cutaway guitar nearly done. strings on, a little fine tuning once the instrument settles under tension.

mando:

top and back glued to sides



edges trimmed



binding slot cut



walnut binding on

Work on the cutaway guitar.....

tuners in, frets levelled nut cut



bridge made and glued into place

some time spent with the OM today.

I'll leave it for a week or so under tension to settle then see about a final setup.

because the scale length is slightly shorter than a bouzouki would be I've tilted the neck back an extra couple of degrees to increase the break angle of the strings over the bridge. no where near the angle of a violin, but just a little more than regular to help drive the top. (shorter scale means less tension unless you go up a gauge of strings)

So what's a guy to do while he's waiting for the varnish on a guitar and an octave mandolin to dry?

I know!!

what about make another mando!!?

Mahogany back & sides, spruce top.

It's spray time!!

so, a load of sanding and ready for finish.....



the pics don't show it so well, but this top has a nice bit of bearclaw figure across it. subtle and pretty.....

More neck work.

fretboard radiused and stained black (ebony isn't uniformly black y'know.....



frets in and the neck body joint fine tuned a little.....



and similar to the OM. without the blackening. rosewood isn't black......



this is ready to glue in now, but I've run out. Hopefully I'll get some tomorrow!

A bit of neck work on the cutaway guitar..





and the OM....

bracing on the top





body closed



bound in walnut





and some neck work.









before long it will look like an instrument!!