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I have a back and sides set that I have bought . The sides are NOT same thickness , however with the equipment I have i am afriad to try and sand the one to match .

One side is .112 the other is .125 so about 13 tho thicker.

If you were building which side would you use for base side , treble side ?

Or is 13 thou really anything i need to be concerned with ??

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Wouldn't you want to thin these both to around .080 or .085" - I imagine bending something .11 or .125 would be pretty tough and heavy in the final product.

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1) Depends on the wood. I most always use maple (not sugar) that is quartered, soft, and really soak it in HOT water for an hour.
2) I size it to 3.2mm (1/8" or so).
3) Bend it on a very hot electric bender with a SS strap.
4) Depends on the radius you want to achieve.

On tough woods like Pink Ivory or rosewoods, I have boiled the wood for an hour and then clamped it in the mould. You have about 2 minutes to get it clamped. It's got to be quartered.
I have never been concerned with heavy in a mandolin. A few grams on the ribs doesn't make any difference. Most folks that build mandolins use thinner ribs, believing they can't be bent at 1/8" Not true as the photo shows...

Haans - So can you tell me more about mandolin sides? Over on the guitar side, the radii are gentler and the sides generally much thinner. I assumed that thickness was at least partly dictated by bending necessity. Obviously not. Is there a reason you'd want thicker sides on a mandolin than a guitar? I suppose with the size, thicker sides would be really heavy on a guitar. What else?

Thanks,

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Mike, I like thick rims. I think guitars are thinner for three reasons. Most woods are stiffer and harder to bend, and they are way deeper. The third is that it is a lot harder to bind an F style mandolin, and you end up taking some off the rim to even it all out.

Haans... oh no... your longest side doesn't taper into the next side at the right end of that point.. you'll 'never' be able to sell that one. I hope this is just a practice model and your regular practice! The F5F's will never accept that practice. (second f is for fanatic).

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dolin sides? Over on the guitar side, the radii are gentler and the sides generally much thinner. I assumed that thickness was at least partly dictated by bending necessity.

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Dean, I have a feeling if guitar sides were boiled they would bend much easier and could be a lot thicker, BUT, then you have to deal with wavy sides. That is why they are bent practically dry.