Ah, at last, back after school half term......

I'd started a 12 string to tinker on while waiting for the glue on Kevin's mandola to dry....

Walnut Back & sides, Engleman spruce top, purpleheart rosette.

the back was about 3mm too narrow for my mini jumbo mould so I laminated in two strips of maple and one of rosewood binding
up the middle........ Yeah, I know it's cheating, but hey, warts and all right?


the mandola now has a siamese twin in parallel development.

so as a result I now have two necks rough cut, one body closed and bound waiting for a LOAD of sanding, and a top waiting for the bracing to be carved before it meets up with it's back & sides.

the plan (like there was ever a plan!!!) is for Kevin to be able to choose his fav, as this is a stab in the dark, seat of the pants, never played a mandola before let alone seen plans before type build...... the old paranoia of will the bracing be too tight and so deaden the vibrations, or too weak and let the top rip off raises it's ugly head again!!!. #2 will be less tightly braced, so we'll see how things pan out.......

note the heads aren't my usual shape as Kevin wants whichever one he takes to fit in with his other babies......... (BTW, that curl (or blob) on the headstock is gonna be a pain later on!!!!)