The site is always “Under Construction”, but here are some instruments which are also coming along.! In the gallery now are a wenge guitar, a mahogany guitar and a hickory mandola showing some construction details. The finished instruments will be posted soon.
A mandola is the mandolin family equivalent to a viola in the violin family. It is generally tuned a fifth below standard mandolin pitch. People can hate them since the longer scale requires a greater reach on the fingerboard. This one has a fir top, and a hickory back and sides. I’m thinking of naming … Continue reading
I’m building a maple Masteretone-style bluegrass banjo with all the Mastertone-style hardware from Stewart MacDonald: Flathead tone ring, coordinator rods, Kerschner tailpiece, 5-Star tuners, except for two real Keith tuners for those who love to do the D-tuning thing. The resonator is curly maple, and the neck is birds eye figured hard maple. This is … Continue reading
This is a maple banjo with a Whyte Laydie tone ring for that wonderful old-time sound. This is a substantial instrument – quite an armful since it is made of maple, and has lots of hardware. That tone ring has some substance! It has an armrest, 5-Star planetary tuners, a No-knot tailpiece, some inlay (see the … Continue reading
The back of the blackwood guitar Austalian blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) is almost identical to Hawaiian koa (Acacia koa). This stuff comes from a fellow luthier, Tim O’Dea, who lives in Corindi Beach, New South Wales (Australia). I traded some red cedar tops for several blackwood back and side sets. It was a good deal for … Continue reading
Making the peghead is fun: It’s an opportunity not only to make a peghead that functions well, but also is decorated. Here’s the procedures for cutting the tuning post slots and the tuner roller holes. Later I’ll show examples of how to do the inlay.
