Search found 705 matches
- Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:25 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Re: Red gum
Well the red gum mandolin is finally finished. Took a while because I ran out of bridges and Vern Brekke is having problems at the moment with the CNC he was using so had to wait for a bridge. Was well worth the wait. All the nay sayers on red gum now need to eat their words. This is the best soundi...
- Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:24 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Grants
- Replies: 9
- Views: 8602
Re: Grants
I have gone through the process and was unsuccessful, and the reason given why was unsuccessful I thought was really stupid. It took so much time and effort that I will never ever apply for a grant ever again. It is a lottery. Way too many applicants, not enough money.
- Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:47 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Overseas payments
- Replies: 12
- Views: 12387
Re: Overseas payments
I've always gone with the philosophy of - the easier and more efficient you make your process to get paid, generally the quicker you'll be paid. Yep, and the more likely you will actually be paid. Customers need to be comfortable with what they are doing or they will back out. Penny pinching on fee...
- Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:48 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Overseas payments
- Replies: 12
- Views: 12387
Re: Overseas payments
I use Paypal and eat the fees, but most of my sales are local nowadays. I send a Paypal invoice, and they can choose to pay with their Paypal account or with credit card. It is important to make it easy for the customer. I have used bank transfers, and used to have a merchant facility, but most peop...
- Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:35 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Identifying wood
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21590
- Wed Feb 10, 2021 12:31 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Identifying wood
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21590
Re: Identifying wood
After looking at the picture closely, I can't tell if it is King Billy Pine or Western Red Cedar, but if I had to guess I would choose King Billy Pine. Cedar is usually darker, but some pieces I have are exactly the same colour as King Billy, and equally as fine grained. The only way to tell is to s...
- Sat Jan 16, 2021 5:42 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Re: Red gum
Carbon fiber has a very high stiffness to weight ratio, which is good for the top, but that is not what I want for the back, it needs to be heavy. Remember the see saw analogy. The top needs to be as light as possible, so a carbon fiber lattice bracing might be worth a try, but I would not use it on...
- Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:37 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Re: Red gum
That is shellac, followed by Aquacoat pore filler, followed by varnish. The varnish is Target Coatings EM2000, which is an oil varnish in a water emulsion, so it is a water based finish but does not have any of the blue tinge you can see on darker woods that many of the water based finishes have. I ...
- Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:53 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Re: Red gum
Not too shabby under varnish. I am happy with this. Will continue, more later.
- Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:11 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Re: Red gum
Thank you Trevor. I never used it until now because the one piece I purchased twisted and cupped badly, but I am not so concerned about that in a flat top mandolin and for bindings it should not matter. So far so good and it has been though some big humidity changes with the braces on. Will try a bi...
- Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:22 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Re: Red gum
Martin, you probably did not read my mandolin thoughts thread. I have been making flat top mandolins with dead backs for around 2 years. You can make a dead back by more hefty bracing, making the back thicker, using more dense wood, or laminating. I was mostly making the backs thicker. Why? They sou...
- Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:16 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Re: Red gum
This is where I have problems with explanations. What is meant by "sound absorbtion qualities". A piece of wood has mass, stiffness and Q (amount of internal damping, high Q has less damping). High Q (e.g. rosewood) woods ring on for a long time, low Q woods have a shorter ring. So I assume you mean...
- Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:10 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: Red gum
- Replies: 28
- Views: 30835
Red gum
Has anyone tried red gum (i.e. river red gum) as a back and side wood? Only thing I can find after a bit of a hunt around is it is too heavy, splits easily. I am looking around for an Ebony substitute for mandolin backs that is more sustainable and not nose bleed expensive. So, Ebony is heavier and ...
- Fri Dec 25, 2020 9:09 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
- Replies: 13
- Views: 13756
Re: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
Here are some more pictures of the recently completed mandolins. The BRW and the Tiger Myrtle have already sold, the first and second Ebony mandolins I have not offered for sale (yet) because I am still trying to decide which one to keep. The Tiger Myrtle has arrived with it's new owner just in time...
- Tue Dec 08, 2020 10:39 am
- Forum: The Gallery
- Topic: New OM guitar
- Replies: 11
- Views: 14956
- Sat Dec 05, 2020 10:25 am
- Forum: The Gallery
- Topic: New OM guitar
- Replies: 11
- Views: 14956
Re: New OM guitar
It is Target Coatings EM2000, a water based alkyd resin varnish.What's the finish on that instrument?
- Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:40 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
- Replies: 13
- Views: 13756
Re: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
Well I have just strung up a new Tiger Myrtle and the second Ebony mandolin in the last few days. The Myrtle is a step below both Ebony mandolins in sound, although the back weight is about the same. I said I could not imagine any flat top mandolin sounding any better, well it is time to eat my word...
- Sat Nov 28, 2020 10:01 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
- Replies: 13
- Views: 13756
Re: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
Of course a 3 or 4 piece back would work, but it is additional work, and I am not sure how the customers would see it. I did make a mandolin with a BRW back, and it sounded quite nice, slightly louder and brighter than the Ebony, but lacked something and I always went back to the Ebony mandolin. A l...
- Tue Nov 24, 2020 9:19 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
- Replies: 13
- Views: 13756
Re: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
I do have enough Gidgee for one of these mandolins, so that is on the to do list. Gidgee has the same problem as Ebony, rare to find pieces wide enough. I have plenty more Ebony, but would have to make a 3 or 4 piece back. Certainly you could drop the main air mode by using a smaller sound hole, but...
- Mon Nov 23, 2020 11:13 pm
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: More mandolin thoughts - the end result
- Replies: 13
- Views: 13756
More mandolin thoughts - the end result
Some time ago I posted some mandolin thoughts about how I was using the principles outlined in the Gore/Gilet books to improve the sound of my flat top mandolins. A quick summary - I found that the main back mode of my flat top mandolins was 3 semitones below that of the main top mode. This matched ...
- Wed Nov 18, 2020 9:32 am
- Forum: The Gallery
- Topic: New OM guitar
- Replies: 11
- Views: 14956
Re: New OM guitar
Bolt on neck, and I am not a guitar player and cannot do it justice so no sound sample until I can persuade a real guitar player to play it a bit in front of a mic.
- Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:32 am
- Forum: The Gallery
- Topic: New OM guitar
- Replies: 11
- Views: 14956
New OM guitar
My latest OM guitar. Traditional woods, Red Spruce (Adirondack) top, Honduran Mahogany back and sides. The mahogany is around 40 years old, I got it from Curley Pete, came from a deceased estate, so I got lucky. This Mahogany has good colour and rings like a bell, but no figure in the wood. River Re...
- Sat Oct 31, 2020 11:34 am
- Forum: The Gallery
- Topic: Flamenco Blanca
- Replies: 5
- Views: 7836
- Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:56 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: king billy pine question
- Replies: 3
- Views: 4727
- Wed Oct 28, 2020 9:02 am
- Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
- Topic: straight dovetail
- Replies: 8
- Views: 9200
Re: straight dovetail
I did use straight dovetails on mandolins many years ago, but have been using a tapered dovetail ever since. The reason I changed was although a straight dovetail is easier to implement, it is harder to disassemble. After a bit of practice I found the tapered version to be not so hard after all. Man...