Progress at last

I made good on my intention to get restarted on the instrument making, and over this weekend glued up the back of the octave mandola. The two bookmatched pieces are only just big enough and I have have no spare at all. There may be enough for the 'button', but this might have to be made from a separate piece of figured walnut.

I also glued the tone bars to the yellow cedar belly. I had forgotten how quickly the Titebond glue sets and had to scrape some half set adhesive off the bars when I made a hash of it the first time through. With the bars its better to use too much glue to start with and squeeze out the excess. It was much better on the second attempt.

Back to the lutherie

I'm happy to report that the cloakroom is now done (except for wiring in the shower which I will get a proper sparky to do) and I can back to making instruments. I have sharpened up my chisels, plane irons and cabinet scrapers and I'm ready to go. I have even tidied up my garage to celebrate the start of the new year.

I have done some of the calculations (string tension, nut spacing etc.) and set these out on two design sheets (one shown to the left). Next I need to make the octave mandola back from the e-bay walnut.

Cloakroom

Just so you know, this is the reason that I'm on my self-imposed luthiery ban. I still hope to have it finished by Christmas.

Grrrrrr

I'm currently 'fixing up' the cloakroom and so am a self-imposed ban from any proper luthiery - the tension is starting to build! So instead, I've been shopping with some birthday funds. I've bought a set of plans for a Gibson Les Paul, as a guide to building No. 1 son's 21st birthday present and a new set of nut files (all from the marvelous Stew-Mac). I also located a walnut back and sides set on e-bay, and it arrived in the post today. I like the contrasting colours, but it's going to be a tight squeeze for the octave size.

Gittern Plans

This is my current plan - drawn out on holiday:

Soundhole cut out

I've now cut out the soundhole and the outline of the belly. I've also added some reinforcement on the inside to protect the fragile edge of the soundhole. Next to fit the braces.

Commissions

My sister has asked me if I can make her a stringed instrument suitable for playing at a Tudor historical recreation. I have done a bit of research, and the lute looks the most appropriate. However, I'm not ready to do a 'ribbed' bowl back instrument yet, so I will suggest a Gittern. These appeared in the 14th century, and didn't disappear until the 17th or 18th, so she shouldn't get thrown out for having an anachronism! I have also been given an electric guitar (belonging to a friend of my elder son) to fix - a bit of electrics and possibly a new set of frets.

Purfling

I faced a bit of a challenge putting in the purfling which goes round the soundhole. I had been wondering for a while how to cut a neat oval channel. In the end I made a template out of some 1cm thick oak (from an old drawer side) and used this to guide a mini router. My practise attempt went well, but on the real thing the router bit slipped down while I was cutting and the channel was a bit too deep in one place. Still, no real harm done, and the fitted purfling looks quite good.

I will now cut out the soundhole itself (just inside the purfling, and re-inforce the inside with a strip of sycamore veneer.

Second Belly

The second belly is now glued up and thicknessed. I have also made the first set of braces (also shown in the picture). The little picture is a close up of the 'bearclaw' figure on the spruce - I can't say it looks much like anything done by a bear!

Nearly Oops

I have now marked out the treble bars on the correct side!

Belly work

The first belly is now cut out (including the soundhole). The photo is the inside with the positions of the braces marked out in pencil. I have already sawn the timber for the braces (spruce) and these now need shaping and gluing into place. My daughter will be glad when I've finished working on the yellow cedar belly wood as she doesn't like the smell at all!

First belly glued up

I have now glued up the two pieces of yellow cedar to make the first belly. I have just been in to the garage to take a photo and it has bowed rather alarmingly. I think that it may be something to do with the leather mat I left it on (the remains of our old leather sofa). Fortunately, the bow is the same way as the wood will be bent to make the belly and the joint is completely sound. The wood 'rings' quite nicely when I knock it. The yellow cedar seems more pliable than the spruce, and I wonder if this contributes to the 'mellow' tone that it is supposed to impart.

The bellies begin

Much excitement as my box of wood arrived from Alsaka. The company, Alaska Speciality Woods kindly included a magazine about Prince of Wales Island, where they are based - it looks very beautiful. Fishing appears to be the main pastime! I have given both sets of soundboards a tidy up with a plane.

The first picture is the yellow cedar - destined for the mandola. It has a strong scent which is particlarly noticable whent its being planed. I quite like it, but my daughter reckons it smells horrible.

The other picture is the sitka spruce for the cittern. The 'bearclaw' figure is quite light, but pretty nevertheless.

The next job is to 'shoot' the boards (plane them square for joining).

My Stuff

My veneers arrived from Anita Marquetry (these will make the stripes down the neck), but I didn't have any luck at Craft Supplies - they don't seem to have anything in stock!

I have now ordered the tops from Alaska. One Sitka spruce (for the cittern) and one yellow cedar (for the mandola).

Shopping

I have started my big shopping session for the wood and other bits and pieces for the two instruments. The cittern (10 strings) will have a spruce front and maple back and sides, with maple linings and some purfling. The neck will be laminated maple, and the fretboard and peg head veneer will be ebony. The octave mandola will also have a spruce front, but with a walnut back and sides. The neck will be laminated walnut, and the fretboard and peghead will be maple (a bit unusual, I hope). I intend to sell one of these instruments (I don't think I mind which one) and reckon on asking about £500. I'd better make sure that they're top quality!

Why no progress???

Well, I'm waiting until I have enough cash to buy the wood, that's why. Anyway, I have, in the meantime made a new thickness gauge. I have also set upon the idea of making one of the two octave mandolas with five courses of strings, rather than four. The top course will be tuned to 'B', and I have calculated new string spacings, and tensions (I found a handy programme at http://www.kennaquhair.com/ustc.htm). I have got a feeling that this will make the instrument a cittern!

Octave Mandola(s)

Well, I've made a start on the octave mandolas. This is the mould, pictured alongside the mandolin mould. My objective is to make two, and sell one to cover the cost of the materials. I have also decided to make my oldest son a guitar for his 21st birthday - something based on a Les Paul. This gives me a while, but the clock's ticking...

Finished at last

Well, the mandolin banjo is now complete. I fitted the new set of strings and lowered the action a bit. I really like the sound - it suits blues well, but it can be a bit loud. I'm particularly pleased with the inlay around the rim - I think that I will try something like this on the octave mandola that's coming next.

Mostly strung up

I finished the nut and made a new bridge this weekend. I strung up the the instrument, but unfortunately found I had no D strings! I have been playing it with just the E, A and G - it doesn't sound bad but it is quite loud so I'm expecting some complaints from the rest of the family. I'll get some D strings as soon as I can. The bridge will still need some minor adjustments to lower the action a tiny bit, and then it will be finished. Bring on the octave mandola...

The 'Pot' is finished

I've inlayed some mother of pearl and ebony into the rim of the pot - I'm pretty happy with the results. I have attached the neck with one bolt and one screw - the bolt looks a bit ugly so I may replace it with another screw. Also, the pine at the bottom of the pot looks out of place so I am thinking of gluing a maple veneer over it to hide it.

The pot

Well precisely...

Here is the oval peghead hole (the shame). Luckily the bushing will cover it up! In my defense, the original holes were all out of alignment and the drill bit followed the path of least resistance.

Creeping forwards

I managed to squeeze in a couple more sessions in the garage. I have glued on the back and fitted the banding to cover the join. I have also fitted a new set of frets (which went well) and drilled out the holes for the tuners. This latter job was a bit sloppy, and one of the holes has ended up oval - I can cover it up but it was a bit slack. Less than Zen.

Mandolin banjo - progress report

I want to get this one finished as soon as possible, so I can start my next proper project (an octave mandola, in walnut). I have made a new rim (constructional maple veneers bent round a mould), and I am going to glue the base on next. This (also in the photo) is a nice bookmatched maple veneer, glued to a thin plywood base. The join will be hidden by a binding round the base.

I have cleaned up the old neck and fitted a new peghead veneer - I have still to put the new frets in, fit the nut and fit a set of tuning machines.

Another View

I liked this view!

Its Finished

Actually, it was finished a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't got round to posting the photo until today. It makes a great noise!

Hanging around

The dulcimer is now ready to finish off with Tru-oil. I have put up a sort of gallows in the garage to hang it up for the finishing process. I've tried to make it nice and strong, given what happened with the mandolin! The new pegs (rosewood) arrived and I'm happy that I've made the right decision to use them rather than the (plastic!) adjustable ones. I have had to order a peg shaver though.

Looking ahead, I've been thinking about the next instruments. Currently I'm minded to attack the obsession as follows:

1. Finish off the restoration of the mandolin banjo (I've already cut out the new wood to replace the stuff that went moldy).

2. Make the 'Microlin'. This will be an electronic practice instrument with a built in amplifier - the electronics will be a challenge but I've bought the bits and a beginners electronics starter kit.

3. F-mandolin - So far I've made the mould.

4. Octave mandolin in walnut (following the John Troughton book). Maybe two - why not!

Nearly there...

Well, nearly there. I've added the bindings and made the nut and bridge for each end. I strung up one side for a bit of a test. The sound was very pleasing - louder than I thought, with quite a rich tone. The next step is to clean everything up and apply the finish - I will be using Tru Oil as I did for the mandolin. I'm also not entirely happy with the pegs (they are adjustable), and I may get some plain wooden (ebony) ones.

Close-up

In close-up. I should also mention that the mandolin banjo is a bit stalled. Basically the wood bending went well but I left the pieces to dry in an old biscuit tin. Unfortunately, there must have been some mold spores present as the wood turned into a multicoloured fungus garden! Back to the ordering catalogue I suppose.

Happy New Year

At last a bit of progress - the twin fretboards are made and glued to the top (which now sports some 'f' holes).

Birthday presents

Thank you, first of all, to my Sister & Family who gave me some wood (little did they know it!). The flamed maple veneer will be used for the bottom of the mandolin banjo pot, and the maple strips will be bent into hoops to form the sides. The thin strip is edge banding.

I made a bit of progress this evening - I have started on the mould for the pot (wheels of plywood glued together) and I also made a peghead veneer (as the original was painted!) out of ebony and glued it onto the neck.

My own family have equiped me with a new router which I need to make a table for...more projects and the porch still isn't finished.

Fitting the new goatskin

I have now fitted a new skin. This turned out to be quite straightforward and after I'd soaked the skin for half an hour I had it fitted, stretched and drying in only a few minutes. It sounds good when you tap it, but I hope it doesn't crack while it's drying out.

Dulcimer Fretboard

Just to mention that the dulcimer is still creeping forward - this is the second fretboard being glued up.

...is now in bits

It really was a wreck. I have disassembled it and removed the worn brass frets, which I will replace with modern nickel-silver fretwire. I have also ordered a new skin - it will need soaking and stretch fitting which sounds like fun!

My New Mandolin Banjo

It's a bit of a wreck...did I mention that the nut needs replacing too!

Getting going again

I have to admit that progress has been extremely slow. However, after my decision to do a lot less inlay work, things have started up again. I bought two more fretboard blanks, this time in Indian rosewood, and I have now started working on the fretboards themselves.

So as to become even more distracted, I have also bought an old mandolin banjo on ebay, and it's a bit of a wreck. It needs a new skin, a new pot, a new bridge, new tuners and the frets need replacing! There will be very little of the original left when I've done with it.

more lack of progress

Still no progress, but I have now decided to scale back on the inlays. I think that this is what's really holding me back. So, I just need to get round to buying two more rosewood fretboards and then there can be no excuses! On a related note, I made my first e-bay purchase yesterday, a battered-looking mandolin banjo - I hope it arrives.

Holiday Blog

It's been ages since I last posted anything, and there has been very little progress on the dulcimer. The soundboard now fits, but I haven't started on the fretboards yet. I ended up buying some santos rosewood but I don't really like it so I will buy some bits of Indian instead.

I am currently on holiday in Skiathos which I recommend. There is some great walking, and I've heard some fine bouzeki playing in a couple of tavernas. I have just finished reading 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainance' which I have been hankering after reading for ages. I was not disappointed - it was fantastic and I hope it will influence my woodworking positively

out but late

Out of the mould

Well, it's out of the mould, and I've trimmed the overlapping edges of the bottom, and cleaned up the ends. All together, I'm very pleased - it's starting to look like an instrument, and the wood has a certain resonance when I tap it. The next step is to make the two fretboards and fit the top - I really don't think I will get it ready by the 5th July, but you never know.

Gluing The Back On

The weeks are flying by, so I was quite pleased to have the Bank Holiday to try and make a bit of progress. I fitted the back and glued it into place - I had to wrestle a bit with the peg-heads, so I used epoxy resin to glue these to the back, and Titebond for the rest of it.

Starting to come together

The Easter holidays have allowed me to sneak off into the garage and at last I seem to be getting somewhere. I have wrestled the bent sides into the mould and glued the whole thing up. I have also made some kerfed linings (a first for me), and you can see them in the picture, held in by part of my clothes peg collection. The next job will be to fit the back.

A Twist in the Tale

Nothing to do with musical instruments, but congratulations to my Dad (and my Mum) on the publication of some of my Dad's poems in his book: "A Twist in the Tale". The ISBN is 0-9552614-0-6, it is £6.95, but I don't know yet how it will be sold and distributed. I think it's fantastic!

Bending the sides

At last a bit of progress - I've prepared and bent the sides - here is one drying in the mould. And 94 days to go...

Arrivals

The wood for the sides and the fretboards has arrived, as have the bindings and some more mother of pearl. I have just read a fantastic little book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, which has reminded me that I must keep striving for quality. So, time to tidy up the garage....

Why so long

I haven't added any posts for a while, mainly because I have made little progress over the past month. However, I am about to order wood for the sides, and some of the other bits and pieces I need.

I have also being giving a lot of thought to my next project. I have decided to make another minature solid body mandolin, my 'microlin TM'. This time I intend to build in an amplifier and an MP3 player into the body, with a loudspeaker or headphone to listen. It will be strung with double course metal strings so will need more neck strength than my previous one. The idea is an instrument for silent practice with a backing track (MP3 from a midi).

Back and front

I made and fitted some beech braces to the back. These are really for strenght rather than improving the tone (the instrument will sit on a table or a lap, so the back won't resonate). I have also joined the two halves of the front together and cut out the rough shape.

Days to go

One Hundred and Seventy Seven....(and counting).

Some of this year's Christmas Cards

My oldest lad gave these cards to us this Christmas - I think that there may be a whole series here... (see these one, two, three)

An Unsymmetrical Mistake

A bit of a near disaster today. I finished off cleaning up the back, and then cut out the shape based on my template. However, I should have turned the template over before drawing the outline. My dulcimer is not symmetrical (it has rotational, but not mirror symmetry), so I ended up with the best surface on the inside. Blast! Anyway, I had to sand and scrape the other side and it turned out fine.

I have now made and started to fit the cross braces - I am using four in a simple ladder arrangement.

The pickle has gone

Everything seems to be sorted out now, and I have been able to include a picture of my mandolin (scroll down, and it's on the right).

Waaaa

What's a 'java.io.IOException'? It's getting my blog in a pickle....

The Back & a museum trip

I made a bit more progress over the Christmas break. The two pegheads are now more or less finished, and I tried fitting one of the pegs for fun. I also made a start on the back. My two pieces of rosewood were too narrow, so I have included a laminate of oak with a narrow central strip of mahogany down the middle to widen it out a bit. It's still not as wide as my original plan, but it will have to do (i.e. the design has now been modified!). The rosewood is proving difficult to get a completely clean finish on, scraping and sanding both leave rough patches which you can see in the picture above.

On a different note, I took my older lad to the British Museum today to see the 'Lost Kingdom' Exhibition of artifacts from ancient Persia. It closes on the 8th of January, but we both thought that it was excellent.

Slow Progress

Only slow progress...

Working on the scroll

A bit of progress on one of the two scrolls over the weekend...I'll get both to the same state before cutting the channels where the pegs go. It also appears that I will have to make my own reamer (Touchstone tonewoods let me down). It will be a bit like Luke Skywalker constructing his own lightsabre, so I'll expect a "well done" from Darth.

Pegheads

There's a bit going on here. The wood arrived from Touchstone (unfortunately the material for the ribs was missing) - Indian rosewood for the back and spruce for the front. Four of the pegs are also in the picture. The pegheads have advanced a little and I'm ready to start working on the scroll carving. The clock's ticking though, only 241 days left...

Ordered

I've now ordered the wood for the back, ribs and soundboard, in rosewood and spruce respectively, from the ever helpful touchstone tonewoods. I have also bought two sets of Schaller adjustable pegs. I was torn between these and the traditional ones, so I hope I chose right. The wood for the top and bottom is a bit narrower than I wanted so I'll either modify the design a bit, or put a contrasting piece of veneer down the middle.

My birthday shot by the other day, and my family bought me a couple of the Siminoff books (this one and that one). The bluegrass mandolin looks very tempting for my next choice, or will the archtop guitar win out - next decade - arrgh.

The moulds

While I had the camera I took a shot of the mould. I still need to work out how to fix them to the base.

The heads roughed out

I roughed out the heads this afternoon.

A large lump of sycamore

The sycamore for the heads was ordered from Craft Supplies. They were out of stock of the size I needed, so I got this giant lump. You can see the template for a size comparison. I have quite a lot of sawing ahead of me! In the front are the two tail pieces in the making.

Walnuts

As a slight aside, I thought that I'd show the walnuts we harvested today. They should be dry for Christmas...

Headstock Plan

This is a my plan for the heads - I will need two. I was inspired by a violin from Beethoven's era, but I had to modify the scroll to suit the dulcimer design.

Annoyed

I was quite chuffed this evening to find a couple of comments on my recent post. Ah-ha I though, someone has expressd an interest in courting dulcimer moulds...but no, it was just SPAM - advertising for free something or other. I have deleted them. I hope that there isn't some machine out there automatically posting comments to blogs.

The Mould in the making

I have grabbed half an hour or so and made a little progress on the mould. Once the other pair of mould edges are glued (in the back of the picture) I will clean them up and make sure that the two halves are identical. Then, I'm going to have to work out how to fix them to the base!

A tiny bit of progress

I have managed to find half an hour or so this evening and made a start on the mould. Two out of the four bits are cut out. Once the rest of the bits are made I will bolt them to a base board. I am hoping that it will be possible to reconfigure the mould so I can work on the top or bottom of the dulcimer, or to use it to make a single course one.

Ukulele Orchestra Great Britain

I heard this lot on the radio on the way home - playing at the Edinburgh Festival (I think). Radio 4 Live (30 min) Broadcast on Radio 4 - Fri 09 Sep - 18:30. If they are ever in the area I would love to hear them live.
Their web site

6 doors

All hanging very nicely...but where's all the time gone?

Campanella Strings

Campanella Strings Highly pleasing...

Oops

My lovely wife has spotted the large lump of wood in the garage. This is hardly surprising as it's 8 foot long and 4 foot wide. "Are you making another musical instrument?" she enquired. "well...maybe" was all I could muster. I really must get those doors hung...

More Supplies

I now have a large (very) sheet of plywood taking up most of my garage. I'm going to hack this up to make the mould for the dulcimer. However, some dee-eye-why is taking priority and I really have to get some doors hung first.

The Start of the Dulcimer

Construction has begun with just 310 days left. I've made a start on the two head blocks (at the bridge end). My first attempt was rubbish - I cut the wood badly and, rembering the quest for perfection, I chucked it out. The current bits look better.

Rebetika No 1

I bought the CD of the above title in Kefalonia airport - it features Glykeria-agathonas and michalis genitsaris. It's rather good...

Fretboard Design

Dulcimer plans

Well, I'm back off holiday, and I did manage to do a bit of work on the drawings. I have decided to make the dulcimer in celebration of 20 years married to my lovely wife. This, I hope, will force the pace of the project and will give my until early July 2006 to get it finished. I have decided to make it quite ornate with, for example inlaid fretboards (two, since it's a courting dulcimer). I have finished the fretboard inlay design - it is a vine with 20 leaves representing...well it's not too difficult to work that one out! I also want to use a decorative binding around the edges of the instrument. It's my intention that doing this decorative work will help me with the archtop guitar(s?) planned for 2007....