sai the explorer

The mandolin I'm making is actually just 5 single strings, not 10 double. So all my basic plans are essentially scaled down designs from plans for a Les Paul. I don't really have access to solid body mandolin plans, so I'm basing them off of a combination of these Les Paul plans and measurements taken from a mediocrely made 5-string electric mandolin I have. The neck joint on the mandolin I have right now is some sort of set neck, but I can't really tell how far the tenon extends into the body. The scaled tenon length I got from the Les Paul stops at about the the 14th fret or so, and my fretboard has 20 frets. I was basically wondering if I should extend the tenon even further into the body just because I can (I have the space and neck blank length to do it). Is there any benefit to making the tenon as long as possible?

So I'm building an electric solid body 5 string mandolin (13.5" scale) as my first build. Because plans/blueprints for such instruments are few and far between, I've had to figure out most of the design myself as well, adding to my woes. Currently, I'm trying to design the neck tenon for a set neck join, and I had a couple of questions that you guys might know the answer to. Is it fair to assume that the longer I make the tenon, the shorter the "lip" forming the heelblock of the neck needs to be? (sorry, my vocabulary is probably all wrong) Also, from what I recall, the mortises and tenons on builds that I've seen seem to have rounded corners, rather than ending in sharp 90 degree angles. Is this a matter of preference, or does this add to the strength of the join in a significant way? To give you some context, right now I am planning to have the neck attach at the 10th fret and have the tenon extend all the way to the end of the fretboard (20th fret) (dimensions of the pocket are 1.25" x 3.25").

Sorry, I've only played Gibsons and Ibanez; my experience with Strat bridges is next to nil. Is it pretty easy to remove the extra saddles? http://www.gpdusa.com/Fixed_Bridges-Fixed_...e_7_String.html I was thinking about getting something like this and taking one off from each side so that i can keep the placement symmetric as well. Would that work? Also, does anyone have experience with Guitar Parts Depot? Are they good quality, or am I just getting what I pay for? Thanks!

Could you link me to where you got this modified strat style bridge? I think this sounds like a very doable idea for me.

So if I were to make a baseplate for standard saddles, could I make that out of wood, or should I make it out of stainless steel?

Hey guys, So I'm getting ready to build a solid body electric mandolin that essentially amounts to a scaled down (36 cm/~14 in scale), 5 string electric guitar. As it's not a very common instrument, neither are the parts. However, I have found a couple of pictures that would aid me in my quest as it were. Which brings me to my point: How can I find (or even make?) a bridge like the one on this electric mandolin? http://www.mike-sabre.com/Instrumentspast/...-1012-full.html I get the feeling that it's a 5 string electric bass bridge, but I'm not 100% convinced, especially because the string gauges of the two instruments are so vastly different. Any ideas? Thanks! P.S. I hope this is an appropriate place to post this question; I'm new to both the guitar building scene and the guitar building forum scene!