MIMF

Their violin pegs are meant to be trimmed off and polished after being fitted to the peg box....... OOPSSS... My experience is with Knilling Perfection Pegs, but I would imagine that Wittner are much the same as violin family instrument pegs, once fitted for taper always have the ends trimmed to be ...

Their violin pegs are meant to be trimmed off and polished after being fitted to the peg box.......

I have stuck with Lie-Nielsen for "specialty" planes, I have their Small Bronze Block plane, Violin Makers Plane, 212 scraper Plane, and Model Maker's Squirrel Tail Plane..... They will all outlive me several times over and are a pleasure to use.... My Bench Planes are all old Stanley/Reco...

I've always gone with Callaham parts for "Fender" styled builds. Certainly more expensive than the usual suspects but the quality is definitely there.

Velcro.

The tailpiece [Frequensator"] for my 1946 Epiphone Broadway was "broken" at the 90* bend from side to top when I got it. Sent it off to "Archtops.com" in Seattle for braising repair…. not inexpensive but great quality work.

Well Done!

I have always used DemBart Checkering and Gunstock Oil. Thinner than TruOil and does "soak in" more and dries hard. With mahogany or walnut a fair amount in an initial coat or two and let it dry. I then wet sand 400, 600 and even sometimes 800 using the oil to create a grain filling slurry...

Agreed Barry! I did that with a 19teens banjo with an "exploded headstock"… Worked out very well.

Good luck with it Greg. Maybe think about inlaying some "cross grain splines" in the back side. Or they may be completely unnecessary! Looks ain't everything, or for that matter, Anything…. when it comes to makin' music.

Can't say that is your "normal" headstock break!! Hard to tell from the photos…but how good a fit are the two pieces?? Gaps? Missing pieces? If it is a really good [close to perfect] fit I'd be inclined to carefully clean the old Elmer's off of the surfaces, hopefully without altering a &q...

Allen…and All, I have a 1946 Epiphone Broadway. Was the Idea behind its "Frequensator" tailpiece speaking to what you were explaining? It does have a very even response in the bass comapared to some other archtops I've played. [By even I mean it isn't less powerful than the midrange]. Stil...

Wouldn't dream of trying to profit from your material….
This is not the first project in line so time is not too critical
still 20 months away from retirement so still…. got to do's first /get to do's second

Mike

Guitar {shaped} Octave Mandolin

Thanks Mike. I'd be delighted to get a copy when they are ready…. and pay for the privilege… You can PM me and I'll give you my contact info.

I would probably build w/o the cutaway, but that's a simple deal with the plans in hand.

Mike

I'd like to try my hand at building an arch top octave mandolin [a'la Fletcher Brock guitar shaped]. I have several flattops and even A mandolins under my belt. I could try to scale down a standard 16" Benetteto or other plan, but wonder if any one has a source for plans in the 14 1/2" LB ...

I may have read too quickly, but I didn't a reference to "The Larson Bros" in the thread… Is the application here different than what they were trying to accomplish?
Mike

I do the same Phil up here in the pacific NW… Bracing is a winter project.

Mike

I use "DemBart Checkering Oil" thinner than TruOil but still a "gunstock finish". I apply it the same way I do on gunstocks, wet-sanding with the oil [creating a slurry of oil and sanding dust for pore filling] and then hand RUBBING light finishing coats.

Mike

THAT is really nice! As another non-base player I have toyed with the idea of building one as well. FYI posting photos like this sometimes encourages "theft" [of ideas] for those of us who suffer from incidental ethics deficits.

Mike J,