First mandolin build, based on Epiphone Jazz guitar

[Big Joe]

Hey Wyatt... I haven't had an opportunity to chime it yet, but your work, as on your banjos, is really great! I'm anxious to hear how it sounds. I love the old arch top look and it is a bit different, which I also like. Keep up the good work and welcome to the Cafe! See you around one of these days again!

[oldwave maker]

Wyatt- great looking finish, what is that 'conversion varnish'?

[grassrootphilosopher]

If your mandolin sounds half as good as your banjos you´ll have a winner for sure. The mandolin allready looks very nice.

Say, why did you make the fretboard extension in a separate piece? Is this "state of art" (I mean, do they do this in an F-5?).

[banjophobic]

HI ...

Joe Vest...Thanks for your compliment. I hope things are going well for you down there.

Let's see .... The conversion varnish I use is made by M L Campbell, in Canada, and is a high solids finish, having 44% lacquer solids. You spray it straight after adding the catalyst ... no thinning. Contrast that with nitrocellulose, which is 28 percent solids, and which you thin to even less solids by voulme. The product I use is called Krystal Clear, and is "post-cat", which means you add the catalyst yourself, 1 part in 10. They also sell some "pre-cat" formulas under different names, but I prefer to add the catalyst myself. It's avaiable in satin, semi-gloss, and gloss.

The fretboard extension is like an F-5 mandolin, except without the filler blocks and spacer that those use.

I'm going to hand rub the rims and the neck and glue the neck into the dovetail. Then all that remains is fitting and finishing the fretboard extension and finalizing the engraving so I can fret the fingerboard. It's getting really close to being a musical instrument. I hope it sounds half as good as it looks.

Banjophobic

[banjophobic]

I have glued the neck in place, and spent the better part of the night making a tailpiece out of a german silver serving dish It's not done yet, and is perhaps a bit self indulgent, but I like it.

That's a finish worthy of a Steinway.

Banjophobic

[banjophobic]

All of the Heavy lifting" on this project is done. Today, I fitted and finished the riser block, finally cleaned that engraving up to the point of "passable". There are a couple places I still don't like, but it's "character" I suppose. I got the frets installed ... not glued either....hammered in, though "hammer" is something of a misnomer. The slots were relaxed enough to where the frets went in relatively easily, and 2 coats of Stew Mac's fretboard finishing oil was applied to swell up this 35 year old piece of dry ebony. The finishing oil (boiled linseed) has a drier in it and is much like Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil finish. The oil will actually act like an adhesive to help secure the frets.

I need to "dot the I's and cross the T's" .... side dots in the binding, (the nut is nearly done already), finish the tailpiece and truss rod cover, and a wee bit of filing on the bridge. Oh yeah, I need to add the mount to the finger rest too. I may just put a banjo end bolt on the thing and hang a No-Knot tenor banjo tailpiece on it, doubling the strings on the posts, just to be able to hear it.

My friend, Keith McManus returned from a New York festival today, and stopped in on his way home. He was blown away by the instrument, and he's going to do a you tube video of the thing for me, so you all can get to hear it. He has an oldtime band called "The Wood Ticks"and is a good fiddler. I've not heard him play mandolin in a long time, but I'm sure he'll do a fine job. You wouldn't want to hear me play it. I'd like to hear Dick Smith tear into "sunrise" on it. He does a pretty fine job of every instrument he plays, and he has Duffy's F-7. When he plays Sunrise on that mandolin ... you can tell it was the one Duffy used at Carnegie Hall.

Enough rambling...Here's a couple pictures of it as it is right this minute. More tomorrow....

Banjophobic

[rudy44]

Beautiful, Wyatt. Don't you hate when an instrument is at this stage? It's hard to resist the urge of pulling an all-nighter so it can be strung and played. Patience is truly a virtue!

This one reminds me very much of a beautiful 40's era birdseye maple Epiphone Triumph that I found sitting out (in its original case) for the garbage man many years ago. I kept it several years an let it go to a jazz player, as I knew it would be good karma to let it do what it was made for.

[Charles E.]

You don't mean the Keith McManus from WVA, do you ?! I think he lives in PA now, if it is the same ,I used to play (and party) with him years ago. Wild fiddler.

[banjophobic]

Yep ... Same Keith. I'm in Greensboro, Pa and he lives about a half a mile from me.

Setting it up .... 1st and 4th strings are installed ... and I plod on.

Banjophobic

[DerTiefster]

Keep on ploddin', Mama (er, I mean. "Mama, SIR!" That work commands some respect there.)

[banjophobic]

I think it sounds pretty darned good for a brand new mandolin. We'll see what Keith thinks tomorrow. He was at a jam in WV when I got it done at 10:30. It needs set up better, but I've had it for tonight. I don't recommend the 5 over 3 stacked tailpiece. It's not fun to string the instrument with this arrangement, but The width (or lack thereof) of the tailpiece dictated the all 8 strings would need to pass through a slot under an inch wide. It took more out of me to string it up than any other operation throughout the entire process.

I think Keith's gonna really like it. I think it's got "mojo out da butt".....

Banjophobic

[dcoventry]

Where'd ya get the neck inlays?? Stunning.

[banjophobic]

My "day job" is full time banjo builder. I created those inlays myself. They're inspired by the old Vega banjo inlays, but in a slightly different setting

The only parts of this instrument that I didn't make is the truss rod, tuners, inlay banding and binding. Everything was from raw lumber and shell blanks.

Banjophobic

[dcoventry]

let me be the first to say..........whoa nelly!

[Marty Henrickson]

Sweet! Can't wait to hear it.

[Paul Busman]

That is scary good looking! Most impressive work--my compliments.

[banjophobic]

Here's a slide show on you tube with Keith playing the instrument.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Xf8lVp0RQ

Banjophobic

[Patrick Hanna]

Wyatt, allow me to join the long list of people who are congratulating you. I'm a real fan of vintage archtop guitars, and I think you have nailed that vibe very well. I would love to see you make a small family of these instruments, all to the same design concept--your mando, perhaps a soprano or tenor uke, and a full 17-inch archtop guitar. I'm sure you've got too much real work to pursue that idea, but what a set of instruments that would be! I've got a hunch you'd find a collector who would buy them all, just to keep them together. Excellent, excellent work on your mandolin. I'm inspired.
Patrick

[Darren Bailey]

Enjoyed following the process - beautiful looking and very distinctive sounding instrument. I think I'd be a long way back in line for this one.

[shamwowgal]

I love it !

[Beanzy]

This is such a distinctive shape and form you've got here.
Have you plans to take the concept forward to make the design more widely available?.
If you haven't already done so I'd suggest patenting it and then talking to several of the manufacturing companies to see if anyone would bite at the opportunity of offering it comercially.

Congratulations on the success of this one. I'd love to see it go further forward from here.

[MandoNicity]

Wow! That is one awesome looking Mando! Love,love,love the look! Congrats on your work. <drool>

[Bill Snyder]

This is such a distinctive shape and form you've got here.
Have you plans to take the concept forward to make the design more widely available?.
If you haven't already done so I'd suggest patenting it and then talking to several of the manufacturing companies to see if anyone would bite at the opportunity of offering it comercially.

Congratulations on the success of this one. I'd love to see it go further forward from here.

What is patentable about this?

[rudy44]

Here's a slide show on you tube with Keith playing the instrument.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Xf8lVp0RQ

Banjophobic

I don't hear any audio, anyone else have a problem with hearing "Keith playing the instrument"?

[rudy44]

I don't hear any audio, anyone else have a problem with hearing "Keith playing the instrument"?

Nevermind. I DID NOT just fall off the turnup truck, but tried listening before my first cup of coffee. My headphones were plugged into my multitracker and not patched to my Onyx Blackjack which handles all the computer sound requirements. A simple throw of the switch solved that...