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!