MIMF

Nice to meet you all, I just joined yesterday and have already gain valuable knowledge from the group.

I have always been a DIY guy and figured out a long time ago I don't have the chops to be a musician.

Years ago I had a Mandolin that the body had colapsed. My first thought was a beer tap handle from the neck but opted instead to build the Mando V. Here is a few of my recent projects.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobs_jamz/ ... 936812576/

I am now working on the jigs and templates I need to begin making some solid bodies.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobs_jamz/ ... 778727663/

Looking forward to learning here.

Welcome aboard Bob.

Hi, Bob. MIMF is a really good online community and very well managed. The Library is a great resource, for example, and easy enough to search.

I'm curious about a couple of your jigs, the 2 neck shaping jigs. Is the "half-hockey-puck" neck shaping jig meant to ride over a router table or under the router guide system you built? The neck radiusing jig looks pretty simple...can you talk more about it?

The neck jig was not my idea and there is a nice video on You tube, including some drawings. I modified it to be adjuststable for different length necks and accomodate a larger headstock as it rotates through the base. It rides on top of a router table and is really just to rough in a shape. I have done some necks by hand using rasps and sanding drums which takes me hours. With the sled I kocked out the same amount of work in about 20 minutes.

The fretboard jig is just a progression of the neck jig and I plan to give it a test run this weekend. I cut the discs on the band saw at a 12" radius and plan to make a couple more sets of discs for different fret boards. This also is meant to float above the router table.