar Ebony Headplate
Schallers
Locally Harvested Maple
Maine Red Spruce top ( Thanks Dave !)
Tone Bars
Allen Taipiece ( on a Monte style ? )

**RI Jim** · Jul-29-2004, 7:28pm

I cheated and only used a single .090 back binding on this one !

**RI Jim** · Jul-29-2004, 7:32pm

Dang, looking at these pictures they are pretty poor looking compared to the originals. Need to work on the conversion from the huge files down to something postabe yet clear.

**jessboo** · Jul-29-2004, 8:13pm

WOW !!!!!!!! #I've sid it before This is why it's called Mando Porno. That is truely a gorgeous!

**Chris Baird** · Jul-29-2004, 10:34pm

Looks good. Do you have a monte around to go off or did you design from pics?

**gdae85** · Jul-30-2004, 12:14am

Sweeeeeet

**John Zimm** · Jul-30-2004, 10:03am

That looks great. I'd be happy to borrow that from you for a few months just to make sure it gets played and opens up properly.

-John.

**krishna** · Jul-31-2004, 2:23am

There! ya went and made me get upand go and get my Monteleone out of it's hiding place..You did a pretty good job. I'd be proud to own it. It's not exact(the hole in the scroll is too large and the point there is'nt curled in enough..also a few minor other things..)You did a great job. Man ,I wish I had it in my hot little hands right about now...

**krishna** · Jul-31-2004, 2:38pm

How many mandos have you made..do you have more pictures.. are you happy with the sound... how did you aquire the local wood ...how long drying... # SEE I am genuine interested and a I am planning on doing some building.What did you use for plans...and last, can I have your mandolin....

**phiddlepicker** · Jul-31-2004, 6:36pm

That is sweet.....the color is sooooo freakin awesome.

OMG.....this site is exacerbating my Mandolin Aquisition Syndrome something fierce today.

**RI Jim** · Aug-01-2004, 7:28pm

Hey Now, thanks for the kind feedback…….
Chris, I’ve never even seen a real Monteleone let alone own one ! The bulk of the pattern came from a picture Larry Wexer had on his web-site a couple of years back….. I was able to get the end of the fingerboard , f-holes, and the treble side of the body from scaling that picture. I was never able to get the scroll right. John Garrity was really cool in sending out a copy of his body pattern and I cut the scroll off of that and matched it up with what I was using. It’s funny, you don’t have to be off by much to TOTALLY change the flow of the scroll. As Krishna picked up on, I opened it up just a little bit and took away some of the curl at the very tip of the scroll. I didn’t want to make a direct copy of the scroll and this also allows me to get to the inside of the scroll to buff it out as I’ve always disliked that ‘overspray’ frost you get inside of scrolls. The headstock is just an afternoon with a french curve messing around with one of my old headstock templates, I’m still not totally finished with this one yet, it’s a little too long I think.
The maple was saved from a local firewood cutter ! He gets all kinds of logs and just splits everything up ! You never know what you might find by just stopping in and asking to poke around, it also helped to talk $$ for incentive to keep an eye out for certain things that get dumped in the pile ! It was cut in 1988 and i used it for Les Paul tops.
This is #16 on the label, but it's actually the 23rd mandolin i've built, but it's only the second of this style. I'll try to post a couple more pics, but i'm still struggling to downsize the originals while saving quality.

THANKS AGAIN for the positive feedback !