ScottR Posted July 31, 2017 Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 On 7/29/2017 at 11:45 PM, mattharris75 said: You used to live on the gulf, Scott? Where exactly? Pensacola. Technically, Warrington, about a hundred feet from the bayou across from the naval air station. On 7/29/2017 at 11:45 PM, mattharris75 said: definitely not my favorite part of the process, but it turned out well. I managed to get everywhere except the inside of the scroll: I can relate. And the scroll is a special kind of hell to bind. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted July 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 1 hour ago, ScottR said: I can relate. And the scroll is a special kind of hell to bind. SR Thanks for the encouraging words. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to go about accurately marking and cutting the binding ledge in there. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 31, 2017 Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 Patience, mucho patience. I marked it and chiseled by hand and I really don't think there are many viable alternatives. I used small, extremely sharp chisels and gouges of various radii and made very small cuts. The good news is it's tough to see in there, so mistakes are hidden. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted July 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 Heh, very true. I thought I would try using my compass to mark the line. I think if I can get it accurately marked I can cut it fine as long as I'm patient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 31, 2017 Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 If the compass doesn't do it used the normal way, maybe you can extend the point and shorten the marker (pencil or whatever) and space them the width that you channel needs to be. Then run the point down inside along the edge of the scroll and let the pencil mark the offset. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted July 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 Yeah, that's exactly how I was thinking I would do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2017 A few little places to clean up, but overall it turned out OK. Easier than I expected: Â Â 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 2, 2017 Report Share Posted August 2, 2017 Nice, that looks good. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2017 Thanks Scott. It was one of those parts of the build that I was dreading, Â because of a combination of lack of experience and what you always hear folks say about working with the scroll. I've had several experiences like that on this build that turned out to be easier than expected. Partially, perhaps, because I expected the worst (I know that was the case with the binding route), and partially because I didn't have the experience/perspective to know any different. But that's really one of the joys of building, learning new skills and pushing yourself to try things that you haven't before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 Hopefully this will look good when the mess of tape comes off. I'll know when I get home this evening: This was tricky. I ended up gluing an inch at a time around the scroll area and up to the waist, applying pressure by hand until the glue set. Even having pre-bent the binding with heat it was tough to get it to sit  completely flat in the channel without pressure. I've mixed a little binding mud up, so if there are any small gaps I should be able to take care of it, but for the most part I expect it to be pretty tight. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 I have, for the most part, got the binding scraped and sanded on the bass side. Everything looks good, except for a little sliver near the waist. I'll fill it with binding mud and re-sand. I think it will look fine when it's all said and done. The top of the scroll looks a little funky in this picture, as I haven't sanded around there yet. I have to laminate a second piece of binding in on the inside edge to get to the correct height on the inside of the scroll. Progress is slowing down, as football practice started for me this past week. Just don't have the same amount of time to work on things. I was really hoping to get the box closed before football started, but between vacations, shop upgrades, and other general life business, it just didn't happen. Oh well. Still moving on along! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 7 hours ago, mattharris75 said: Oh well. Still moving on along! This is looking really sweet Matt. I 'll bet you are dying to hear it. As far as pace ,don't sweat it. You have built up so much of a head start to your usual work cycle time allotment, you got months of get out of jail free cards built up. Use the time life gives you to do it right and it will be done when it is done. Like you aren't a master at that concept. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 On 8/12/2017 at 8:56 PM, ScottR said:  Like you aren't a master at that concept. SR Well, that's certainly a charitable way of putting it. Maybe within the next month or so I can get the binding knocked out, do a few more fiddly but time consuming things (neck bolts, adding thickness to the neck heel, etc), and then get the neck and back attached. I'm close, and that will be quite a milestone... This time of year just keeps me busy. High school football is serious business in Alabama.  We're also contemplating building a new house, so I need to get things moving forward so  that this doesn't get pushed right off the back burner if/when I get consumed by all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted February 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Well, no mandola update, but just checking in with a life update. As mentioned elsewhere we moved several months ago. So, lots of unpacking, hanging curtains, TVs, pictures, wiring, painting, and a plethora of other things related to settling into a new house. Beyond that I've started renovations! First up, my office (sorry for the picture quality). - Stained Tongue & Groove bead board ceiling -Three piece crown molding -Two shiplap walls -Built-in cabinets and desk (The doors are still a work in progress) -Walnut stained/poly finished birch butcher block desktops -Flamed ambrosia maple open shelving And all the many details that go along with that, including painting every freaking surface... I also needed a matching side table to hold a book and beer/whisky, so I built one out of scraps:  So, I have not been idle! But, no musical instrument building. However, have no fear! This was my weekend project: It was a productive weekend. I need to add doors to the front cabinet and mount the clamp holder to the support on the right hand wall, but I'm nearly done with the shop, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Except, my wife is pregnant with child #3, so that changes priorities slightly.  While I have a rather exhaustive list of house projects to keep me busy before the kid gets here I imagine I'll be able to find a little time here and there to get back to the mandola. We shall see... I really am itching to get it done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 office? Thats the beginning of a man cave. Nice. Congrats on number 3 to you and your wife Matt. Its always a blessing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Nice work on the house projects and the family- congrats! Planning on three daughters are you? Don't look now, but I think someone shot a cow in your office... SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Either your guitars are really small or your office is huge Nice work on the "scrap" table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Matt is king of the short scale guitar. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted February 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 Yeah, I do like em small. The largest thing on either of those walls is a Taylor GS Mini. I do have a full sized electric guitar and a bass that aren't visible in the pics though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2018 Still no mandola update, knee deep in house projects. But this is at least instrument related. I came into a rather nice supply of walnut! My father in law and brother in law bought all the hardwood off a family friend whose father, an avid woodworker, had died several years before. He and his mother decided to clear out the house, and the guy had hardwood stored everywhere. This lot came out of the attic! We still have more to move, and more of it will be mine, but this is a couple hundred board feet that they were nice enough to give to me for helping them lug wood around. Pretty sweet deal!  Some boards have cracked ends, some are rather strangely sawn, but many are beautiful, including quite a few figured pieces and some live edged boards. I'll use some for instruments, some for furniture, and some for other smaller projects. Walnut has started to get ridiculously expensive, so this was quite a windfall! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted January 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 Well guys, it's been quite a while. Plenty of house renovation projects, real life responsibilities, and maybe another combat robot project, have occurred since I last pulled the mandola out of storage. Took a couple of weeks of vacation over the holidays and finally got back to it. I managed to finish gluing and scraping the binding. The scroll was tricky, but I think it turned out about as well as I could have hoped. I was planning to stack the binding around the scroll because of the height of the carving, but I ended up deciding to carve down the scroll area to match the single layer of binding, which is basically matching the shape of the carving on the back anyway. I think it looks quite good. I also set the neck. What was supposed to be a simple mortise and tenon bolt on ended up becoming a M&T bolt on/doweled M&T hybrid. I somehow managed to screw up the alignment on the second insert for the bolt on, so I just used the one that worked and secured the neck with a dowel on each side of the tenon. Next up I'll close the box, get that back glued on and sanded flush. Then start finish sanding and doing some other small miscellaneous tasks like drilling for the end pin, mounting the tailpiece, fitting the bridge to the top, etc, etc. Glad to be back at it!   1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 3 hours ago, mattharris75 said: Well guys, it's been quite a while. Plenty of house renovation projects, real life responsibilities, and maybe another combat robot project, have occurred since I last pulled the mandola out of storage. Took a couple of weeks of vacation over the holidays and finally got back to it. I managed to finish gluing and scraping the binding. The scroll was tricky, but I think it turned out about as well as I could have hoped. I was planning to stack the binding around the scroll because of the height of the carving, but I ended up deciding to carve down the scroll area to match the single layer of binding, which is basically matching the shape of the carving on the back anyway. I think it looks quite good. I also set the neck. What was supposed to be a simple mortise and tenon bolt on ended up becoming a M&T bolt on/doweled M&T hybrid. I somehow managed to screw up the alignment on the second insert for the bolt on, so I just used the one that worked and secured the neck with a dowel on each side of the tenon. Next up I'll close the box, get that back glued on and sanded flush. Then start finish sanding and doing some other small miscellaneous tasks like drilling for the end pin, mounting the tailpiece, fitting the bridge to the top, etc, etc. Glad to be back at it!   Maturing like a fine wine   Good to see it again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 13 hours ago, mattharris75 said: Glad to be back at it! We're glad you are to! 10 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Maturing like a fine wine  You beat me to that line, Andy. Matt, this thing is looking great! SR 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 On 7/30/2017 at 8:01 PM, ScottR said: Pensacola. Technically, Warrington, about a hundred feet from the bayou across from the naval air station. >snip< SR Really? I was born and raised in Warrington until moving in 1972. Sounds like you were on Innerarity Point looking at white island? Or were you on Navy Point? mk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 18 hours ago, mattharris75 said: Well guys, it's been quite a while. Plenty of house renovation projects, real life responsibilities, and maybe another combat robot project, have occurred since I last pulled the mandola out of storage. Took a couple of weeks of vacation over the holidays and finally got back to it. I managed to finish gluing and scraping the binding. The scroll was tricky, but I think it turned out about as well as I could have hoped. I was planning to stack the binding around the scroll because of the height of the carving, but I ended up deciding to carve down the scroll area to match the single layer of binding, which is basically matching the shape of the carving on the back anyway. I think it looks quite good. I also set the neck. What was supposed to be a simple mortise and tenon bolt on ended up becoming a M&T bolt on/doweled M&T hybrid. I somehow managed to screw up the alignment on the second insert for the bolt on, so I just used the one that worked and secured the neck with a dowel on each side of the tenon. Next up I'll close the box, get that back glued on and sanded flush. Then start finish sanding and doing some other small miscellaneous tasks like drilling for the end pin, mounting the tailpiece, fitting the bridge to the top, etc, etc. Glad to be back at it!   that is crazy beautiful. nice work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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