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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Mandocello rib number two

Here is rib number two going onto the mandocello. I decided to find an alternative to the 'bungee cords' to hold the ribs in place during the gluing so I made these clamps. The threaded rod screws into a fitting set into the mould.  It seemed to work quite well.

Meanwhile, ribs ten and eleven were added to the lute. I am still finding it a struggle to get the ribs fitted neatly, and I think I will need to reinforce the bowl from the inside once it is removed from the mould.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Mandocello ribs

The mould is now completed and waxed and I have fitted and shaped the neck and tail blocks. These were made from pine and are attached from the inside of the mould with screws. This allows the removal of the completed bowl, but it's also handy to allow the part completed bowl to be freed briefly from time to time to make sure that the ribs haven't become stuck to the mould!

The ribs themselves are made from walnut. I will need nineteen of them but I made 25 to allow for mistakes.These were sliced from a large block on a bandsaw (I didn't use a fence as I can get a better result by following a pencil line be eye).  The saw lines were 5mm apart, and after sawing the ribs were reduced in thickness on a drum sander to 2mm (the saw marks have just about gone at this thickness).

In the meantime, I am continuing to add ribs to the lute. Some go on nicely - other are a real struggle. I'm up to nine now, so only four to go!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

The mandocello mould takes shape

 Here is the mandocello  mould with all the infill pieces glued in place. These were cut out with a band-saw and thicknessed on a drum sander before gluing in place with Titebond.

In the second photo, the mould has been shaped and the recess for the tail block has been cut out. I have also removed a wedge shaped piece to accommodate the fold in the belly (just beyond the bridge). I did most of the shaping with an electric plane and finished off with an electric power file.  This made a huge quantity of wood chippings and dust!

I am going to mark the positions of all the ribs before giving the mould a wax coating.