Place a straight-edge along the length of the mandolin neck and check for any irregularities. Check this by tuning your open string, then fret at the 12th fret and see if the fretted octave is in tune. The second extension floating off the face but supporting the board isn't here yet, but this is the typical dovetail neck joint. Mandolin "speed neck". This will ensure that the instrument is playing in tune and that the neck is straight. Adjust the bridge saddle height, if necessary. btw beautiful piece of work! Additionally, the strings can buzz against the frets, resulting in an undesirable buzzing sound. Straighten your back and square your shoulders while you play. Install the tuning keys at the head of the neck. It is quick to heat up and holds a steady temperature without too much fuss.Bending the SidesThe sides were planed to a thickness of a little less than 1/8th of an inch before bending. All set? If the headstock is not aligned properly, it can cause the neck to bow; adjust the headstock as needed. The neck is a long part that is attached to the mandolin body and allows the strings to run at the length required to produce the mandolin beautiful sound. 002Built by Chris Williams, 2006. Relief is needed to make space for the oscillation of the string, which is greatest at its mid-point. Straightening a mandolin neck requires patience and precision. The M522 is comprised of a solid spruce top, flamed maple back, and maple sides, paired with a mahogany neck. 3 More Images. I didnt try to scallop the braces at all since my attempts on the last mandolin didnt work out to my satisfaction. To install the frets, I started with the precut fret wire positioned at an angle to the fret board and gently taped it into place with a small ball peen hammer so the fret would catch the corner of the fret slot. on Step 8. For even playability across the fretboard, the radius of the strings at the bridge should match the radius of the frets. Don Julin has a reputation for being one of the most eclectic mandolin players/instructors on the scene. In the process I lowered the bridge and now this cheapie plays like a real champ. 0781 Mandolin Truss Rod 0748-N Truss Rod Cover Screw. Strings are cheap, so experiment until you find what you like. To cut out the Sound holes, I used a paper template to locate and I cut out the sound holes. 8 - neck carbon bar slot, headstock ears, reinforcement, cut out, and thickness. once i get the wood, i shall get started, pronto! The biggest improvement in the look of this mandolin comes form the addition of the various pieces of trim. 3. hmm good call. This Cheat Sheet explains these helpful tools while supplying the most common chords and scales that youre likely to run into when playing .\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_273760\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"556\"] LuismiCSS / Shutterstock.com[/caption]","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":9491,"name":"Don Julin","slug":"don-julin","description":"

Don Julin has a reputation for being one of the most eclectic mandolin players/instructors on the scene. Making A Laminated Neck Blank Project Electric Guitar 12.2K subscribers Subscribe 1.3K 84K views 5 years ago Here's how I prepare the pieces, glue and clamp a laminated neck blank for an. These soundholes wound up being much closer to the edge than on the last mandolin. 12th fret action- .050" G, .040 high e. Nut slot height is critical on a mandolin. Too much relief and the action can be high, yet buzzy, mid neck. It'll do less damage to the wood that you'd then have to sand. 8 years ago I agree with gutairman,there are not enough instructables about building musical instruments. You just use half of a set of eight strings. Does it sound like a real mandolin? Learn more about mandolins and find recommendations. "I am authentically a true country girl at heart. Care should be taken not to over-tighten the truss rod, as this can cause the neck to become warped or bowed. This method was very reliable, accurate and took no time to set up. sure thanks for posting a great instructable.. not many people how put musical instruments on this site, 14 years ago The tools necessary to straighten a mandolin neck are a ruler, a truss rod allen wrench, a truss rod adjustment tool, a truss rod nut wrench, a strong light, a straight edge and a set of feeler gauges. Blue masking tape was very effective for covering the area where the fretboard would be glued and I didn't want cover with finish. Pre-carved F5 mandolin "kit". I want to add binding to the peghead to match the trim on the body. Apply the oil liberally with a cotton cloth, let it soak in for half an hour and wipe off the excess if there is any. Dave Harvey of Gibson showed just how flat a mandolin neck . Attach the neck to the body. This figure shows 12 essential mandolin chords. you might try a more typical 8 string sometime. If the rod is too tight, it may be the cause of the neck bowing; loosen it slightly. It is good to start thick and thin the bridge later if you want. With the center dowel and some small rubber bands, I could hold the side in place with one hand and stretched the rubber bands over the top side of the peg, around the rib, and then over the pegs other end sticking out of the forms bottom. One of the best ways to start playing the mandolin is by strumming chords. Sand it to 220 or so. I was also able to add the inlayed position dots to the top of the fretboard.Carving the NeckI carved the neck down to its final dimension using the fretboard attached with small pins drilled into the top of the neck for the top profile. Gluing the JointI glued the two halves of the back together with wood glue using the rig pictured. I posted a couple of weeks back that I put a couple of little nicks in my mandolin neck, and a few folks jumped in with the idea of removing the finish altogether and doing a "speed neck," with tung oil on the bare . This is the jig we made for the curved angled cut.. Additionally, check the bridge position and adjust it if necessary. Country Instruments is a blog for country music musicians of all skill levels. A Minor: This one has your biggest stretch so far, but as you're playing the mandolin, it's still not that far. 1. Check the neck angle. I have a mountain Dulcimer I need to finish I am a bit timid about bending the side and setting the neck. A bowed neck can cause a variety of issues, including difficulty playing chords, buzzing strings, and poor tuning. It may be necessary to steam it loose. Enjoy weekend savings on Fender, Gretsch, and more, moving the bridge towards the neck if the fretted note is flat, moving the bridge away from the neck if the fretted note is sharp. The five essential parts of a chord diagram (that is, the frets, open strings, chord symbol, put fingers here marks, and left-hand fingering) are labelled. 9 - Fretboard - create and bind. So if you know how to play a few scales, youre able to learn tunes faster by ear or by tab. The sake of our blog is to share our experience and communicate with other passionate country music personalities. I used a large file so that I could work with two frets at a time up higher on the fretboard which helped to protect the edge of the fretboard. In this step-by-step guide, Ill walk you through how to straighten a mandolin neck and get it back to its original shape. I also added a clamp down the center to hold the tail end tight to the tail block. Registered Member. To bend the sides, I first get the section I want to work with wet. It consists of an iron pipe supported by two pieces of angle iron and tied down to a 2x3 with pipe clamps. Keep in mind that this is not a step-by-step lesson in how to do your own setup, but should serve as an overview to help you learn how the different adjustments can make your mando play great. As far as the sound, the single strings don't have the chorus-like effect that doubled strings have on an eight string mandolin. I went a bit too far at the neck on the back side and marked up the underside of the neck. So you've been woodshedding for weeks, trying to cop your favorite Grisman lines, and all you have to show for it is a sore left hand. This set also includes the headpiece overlay, both plain and inlayed and the inlay model. Use a truss rod tool to loosen the truss rod. This will collect up over time and start to affect the playability and sound of your strings. You can leave the top as thick as 1/4". I used the same clamping setup later for gluing the sides to the blocks. Setting up the Mandolin Download Article 1 Hold your mandolin in your lap. The instrument has a bright, sweet sound that is well-suited for strumming and fingerpicking. The arched top and back are ready for sanding and assembly, or you can tap-tune the fine European spruce top until it's just right. I have only desired to sing one style of music. You can sometimes turn the nut of the bridge with your fingers or use a set of needle-nose pliers if the wheel or nut is too tight. I also added a number of other clamps to secure the head and tail block areas and fill in where needed.Shaping the FretboardThe fretboard was cut to it's final size using the belt sander and a paper template so I could use the fretboard's top profile to carve the neck. I finished the mandolin using wipe-on-poly. A mandolin needs very little relief. 0991 Peg Head Overlay Veneer - Ebony . String height is adjusted by filing the nut slots until the strings are at the proper height. Dummies helps everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know. John Hamlett www.hamlettinstruments.com The following members say thank you to sunburst for this post: j. condino Jun-07-2013, 3:22am #4 Pete Jenner Resonate globally Join Date Oct 2011 Location This method works, but it's clumsy to work with and isn't the most stable since the block can bend and therefore let the head block move (although only a little bit. you might add a few more dimensions to this instructable so that others have an easier time of following your footsteps. To finish the neck (besides carving which is actually most labor intensive part of making the neck), I cut out the top profile and sanded it smooth. The Eastman MD315 mandolin offers classic "F" style design and construction, with a carved solid spruce top with f-holes, carved solid maple back and sides, maple neck with ebony fingerboard and adjustable ebony bridge. Now go try that Grisman tune again. 7. This fact alone has drawn the ire of many a mandolin purist.This mandolin was much faster to build than my first one, but still took awhile: I did the majority of the construction in about two weeks with around 40 hours of build time. I again had to use cauls to hold the sides securely to the head block and a long clamp to hold the bottom of the sides tight to the tail block. Sep 06, 2011 #1. Includes a Red "Adirondack" Spruce top, curly (sugar) maple back (1 piece) with sides, curly maple neck block, and Red "Adirondack" spruce for tonebars. Tighten the truss rod until the straight-edge is level along the neck. The first step is to bandsaw the rough side profile using a paper template as a guide. 7 years ago If the bridge is not properly adjusted, it can cause the neck to bow; adjust the bridge as needed. Attach the strap to the mandolin's neck strap button. Check the strings. I shoot for twelve thousandths (0.012) of an inch clearance under the G and D, and ten thousandths (0.010) under the A and E. Youre all done. To many, the mandolin falls firmly in the "folk instrument" category. A 1 1/8" nut width is standard, but many models can be made slightly wider. With the right tools and techniques, mandolinists can adjust their instruments neck to the desired shape and tension. It is much better when played with a pick than my other mandolin, but it still doesn't sound as good as my Kentucky f5 style mandolin. Once the amount of adjustment required has been determined, the truss rod can be adjusted. You get top-quality pieces made to fit: Dovetailed curly maple neck Peghead veneer 29-slot ebony fingerboard Not surprising if your mandolin is setup poorly, and most that I see are. I cut out the form's top profile on the band saw and smoothed it with a drum sander then friction fit the tail block into its recess. # Posted by showaddydadito 18 years ago. 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Don Julin has a reputation for being one of the most eclectic mandolin players/instructors on the scene. Once you have your relief dialed in, you can move on to the adjustments at the bridge. A thumb plane may also work for this task. Otherwise, they are tuned the same and have a similar tone. How to make a mandolin - YouTube 0:00 / 3:03 How to make a mandolin 68,132 views Sep 28, 2016 Mike Dulak, owner of Big Muddy Mandolin, demonstrates how to make one of his handcrafted. you've got my subscription! cb00ne. And once you become familiar with mandolin chord charts, everything will be easier and less abstract. Add Tip Ask Question Download Step 4: The Rim Gluing on the Sides I used the same system to glue the sides to the blocks as I did to hold them on after bending. Tuning is the same as that of a violin, or in the GDAE range. I got my specs the same way I got my guitar specs- measured the mandolins of pros. The head is where you fasten the tuning . 13 years ago Relief is the amount of forward curvature in the neck along the string path. Use a fret-rocker tool to check the fretboard for any high and low frets, and use a fret file to file them down. Notice that there are really three pieces here: the neck, the dovetail block extension (riser), and the support extension. 3. Clean your strings every time you play your mandolin to get rid of the grime and oil that accumulates from your fingers. I used a flat board to clamp the top and braces flat while they glued.Carving the BracesI used a thumb plane to do the majority of the carving of the braces. ", How to Straighten a Mandolin Neck: A Step-by-Step Guide to Get You Playing Again. I measure action, which is the height of the strings off of the frets, at the twelfth fret, with the string fretted at the first fret. on Introduction, any music wire (piano wire, guitar strings, etc..) would work just as well as long a you can get the right gauges for the notes you want to be able to tune to, 9 years ago I used a rasp to cut the top profile by carving the sides so they curve up to the top layout lines. 0615Truss Rod Cover for Banjo or Mandolin . Theres one step left, checking string height at the nut, and it has an enormous impact on how the mandolin plays in the first position.