Franzke String Instruments

Quilted F-5

2011-12-30T13:42:00.000-06:00

A new F-5, assembled and strung up unfinished to make sure everything is right before applying any finish coats.

Mother-of-pearl inlays in the headstock. An original interpretation of the classic flower-pot design.

The hand-carved top and scroll is bound with black, white and tortoise-shell binding strips.

My original mother-of-pearl block inlay pattern with abalone diamond inlaid in the center

Close up of the fretboard and carved scroll

Side view showing the binding and the quilted-maple hand-bent sides.

close up of the hand-carved back and scroll

I put a little moisture on the wood to highlight the quilted pattern in the maple back.

A Pair Of Aces

2011-10-16T22:05:00.002-05:00

These two A-5 mandolins are both going to England. I used some new original inlay designs on both of them.

An original interpretation of the traditional block inlay. Each block is made of four pieces of Mother-Of-Pearl, with an Abalone diamond shape in the center, all separated by a thin piece of black wood fiber. The complete blocks get wider and shorter as they descend the fretboard, so no two are the same.

Banjo Conversion Finished!

2011-09-12T22:39:00.001-05:00

The clear finish has been sanded and buffed to a high gloss.

The peghead, showing the custom truss rod cover with a rose inlay.

tightening the new head

final touches

The custom Franzke bridge

Complete!

The original 4-string tenor on the left and the new 5-string conversion on the right.

Fitting The Neck To The Banjo Rim

2011-08-21T22:10:00.000-05:00

To drill the two holes for the lag bolts, I made a jig for the drill press that holds the neck perpendicular side to side, with a wedge that holds it at a 1.5 degree angle front to back. The neck angle is critical for the strings and bridge to be at the correct height when it is strung up.

The lag bolts are in place and should line up with the existing holes on the old rim.

It just fits.

The long rod attaches to the lag bolt and also bolts to the other side of the wood rim.

The heel of the neck has been shaped by hand to fit the 11 inch curve of the rim.

The heel should make solid contact with the wood rim for optimum tone quality.

The small nut goes on the top, just like the original.

Making The Neck

2011-08-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

I cut the neck from a nice piece of maple. This piece doesn't have as much figure as I typically like to use. I wanted this one to be fairly true to the original and it was fairly plain. I have fretted and bound the fingerboard.

I installed a two-way truss rod before I glued on the peghead overlay and the fretboard.

I used a router bit with a flush trim guide and used the profile of the fretboard to shape the neck to the exact outer shape.

I cut and shaped the peghead profile and then carved and sanded the back of the neck.

I also added an ebony cap to the bottom of the neck heel for esthetics. It was not like that on the original, but it's a nice finishing touch. Now that it is sanded, I will fit it to the banjo rim and probably string it up to see how it feels and plays. I can always make it thinner if I need to.

1926 Gibson TB-2 Conversion to Five-String

2011-07-23T09:49:00.000-05:00

Original 1926 Gibson TB-2 tenor banjo in excellent condition. Client wants a five-string neck in place of the four-string for Bluegrass style playing. I want to make it as true to the original as I can.

Close-up of the inlay design. I will copy it exactly on the new neck.

I photographed the original banjo with a ruler to get an accurate tracing.

I then created an outline in Adobe Illustrator that I could use as a template for cutting the Mother-of-Pearl.

I glued the paper template onto the Mother-of-Pearl piece and cut it out with a jeweler's saw.

Here are all the pieces cut out.

Then I routed out the wood in the exact shape as the pearl piece.

Then I gently pressed the pieces in place, sanded it all. Exactly like the original.

Two A Models Finished

2011-03-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

An A-4 (oval hole) and an A-5 (f-hole), finished.

Detail of the A-4. Ivoroid binding, custom herringbone rosette and ebony accents.

Inlay of Mother-of-pearl and Abalone

The lovely flamed maple backside.

"Flower pot" design in Mother-of-pearl and Abalone, black tuner knobs and "tortoise shell" binding.

Detail of the A-5. Tortoise binding, with rosewood accents.

Backside of the A-5. Flamed red maple back and neck. High gloss lacquer finish.

Retro-fitting Carbon Fiber Neck Reinforcement

2011-03-05T19:08:00.000-06:00

This mandolin was built several years ago and the neck was not as straight as it should be. The adjustable rod was as tight as I felt it could go. I decided to remove the fretboard and install two carbon fiber bars to keep the neck straight. I use the carbon fiber on all the new mandolins I build, but since this one is already finished I had to devise a way to rout two parallel slots down the center of the neck under the fretboard. I first removed the fretboard with a thin knife and some heat.

Then I designed a jig that would hold the mandolin underneath and guide the router to cut two perfectly straight grooves.

A view from the top.

The mandolin is clamped flat against the jig from underneath.

The router cuts one groove by sliding along one of the guides, then cuts the second groove by sliding along the other side, putting the grooves about 3/8" apart.

The grooves have been cut to the proper depth.

The carbon fiber bars fit perfectly in the slots and are glued in place with epoxy. I'll glue the fingerboard back on and touch up the finish and it will be done.

Walnut Tenor Banjo

2010-11-29T07:43:00.000-06:00


Close up showing the black/maple checkerboard purfling.

Walnut rim, neck and resonator

Inlaid Abalone and Mother-Of-Pearl

Walnut rim with maple bottom edge. Figured walnut neck with ebony and maple cap

Burled walnut resonator with concentric rings

Mother-Of-Pearl fingerboard inlays

The complete "pot" assembly

Tenor Banjo Project

2010-09-21T07:44:00.000-05:00

The one on the left is a short scale open back tenor. The one on the right is a modern scale resonator tenor. Both are set up for playing Irish music.

The headstock finished featuring an original inlay design of mother-of-pearl and abalone.

The flange pieces were custom made for me from my original design. They are laser cut from stainless steel and nickel plated.

The maple neck and resonator were stained in a sunburst of amber and browns and then sprayed with clear lacquer.

The open back was made from maple and walnut and left natural with a clear finish.

The "pot" assembly. The wood rim is made of walnut with a maple bottom cap. The tenor banjos have an archtop tone ring mounted on the wood rim.

Finished parts ready to be assembled.

Making the necks of maple and walnut. The foreground necks are four-string tenors and the background neck will be a five-string.

Counting Down

2010-09-05T09:32:00.001-05:00

It's up to $1325 with 11 hours to go!

See And Hear

2010-09-01T22:21:00.001-05:00

Here is a video of me playing "Blue Eagle" and "Cattle In The Cane."

(And, yes that is an old-school Hi-8 Video camera. I couldn't get rid of the display in the corner of the screen.)

Start the Bidding!

2010-08-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

The mandolin is now being auctioned at the address below. All the money from the sale will go toward scholarships for music students to attend an Irish music camp, school or other musical program. To watch the auction, or better yet, to bid, go here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120615232087&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Finished!

2010-07-06T22:59:00.000-05:00

Front and back.

The headstock with the "fountain" inlay.

Side view.

Close-up.

The interwoven pearl/abalone inlaid rosette.

Attaching the tuners.

A piece of adhesive-backed 120-grit sandpaper is stuck onto the top and the bridge is moved back and forth to make the bridge bottom conform perfectly to the arched shape of the mandolin top. The bridge is attached to a jig to hold it perpendicular while sanding.

Buffing The Finish

2010-07-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

Ooohh...shiny!

A close-up of the peghead.

That's a high-gloss finish!

The third and final buffing.

Changing pads for level 3 buffing compound. You must always use a dedicated pad for the different compounds or you will end up with scratches in the finish.

Charging the second buffing pad with level 2 compound.

After the first buffing, it looks quite a bit glossier. It will get glossier yet with two more buffs.

I use a power buffer spinning at 850 rpm with a coarse compound to buff out the fine scratches from the hand sanding. I keep the instrument moving with only slight pressure against the wheel to keep it from getting too hot and melting the lacquer.

After sanding the entire mandolin with 1000 grit, and 1500 grit papers, I used 1800, 2400, and 3200 grit Micro Mesh pads. Now the lacquer is perfectly smooth and flat and has a satin finish.

Level Sanding The Finish

2010-06-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

After the lacquer has dried for at least 24 hours, the entire mandolin is very lightly sanded with 320 grit free-cut sandpaper. Then it gets another 3 coats of lacquer, sanded with 800 grit and sprayed once more. Now I'm using 1500 grit and a foam pad to level the finish coats. This dulls down the gloss to an even matte. If there are any shiny spots, it means I'm not there yet.

On the headstock face, I use a wooden block with the sandpaper to make sure it stays perfectly flat.

Every square inch must be sanded. I like to watch or listen to a KC Royals game while I'm sanding. It takes a good nine innings to level sand a mandolin. Sometimes I need extra innings.

Inspector #12 uses his cat-like senses to discern even the slightest imperfections in the finish.

"You missed a spot."

The Finishing Process

2010-06-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

After the stain is dry and the bindings are all scraped of any color bleed, clear lacquer is applied. When enough coats have been sprayed, it sits overnight to fully dry. Then it is lightly sanded and more clear coats are applied.

The stains are first applied by hand starting with the amber color in the center, and then browns are worked around the edges. I then use an airbrush to darken the area around the perimeter for a dramatic look.

I created my colors using concentrated liquid stains mixed with denatured alcohol. The stain really brings out the flamed figure in the maple.

All masked off ready to apply the stains.

Before applying the stain, I masked off all the bindings. There will be a little bleed through that will need to be scraped off, but this at least protects most of it and keeps the tedious scraping to a minimum.

Stringing It Up

2010-03-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

I cut the fret wire to length and trimmed the ends where it overhangs the binding edge.

All the frets have been hammered into place and the ends filed to an even bevel.

Then I installed all the hardware, fit the bridge and put the strings on it. I will play it for a couple of weeks and see how it plays and if the neck feels right. I can still make some minor adjustments at this stage before I start applying the finish. I am very pleased with the way this one sounds and plays so far. I will probably sand the neck just a little bit thinner, but otherwise this one is ready to finish.

A close-up of the ebony heel cap to contrast with the maple binding.

I really like to play with contrasting woods for accent. This one uses a lot of ebony appointments for a kind of elegant almost formal black and white look. I don't know how I will stain it yet. This one would look really good left natural with a clear satin finish. On the other hand, if I fade some dark color around the edges the maple binding will really stand out, which is what I originally had in mind from the beginning.

A close-up of the ornate pearl/abalone/ebony inlaid sound-hole rosette.

Attaching The Neck and Assembling the Body

2010-03-18T07:49:00.000-05:00

The body is now fully assembled, ready for frets, bridge and hardware. Then I'll string it up and see if it makes music.

The maple binding was bent and mitered ate the corners of the fingerboard. The black and white stripes need to match exactly.

I trimmed the neck heel with ebony/ maple/ ebony to contrast with the body binding.

The "guts."

I use a tapered dovetail neck-to-body joint. The excess neck heel will be trimmed off flush with the body block.

Binding the Top

2010-03-10T21:24:00.001-06:00

The edge of the body was routed with a dremel tool and a special attachment. Now it will be scraped clean with a square razor blade.

I made the rosette sound hole trim with the pearl and abalone pieces glued to a thin veneer and edged it with white, black, white plastic binding pieces. I cut the recess in the top with an x-acto and small chisels. The edge will be bound with white, black and maple strips.

After the bindings and rosette have been glued in place, the top and sides were sanded flush.

I used the same binding theme for the peghead. It took a few tries to get the maple to bend into the double s-curve without breaking.

Inlaying the Mother of Pearl

2010-03-02T10:08:00.000-06:00

I created the designs using a computer graphics program and printed it out using a laser printer. Then I cut out all the individual paper pieces and glued them to the Mother of Pearl blanks using plain white glue. This gives me a nice clean line to cut to.

After cutting all the pieces from the pearl with a jeweler's saw, I glued them to some poster board to keep everything together.

I use another printout of the design glued to the headstock, to rout out the inlay cavity with a Dremel tool. Using plain white glue, the paper design comes off the wood surface easily with warm water.

The small pieces are brittle and break easily. When this happens, it's best to cut another piece rather than try to glue it together.

After gluing the inlays in place, the small voids can be filled with wood dust from the routing process mixed with glue. After sanding the entire surface flush, any filled areas are nearly invisible. I try to rout the inlay area as close as possible, and use as little filler as necessary to give it a clean, sharp look. This also helps later during the finish process, as the clear finish will want to sink into the voids.

Neck and Body

2010-02-22T19:31:00.000-06:00

The neck has been cut to shape, and the top has been glued to the body. The neck has an adjustable truss rod as well as two carbon fiber bars. It makes for a very straight, stiff neck, but still allows for slight adjustment if it is ever necessary.

The point protectors are made of maple with three thin wood fiber pieces for accent. The binding around the edge of the top and back will match the points.

The X-braces have been carved down and tap-tuned to D#. The back plate has been tuned to A#.

The fretboard has been profiled to shape and the slots have been cut.

Now comes the decorative parts. Inlaying the peghead and fretboard, binding the body and inlaying the sound hole rosette.
Stay tuned.

Carving The Top Plate

2010-02-15T22:49:00.000-06:00

I use a router mounted to a wide flat base that rests on a form to control the depth. Then I adjust the depth of the cut and make a series of rings forming a "topographical map."
Then using a couple of finger planes, I carve off the ridges and sand it smooth creating the final arched shape of the outside.
Then I flip it over and hand carve the inside to exact thicknesses.
This one will use an X-bracing system. Each spruce tone bar must be shaped to match the inside curve exactly.
I glue them into place using a "Go-Bar Deck," which uses flexible bars wedged against the top of the deck to provide pressure while the glue sets. It works great for gluing parts that are difficult for regular clamps.
I also use the Go-Bars to glue the top plate onto the rim assembly.

Bending the Sides and Assembling the Rim

2010-02-10T08:27:00.000-06:00

The sides have been bent to shape using a "high-tech pressure steamer" (converted tea kettle with a gas-line hose and nozzle).The support blocks were then glued into place.

The kerfed linings are glued in next. These give the top and back plate more gluing surface than if they were just glued to the side ribs.

All the wood parts have been cut to size now. The top and back plates will be carved from the inside next and then the body will be ready for assembly.

The adjustable fixture will be left inside the rim assembly until the top plate is glued on, to maintain its shape. The equal pressure from the inside keeps it symmetric.

2010-02-02T10:06:00.000-06:00

The neck block has been cut to rough profile and the channel for the re-enforcement rods has been routed. The headstock overlay has been thickness sanded and the fretboard has been cut and rounded to a 12" radius.

The sides have been bent to shape and clamped against a form until they are completely dry.

The body was carved to rough profile using a router. Each ring is routed in 1/32" increments.

Then using palm and thumb planes, the plate is carved to it's final shape.