AHG octave mando build

[chazmo]

I bet the cedar smells nice as you're carving it.

Actually, that raised a question for me about whether salvaged cedar would still have a smell to it. I imagine GG is right, though!

 

[AcornHouse]

Actually, that raised a question for me about whether salvaged cedar would still have a smell to it. I imagine GG is right, though!

If you’ve ever sharpened a cedar pencil, one of those natural ones, not one painted yellow, you’ll know the smell.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

A rabbit hole veer - I didn't think book author Graham McDonald was retired member @Graham but I had to check. They aren't the same person but the forward to the book was written by Andy Irvine. Bassist Andy Irvine is perhaps the most famous player of a Betts Bass (my custom bass is a Betts) so I checked that out. Forward writer Irvine is an Irish singer not an American bassist. Oh well.

Is that the primary carving tool? If you have some spare time could you pose with it as if you were carving something. Thank you.

I always find it interesting that Andy is generally described as Irish He was born and raised in England to an Irish mother and Scottish father and did not move to Ireland till he was about twenty. From this point, he went on to be a true giant of Irish folk music, as a singer and multi-instrumentalist No idea if has ever taken Irish citizenship.

 

[AcornHouse]

With the top shaped, it's time to work on the underside. I use a very old technique from the violin world (Probably predating them, as well) to gauge the depth and hog out some of the waste.
I set up a post on the drill press a predetermined distance from the drill bit, in this case 7mm. So each time I plunge the bit in, it will only go as deep as 7mm from the top, which is now on the bottom. But I use a forstner bit so it also gets rid of a lot of the waste. Then I carve until the bits center holes are all gone. That lets me know I have a 7mm thick top. (And then I can do further thinning where appropriate.)

 

[GGJaguar]

For a second there, I thought it was some fancy Celtic pattern you were starting. I should read first and look at photos second.

 

[AcornHouse]

There was one small issue with the procedure. It hasn't been as big a deal with the spruce top, but with cedar, being a little softer, the post that the top rested on dimpled the surface as the drill pressed down on it.



But those were soon ironed out. Literally! As long as it was just compressions with no actual torn fibers, a little moisture from a damp towel and heat from an iron easily uncompressed the wood, causing it to swell back into form.

 

[GGJaguar]

I've never heard of ironing a top! Clever!

 

[twocorgis]

There was one small issue with the procedure. It hasn't been as big a deal with the spruce top, but with cedar, being a little softer, the post that the top rested on dimpled the surface as the drill pressed down on it.



But those were soon ironed out. Literally! As long as it was just compressions with no actual torn fibers, a little moisture from a damp towel and heat from an iron easily uncompressed the wood, causing it to swell back into form.

That cedar is stunning!

 

[AcornHouse]

I've never heard of ironing a top! Clever!

Not my idea. It’s an old trick in woodworking circles.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Looks nice!

Viewing your PICs of carving the top/back made me remember a documentary I saw years ago. It was a deep dive into why Stradivarius violins sound so good. They showed a guy in Italy trying to reproduce one by hand: the pains-taking process of carving the top and back and then fine tuning them to maximize tone.

His finished product was excellent, but still couldn't match the tone of the Stradivarius. If memory serves, they theorized that part of the reason was that the wood used on the attempted reproduction hadn't had as long to age and mellow. But they also said that the wood used in the Stradivarius instruments had a unique grain structure because the trees it came from had lived through several extremely cold winters which caused the grain to be tighter than that of any trees available today.

Here’s a link to a study write up regarding this notion:

A Comparison of Wood Density between Classical Cremonese and Modern Violins

Classical violins created by Cremonese masters, such as Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesu, have become the benchmark to which the sound of all violins are compared in terms of their abilities of expressiveness and projection. By general consensus, no luthier since that time has...

journals.plos.org

 

[freddyfingers]

I am enjoying this. Had an octave made for me a few years back, and the person that made it did not follow this process at all. Live and learn I do.

 

[AcornHouse]

I am enjoying this. Had an octave made for me a few years back, and the person that made it did not follow this process at all. Live and learn I do.

Octave mandos seem to be the least codified of the mandolin family. All types of shapes, flattops, arched tops, pressed tops, etc.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Hers are made by:

Octave Mandolins

www.fletcherbrock.com

 

[5thumbs]

I liked, but was especially impressed by the guy playing bass.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

 

[AcornHouse]

Here you go, @fronobulax .

 

[AcornHouse]

Even got a Short made.

 

[GGJaguar]

Here you go

The photographer...

 

[davismanLV]

With the top shaped, it's time to work on the underside. I use a very old technique from the violin world (Probably predating them, as well) to gauge the depth and hog out some of the waste.
I set up a post on the drill press a predetermined distance from the drill bit, in this case 7mm. So each time I plunge the bit in, it will only go as deep as 7mm from the top, which is now on the bottom. But I use a forstner bit so it also gets rid of a lot of the waste. Then I carve until the bits center holes are all gone. That lets me know I have a 7mm thick top. (And then I can do further thinning where appropriate.)

Okay, thanks for that info, Chris!! I was wondering how you'd know the depth when you're shaving!!

 

[AcornHouse]

Okay, thanks for that info, Chris!! I was wondering how you'd know the depth when you're shaving!!

After the rough carving, it’s long reach calipers to get to the final thickness. Taking lots and lots of readings. Over and over and over and…