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I'm in the middle of building an octave mandolin that's a hybrid between a mandolin and guitar. Octave mandotar? Octar?

The body is a bit larger than a typical baritone ukulele. The lower bout is 10.5". I originally intended the body size to be about half way between a baritone ukulele and a parlor guitar, but I was only able to find a single hardshell case that was available that would fit that size and it was very spendy so I went with the smaller size for now. Depending on how it sounds, I may go ahead with the larger body size later. The scale length is 20". I probably erred on the side of over-bracing the top, but we'll see. Need to finish up the neck now.

Lutz spruce top, walnut back and sides, and khaya neck with Indian rosewood binding, fretboard, and bridge.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I picked up a pretty remarkable billet of Desert Ironwood (Olneya Tesota) about 15 years ago when I first started building. It's one of the rarest woods in the world and is protected - timber is only acquired from dead trees. Even more than a species like Snakewood, getting large pieces without issues is quite rare. Anyway, I ended up with two back/side sets from an extraordinarily beautiful and mostly flawless billet. The sides are perfectly quarter sawn and the backs are quarter sawn in the center and move to flat sawn at the very edges. No flaws, just clean beautiful grain. It's interesting stuff as the grain structure is quite a bit different than every other wood I've encountered. Check out some photos online to see how amazing this stuff can look. It is often used for pen blanks and small turning projects due to the difficultly of acquiring large pieces without flaws.

Well, I've wanted to build with this stuff for years now and finally decided to fit this guitar into my build list. I'm building with the lesser of the two sets I have (saving the best for down the road) but it is still one of the finest sets I've ever been privileged to build with. It's a 3-piece back and visually, it works out well this way. I'll snap some photos in the near future and post a thread. I don't expect I'll ever find another set of this wood ever again, so it's fun when you get a chance to work with something like this.

Today I gave cutting a mandolin bridge on my cnc a try. I’m able to cut the radius in the saddle along with basic compensation. I’m also able to mark the string locations, saving a bunch of time on initial setup. A couple more tweaks to the drawing and a couple to the code and that’ll be that about that.

Best, M

Working on a size 2 travel guitar. I made a "modern" rosette with some burl veneer someone gave me. I now understand why these are so popular. It went together without any fuss. The sides and back are laminated rosewood, top is Engelman spruce.

I finally have a violin varnish (on a 5 string viola) that I am happy with. Put a very thinned out coat of varnish on after sanding with 1000 grit. Didn't like the satin after sanding, and the varnish worked like a polish perfectly. Finally after 10. If I did them more often, it would help.

Next is the small baroque guitar. Not much bigger in volume than the viola. I think it will be pitched one string up from a standard guitar. 540 scale, D G C e a. So the G is equal to the low G on the viola, but the third string on a standard guitar. So unless I do something crazy, like put an octave lower C string on it (I'm crazy enough to have thought about it) the viola is actually a note lower.

I only have the neck and head started so far. It should be a fairly quick build. It's cold in the basement. So shorter, intense trips down there.

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Why be normal?

I decided to finally build my 18" jumbo design I've been toying with in my head for the past 2 years.

Purchased some wonderful birdseye maple and some very old tops that were previously owned by someone named Abe Wechter.

The biggest news is that my wife agreed to let me convert the living room to a mini workshop. Big sacrifice for her since we still are living in an apartment.

Dan Kirkland wrote:
"The biggest news is that my wife agreed to let me convert the living room to a mini workshop. Big sacrifice for her since we still are living in an apartment."

That is a HUGE sacrifice, and one she may come to regret.
This past year I have been doing some lutherie work in the house using a large hutch as a work bench. It has storage above and below and an open center section I use as a bench top and go bar deck. It forms a 3 sided enclosure with one corner of the room and if I did much sanding there I could hang a curtain to limit how much dust would leave the enclosure Although there are limitations to the set up I find ways to work around most of them.
One of the pluses of the setup is that I am not isolated from the rest of the family when I am working.

Sweet!

My wife let me build my first 2 guitars in our dining room.

Here’s to the support of our partners and families!

Looks great!

Hurry up, I want play it!

I went out to have a look at the Ironwood, so beautiful! I love the colors.

Hope to see a couple pics of the end result. I wouldn’t mind seeing parts of your process either. Could be fun and informative.

Best, M

the camera on my old phone is showing it's age, but my first effort of the new year has been closing up a lutz/koa OM.

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George :-)

Got the usual parade of setups coming in the shop. Also doing a "restore to playable" job on a 1930's MayBell (think Woodie Guthrie). Of course I've got one of my own in work too, a 13 fret 000, Honduran rosewood and torrefied red spruce with curly koa trim and armrest.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Started this OM, will be a slow go, a few other projects on the go.
Bocote and WRC

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

What's the tap tone like on that bocote?

It's box building time! 3 dreads and 3 000s in the works.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

Boy - nice CNC work, violin inlays, 18" and 13 fret guitars. Looks like fun all

I am starting a redwood topped figured maple double 0 with a Stauffer head

Here is the top with a wash of shellac before final thicknessing. The wood spent since 1954 on the wall of a ranch house that a friend bought - 30-40 absolutely vertical grain lines per inch

Hi Ed,
I’m probably not the best to describe tap tones, don’t think I quite have a handle on that yet.
But, compared to others I attempt to tap, I would call it crisp, glassy.
Quite a hard brittle wood.
If you are interested I have the sister set for sale on the classifieds.

B

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

working on a 1934 D 28
a 39 000-28
a 47 000-29
and a 41 000-18
and a 34 000-19
not to mention abou 8 more modern guitars

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

First Mahogany topped guitar I have ever made is in finish. Double sides. It is also the first I have done with a strut support system for the headblock. Saw Tim McKnight at a guitar show and pretty much copied his technique. I am hoping it will add additional stability to my double tenon neck attachment system. I did bolt everything together and weighted the body with the headstock supported to mimic string tension and it didn't move much.

IMG_3365 by Terence Kennedy, on Flickr

IMG_3195 by Terence Kennedy, on Flickr

Also working on a new design, 15" archtop.

IMG_3292 by Terence Kennedy, on Flickr

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

John, are those reproductions or repairs?


Pat

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Pat

OMC and an SJ

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Nearing completion of a falcate braced steel string. American black Walnut with Sitka top. I am planning to do nut as well as saddle compensation and there was a lot of head scratching to decide on string length, given that the bridge position is fixed at an early stage in this design. We'll see if we got it right at the end!

Dave

Nice work as usual from my fellow OLF'rs.

I've got a bunch of restoration work in before I start on my building schedule for 2020.

This is signed Modesto Borreguero and has what looks to be a confusing history of repairs.

We bought a house last november, and it's been one project after another. The garage is pulling double duty as our gym and shop. I'm finally getting the shop side organized to the point that I can start working on a pair of guitars I'm very excited about. One is walnut/cedar, and the other is madi/adi.