shaneymack Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I checked out the blog, very nice! Sent from my SM-P550 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Thanks gents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Thought I'd post a quick update. I have the 4th piece (of 6) gluing at the moment. Unfortunately the weird angles have made this process...interesting. Needless to say I've gotten a bit creative with the clamps!(Sorry for the phone pic!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Now that is some creative clamping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I bet tightening them was fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I bet tightening them was fun!Like you wouldn't believe! Tighten one, three more fall off... And just when I thought I was good, one fell loose and the entire lot dropped off onto the floor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 It's been a crazy week! I had to move out of my apartment on two days' notice because they leased out the place to someone else without notifying me I would be mad, but the place was not that great anyway, and what is better, I was able to move into a house of a friend of mine. And it has a garage! It was more or less unused, so I took over half of it and turned it into my new shop. I made a quick bench and got organized, and last night was able to glue a few more of the corner brace blocks. Pictures to come soon, but I just wanted to share the good news! After 6 months without a shop I was losing my mind!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 That must be a nice change! Congrats. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 Big things happening in mandola land! Finally got the last piece of the sides glued in place, and only a little crooked due to the difference in bend retention of the two large pieces. Not major, and I'm confident I can straighten it out with the interior skeleton or at the least by the joining of top and back. Real pictures on the way, but here's a quick one from the phone (sorry about the size) to really my excitement! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 As promised, albeit a bit late. Here's the next chapter of the journal, and it's a long one. All about the side assembly and the wacky clamping experience. I fear it is only the beginning relevant blog postAs a comparison, here's a picture of my old 'shop' and a corner of the new one.John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3nry Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 The Mandola is coming along nicely.But I'm curious ... At what stage in the lutherie process does the anvil get used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 The anvil has chain. You attach it to your ankle and throw it off a large bridge when you find out Mandola strings are an inch shorter than the Mandola you spent 8 months building.By the way, John Page. You have patience of a saint, and this is awesome to follow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 Thanks folks!You've figured me out! The chain does a great job at holding the anvil to the leg, but those bolts are really what does itReally though, I might actually use it to forge some fittings for it. Maybe the heel peg thing that holds a strap, or a piece of the bridge, something to mix it up a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Now that I can start working on the internal skeleton, which is what I was most looking forward to, I'm really feeling the energy in this. I don't know why, but I find all those small bits of wood coming together like this to be almost magical! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 Looking good John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Thanks! A lot more progress the past few days, although it doesn't look like a lot. I had to resaw the brace pieces, which with only a few hand tools took a while. Ripping the board with no good place to hold it or stand, although nothing new for this project, got a bit old after the first five cuts...now the back is jointed and joined, some braces in place, and everything notched and fitted to the sides. The last of the glue is drying on the ribs, so I should be able to mostly finish the back tomorrow and hopefully start on the top. Until then, here's another picture (sorry these were mostly taken with the non wood worker audience in mind. I keep forgetting to grab other ones on my phone that actually show what's going on)John I should note that the ones lying face down that look like little mountain peaks are not glued in that picture. They stand upright like the other ones. Also I have no idea what this will all do to the acoustics, but there's a little math in the brace dimensions, so I figure something will happen (acoustics is just wave related mathematics , after all). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 A bit more progress adding to the internal skeleton. It's taking a bit longer for the glue to set with the weather cooling off, but overall still moving forward. I also managed to joint and glue the two front boards which will next be fitted to the top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 Really loving this build John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Thanks!And a fortuitous anecdote I just remembered-As I was leaving for work last Wednesday (garbage day) I saw someone had put out this cheap guitar on their curb that had been spray painted silver! It's a hideous mess, the strings painted as well, and was horribly out of tune from sitting in the frost all night, but I grabbed it all the same. Now that I'm moving into the neck joinery, there are a lot of calculations that need to be just right, and having a physical reference is going to be invaluable. More, if there happens to be a tensioning rod in the neck, I get a free one of those too! It's funny little things like this that make me smile 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Right-o! Here's the next bit of the journal. It was going to go all the way through what's in the last picture I posted, but then there were way too many pictures in this part to have it in one post. I'll put up the brace making and affixing in the next few days. Until then, here's part I of the skeleton.Skeleton IJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted December 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 After 4 hours sharpening everything in the shop I decided it was time to get some more work done on the skeleton. The back and sides are all done but the top needed the same treatment. There are still a few support pieces around the sound hole I need to add but otherwise it's nearly done. Figuring out the configuration was a bit more tricky for this one as allegedly it has a much greater effect on the tone and resonance and stuff. We'll see how it turns out... Until then, here's another sneak peek at the top skeleton. John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 That's a very artistic photo, John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted December 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 I find that I'm taking a lot of pictures geared for the instagram crowd, and those happen to really be the only ones I have on my phone to post Next section of the journal live, finishing off the back bracing. There's a bit of time warping going on for the next couple posts, but things have slowed down a bit as I try and figure out how to deal with the neck situation. Skeleton part II postJohn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted December 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 After a short holiday hiatus, back to work. Knowing nothing at all about what's actually needed to tone an acoustic top, here's what I came up with. new post This one went a bit long too, so many photos of the process so far. Next up, I need to figure out how to attach the neck. Over the past few months I have been giving it a great deal of thought and think I have come up with a reasonable solution to the problem, but I'll be asking in a few days when I have the wood able to help describe what I'm after. Until then, here's what the inside of the top looks like. John 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Page Posted January 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I've come to a bit of a pickle. Right now the neck is on the bench but I have no idea how to attach the pegboard to the body of the neck. At first I thought it would be fine with a plain old miter, but the more I think about it the less sure I am that it will hold up to the tension in the strings. In my eye, that short end grain joint will be the first thing to fail. So, I thought about doing some dovetails for a bit of mechanical strength. Does that seem like a reasonable thing to do? I've been sketching various things on the wood to see how it looks and after a few hours this is what I came up with. Trying to figure out how to make them work with a 14 degree end face made my brain feel like mush Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!! John p.s. My phone is defeating me with getting pictures, I'll have that up in a jiffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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