ThickShag - I'm A Musician, I'm A Programmer

Building An F5 Style Mandolin - Part 6 - Glueing Sides

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:05:15 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

I described in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 how I prepared for my F5 mandolin build. Using the help of expert luthier Lies Muller who runs her Muziek & Ambacht workshop in Utrecht, the Netherlands, I will build my first instrument ever. I attend a workshop once a month under Lies' supervision and using her tools as well.

Meanwhile some time has passed, and I've graduated the back and front to a rough finish, ready to be carved more precisely. I've done the most work on the support blocks and glueing the sides to the blocks. I'm still struggling with the main top block, because I messed up sawing the curl with a jigsaw.. I think I have to fill it out with some wood, and then cut it again when the back and top are glued in place; suggestions welcome.

The photos say it all:

the back (left) and the top (right) roughly in shape

the point is glued, struggling with the top block

back point is glued, nice fit

looks alright thusfar

and it fits in the jig! top curl is still too long

loosely covered by the rough top

still needs a lot of carving

back is also in need of carving

bought small arkasas stone

During my vacation, I visited the city of Mirecourt in the Vosges region of France, where several luthier families live and work. There is a luthier college and a municipal luthier museum. The town is littered with luthierian referrals.

one of the shops in town

municipal art

municipal art

municipal art

that's the "je ne sais quoi"

it's quite obvious, really

another shop in town

another shop in town

even Lydia and Pascal the bakers profit!

some bar in town. it's shameless isn't it? :)

At this time, I've done more work on the top and back. Check back for the next part in which I will be closing the sides, shaping the top and attacking that awful cricket bat like monster of what should eventually become a neck (as seen in part 4). I am investigating making my own trussrods, but still looking for the parts in DIY stores. Come back for more!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

The Better Pick - Wegen and V-Picks Guitar Pick Reviews

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 10:59:27 PST

This blog has been updated.

Howdy,

I thought I'd talk shop for a change and address the issue of guitar picks.

Over the years, I've tried quite a bunch of 'em, and got a lot of them at gigs and encounters with other guitarists, who always say "hey, it works for me! try it!". The past 13 years as guitarist for CARRERA, I've used Jim Dunlop 0.60 grey picks mostly, for all purposes. At first I bought a handful everytime, but later I started ordering display cases of 12 matchpick ("matchbook") booklets, which in turn hold 6 picks each, so I basically created an infinite supply of fresh picks.

More recently, I started playing the mandolin, and brushing up on my acoustic guitar playing; mainly learning how to flatpick, and got a good acoustic guitar (Gibson J100 Xtra). My friend Marty (with whom I form "ThickShag & Marty" ), has always used thicker guitarpicks to play with, because he was more into "technique" than I was, playing everything from Van Halen to Django.

I can't take any credit for finding the following guitar pick makers; Marty ordered and tried them first, but I'd like to get your attention for these two extraordinary specialist pick brands:

Wegen Picks (http://www.wegenpicks.com):

Order:
I ordered two packages from the website, I errored by paying in us dollars instead of euros, effectively shortchanging them, we worked it out in euros. Order came in a couple days later in good condition. Wegen prefers PayPal orders (in euros). Make sure to choose the correct playing direction: left- or righthanded.

Review:
I ordered a set of mandolin "M150"- and flatpicking "bluegrass" picks, 4 each for 30 euros in total. Quite expensive. But if you experience the material these picks are made of, it just doesn't wear at all! I guess it does, but very very slowly. The material feels like a hard nylon-like almost ceramic feeling yet flexible plastic. It's apparently cut from a larger piece and shaped. The picks are shaped according to left- or righthanded playing.

The "bluegrass" pick is very precise, holds great due the drilled holes, sound is strong, good hi, firm mid- and big bass tone, some stringbuzz.

*with stringbuzz I mean the chirping noise of the pick being held against a vibrating string; like when you're about to play a string while it's still ringing.

"bluegrass" model guitar pick by http://www.wegenpicks.com

The "M150" mandolin pick is different. It's fatter and it rolls over the strings smoothly, although I think it's not flexible enough, good tone though. Maybe I sould try the "M100" model next time around. I can imagine that advanced mandolin players might like this pick better than I do for now.

"m100 & m150" model mandolin pick by http://www.wegenpicks.com

I decided to try out the "bluegrass" pick on my Les Paul, practising with CARRERA, and one of our friends said he thought the sound was different. After I checked all knobs, volumes and stompboxes etc, we came to the conclusion the only difference was the guitar pick; it just produces more sound!

In all, I think Wegen Picks are not for everyone, an expensive gamble; but if you like them, it's a real quality product, you're all set. I definitely recommend them to anyone who is serious about improving playing technique. There are plenty models and gauges to choose from.

Only drawback for both I think is the color I got; white, they get smudgy overtime, but I guess you could clean them!

Verdict:
Excellent quality, not for everyone.

Funny that both of the pick brands I chose are individuals who strongly and boldly believe that the world would be better off with a quality guitar pick. I didn't really think it mattered all that much, but I now too must admit that a better guitar pick improves your playing, sound and playing experience, so I'd advise you to give it a shot. Try comparing it to writing with a normal disposable ballpoint versus an expensive fountain pen.

V-Picks (http://www.v-picks.com):

Oh yeah, we were talking shop about V-Picks. Vinnie and Nancy Smith run V-Picks, and just reading the website, they too are a special story in the guitar world. Vinnie basically decided to try some acrylic mixture to make some picks, forgot all about it for a number of years, and then rediscovered his invention, and started to market it.

Order:
I wrote Vinnie, after trying some of Marty's v-picks, to ask him for a promo set, so I could try them out. Only days later, received a full promo pack with 6 (!) free picks! All 6 different models ranging from superthin to 3mm thickness.

Review:
The 100% acrylic material is strange at first, because you expect it to frill like plexiglass, but it just doesn't. The V-Picks are molded and shaped, some have (lasered?) logo's in them. The 3mm one really is the smoothest playing pick I ever held, and it has a huge warm tone, but due to it's thickness and roundness, it has less harsh "attack" on the string. They all produce an awesome sound, the ones with sharper edges produce more stringbuzz.

V-Picks stated that these picks have enough friction despite their smooth appearance. I didn't really believe it at first reading it, but once I tried them; as your hand warms the material, it develops more grip, it really does. So I guess it's true.

Verdict:
Excellent quality, hard to choose, although I like the rounded ones best.

Small collection of picks by http://www.v-picks.com

Conclusion
I can't really say that I like either pick manufacturer better than the other one. What I can say is that I'm now convinced that there are better sounding and playing guitar picks out there and really content as a player that I no longer rely on bad sounding, flimsy picks that don't do anything but lay around looking picky.

So, I hope you find all of this useful, and I'd like to hear your own experiences on the matter!

Happy picking,

ThickShag

Update:

Since I wrote this blog I've had the opportunity to visit the factory where Wegen picks are handmade by Michel Wegen. I promised him not to disclose any details, but I can write that I was astounded by Michel's workplace and his skill and attention to the product. He showed me the entire process from start to finish. It takes a lot of different steps to make a perfect Wegen pick. We watched him work in awe, he is a true engineer.

Later, someone else told me that apparently Chris Thile (Nickel Creek) uses or used Wegen picks. If anyone can verify this that would be great!

Top Ten Most Awful Dodgy General Lee Chargers Ever Made

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:44:30 PDT

Being a big Dukes fan, I thought it would be funny to collect some badly done "General Leemon's" on the interwebs.

Should you find any that I missed that are equally or even more appalling; feel free to send them, and I'll add them.

Ow! While writing this blog I stumbled upon this great list on Artcar Central "25 Ways To Spot A Fake General Lee"; check it out!

Enjoy!

1. Lawn Mower General Lee

2. Hellter Skelter General Lee

3. Eurotrash Ford Taunus General Lee

4. Die Hard Cast General Lee

5. Die Cast, Die General Lee

6. Dodge Pickup General Lee

7. Daisy's Dixie And The General Lee's Lovechild

8. Bigfoot General Lee

9. Fender Telecaster General Lee

10. No Ying No Yang General Lee

Building An F5 Style Mandolin - Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:00:16 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

I described in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 how I prepared for my F5 mandolin build. Using the help of expert luthier Lies Muller who runs her Muziek & Ambacht workshop in Utrecht, the Netherlands, I will build my first instrument ever. I attend a workshop once a month under Lies' supervision and using her tools as well.

Welcome back to the build! I've been away for a while again, and after bending the sides in part 4 it is time for the neck.

I made the neck out of a solid piece of flamed maple that wasn't long enough. Solution was to cut a triangular piece off where the neck slopes into the peghead. This piece was reglued to the bottom of the neck to make it slope down, and add a piece of length too. After this, I added to seperate strips of maple to the left and right of the peghead to get the appropriate width clearance. Essentially, the neck now consists of 4 pieces of flamed maple glued together. It doesn't matter, because I will be hiding everything under thin pieces of veneer. It looks quite stirdy and in it's current shape reminds me of a cricket bat.

One cricket bat ready for final shaping

Can you spot the glue lines?

Of course the neck needs further shaping, and routing of the trussrod slot down the length of the fretboard. It's about time to order the hardware I will need to complete the mandolin when finished. I decided to keep everything very basic; chrome hardware, no Waverly tuners, they cost a fortune! If I ever get the impulse I can always "upgrade" the hardware.

Oh yeah, meanwhile I bought a great acoustic guitar: a 2002 Gibson J100 Xtra. It sounds awesome, and it doesn't come with all the fancies, but I like it that way. Maybe put some bone or rosewood bridge pins in it at some point, but it already sounds killer as it is; below some pictures of my Gibsons. My Les Paul is a 1969 Deluxe model in goldtop finish, with the laminated 2 piece body, mini humbuckers and "goof-hiders" around the pickups; temporarily fixed it up with Dunlup straplock system, but kept the original strap pins.

My Gibsons.

I have the back- and the front soundboards now all glued up. It took a lot of cutting the pieces flush so they would glue nicely; awesomely tight, and when held, you can already hear the sonic quality of the woods when tapped. Now busy planing the bottoms flat so I can cut out the rough shapes and start cutting the flamed maple back and spruce top.

Flamed maple back all glued up.

Well cured german spruce top all glued up.

Also glued the first small bit of side panel to one of the support blocks. Hope to report more progression on glueing the sides and other blocks together; which will consist of a lot of measuring, adjusting and test fitting prior to glueing; we'll see.

Bottom tail fin is starting to look like something.

Looks like an F5, doesn't it?

Enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for part 6 in which I hopefully will be showing (partially) cut soundboards and some neck and sides progression.

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

I Don't Want To Work Anymore

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:57:40 PDT

direct link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N_n4bn6tfY

Buy CARRERA music in the iTunes Store:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=268656959&s=143441

CARRERA:
http://www.carrera.to

Building An F5 Style Mandolin - Part 4 - Bending Sides

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:55:36 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

I described in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 how I prepared for my F5 mandolin build. Using the help of expert luthier Lies Muller who runs her Muziek & Ambacht workshop in Utrecht, the Netherlands, I will build my first instrument ever. I attend a workshop once a month under Lies' supervision and using her tools as well.

Welcome back! I've been away from blogging for the holidays and then some, but: I made progress! As you may recall, the last project was making the outer jig, and I was busy planing the flamed maple strips to a thickness of 1,5 mm. During my last day at the workshop, I bent the side panels on a bending iron using some water. I didn't use side bending straps, just my hands; be careful with the heat though.

Make sure your strips are of sufficient length to make the parts, always use more than you need. It's easier to cut than to add! Move your parts from bending iron to jig, adjust so the parts "accept" their new shape. Don't put too much water on it, and not too much strain. The wood will tell you what it can do. A bit of a toasted smell is good. Do little increments at a time, practise on a piece of scrapwood.

Here are some pictures of my progress: (blog continues below)

a planed maple strip, 4 cm high, 1,5 mm thick

1,5 mm thick

top part

detail top part

bottom right part

central bottom part

it all fits in the jig; notice the new holes in the tips of the fins

headstock template out of stirdy binder plastic.

bought and got some tools

At the moment I am preparing a big piece of flamed maple for the neck. Because it is too short, and too narrow, I have to add some scrap bits to the bottom, to form the tip of the headstock, and to the sides, to form the left and right bits of the headstock. The neck is clamped in, and not yet ready for it's closeup..

I also worked on the violin. I got a little piece of ebony from a retired luthier, and I couldn't really work on it, because I couldn't get it snugly clamped in the workmate. But now I bought a cheap chinese steel vise, excellent for clamping smaller bits. I cut a nut from the piece, leaving plenty extra material for final shaping, because I don't really know the proper dimensions, still looking for them.

the finished nut in place..

..with room to spare for final shaping

Stay tuned for part 5 in which I will be fitting the sides and support blocks, glueing them together, work on the neck and headstock, glueing and shaping the front and back soundboards!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

Building An F5 Style Mandolin - Part 3 - Jig

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:54:33 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

I described in Part 1 and Part 2 how I prepared for my F5 mandolin build. Using the help of expert luthier Lies Muller who runs her Muziek & Ambacht workshop in Utrecht, the Netherlands, I will build my first instrument ever. I attend a workshop once a month under Lies' supervision and using her tools as well.

In the meanwhile, my brother in law Freek (the one who got me the workmate), took me to see his collegue Wout Bosma, who is a master luthier jazz guitar maker who designs and builds his unique range of hollowbody guitars. He showed me around his workshop, and let me see and play his guitars, including a unique asymmetrical design with awesome wood binding and huge brass / ebony tailpiece, a Les Paul black beauty which was just "in a closet" somewhere, his massive collection of tools, and a guitar case which once belonged to dutch singer Bennie Joling (Normaal); all quite amazing. Wout was really encouraging about me starting out with the mandolin, which was really cool, he said; "You'll be hooked in a couple months".. To top things of, he gave me a huge pile of beautiful veneer material ranging from black woods to almost white; I already donated some to my fellow classmates for their projects. If you're starting building instruments, I encourage you to go meet other builders.

(Bennie Joling's Guitar Case)

(Jazz guitars by Wout Bosma)

(Jazz guitars by Wout Bosma)

(asymmetrical jazz guitar by Wout Bosma)

Visit Wout Bosma's website

Well, after I completed the inner support blocks for my mandolin within 1 mm tolerance to play with, I decided after visiting a bunch of websites and watching a lot of videos on the web, that I needed an outer jig to build the body. The first step now is to smoothen the flamed maple pieces that will form the sides, cutting them to length and bending them on a bending iron using water and heat to pursuade the wood in it's curved shape. I am contemplating to make the point protectors (usually made of bone or ivoroid) out of indonesian ebony; we'll see.

The building of the jig wasn't easy. I thought it would be easy, so that was the hard part. I find that overcoming my impatience is the hardest thing of building, because I am used to press a button and make stuff happen at once; woodworking is a whole different ballgame. First I layered two pieces of multiplex and screwed them together to get the thickness of the body. Then I traced the contour of the body from the drawing, and traced that on the multiplex.

I then tried to saw out the shape using a jigsaw: mistake. In the corners I applied too much pressure to get through the bend, causing the sawblade to saw at an angle instead of straight through, cutting away too much. As this persisted, the sawblade heated up and burned the wood. Badness overall. So I got a bright idea to drill holes around the edge so they would be dead straight, and then saw and cut out the remains; this worked perfectly. I ruined a good piece of multiplex in my first attempt, but my second attempt worked fine. Behold the result! The cool part is that I can reuse the jig as many times I like! And I think it's easier to form the outer body wall in a jig; as I had worked out from the videos.

(my classmates with the half done jig.. looks like a stamp!)

(the finished jig)

(the inner jig fits!)

(it is starting to look like something)

Stay tuned for part 4 in which I will be (hopefully) bending and fitting the sides.

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

ThickShag & Marty - Country Roads Slingeland FM

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:07:32 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty in iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=271197949&s=143441

In which we head to the birthplace of my mother: Winterswijk to appear on the Country Roads radio programme on Slingeland FM with DJ Nico Timmer and technicians Erik Vreeman and Michiel Naaldenberg and camera pal Stef.

Slingeland FM:
http://www.slingelandfm.nl

ThickShag & Marty:
http://www.myspace.com/ThickShag

if you don't see anything; here's the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwvrEhjrJCI

Thickshag & Marty with Jim Keaveny & Circle J

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:04:15 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty in iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=271197949&s=143441

In which we go to the ACU to play support for Jim Keaveny and Circle J.

Jim Keaveny:
http://www.myspace.com/jimkeaveny

Circle J:
http://www.circlej.nl

ACU:
http://www.acu.nl

ThickShag & Marty:
http://www.myspace.com/ThickShag

if you don't see anything; here's the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWUQlMHmCHA

Building An F5 Style Mandolin - Part 2 - Mahogany Blocks

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:53:54 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

I described in Part 1 how I prepared for my F5 mandolin build. Using the help of expert luthier Lies Muller who runs her Muziek & Ambacht workshop in Utrecht, the Netherlands, I will build my first instrument ever. I attend a workshop once a month under Lies' supervision and using her tools as well.

I already bought some tools myself; a 16mm Bahco chisel, and a 12-220 series Stanley block plane for most of the woodwork. I already had a Stanley dovetail saw, a hammer, and some wood clamps in various sizes. My brother in law surprised me with a free rusty Black & Decker Workmate, which has proved quite indispensable. My new block plane needed some sharpening, because it was quite dull out of the box; a bit of wetting did the trick.

Having sorted my tools out I cut an inner template to use as a jig to mold the sides (rims) around. Since the maple sides are to be glued to mahogany blocks, I started to cut the tail, neck joint and both "fin" blocks first. Because of the grain of the mahogany, which should be in the back-to-front direction, we glued 3 pieces of mahogany together to create one big, quartersawn piece to cut the neck joint block.

Below the neck joint block in the workmate, glue has dried and planing the top flush with my brand new block plane!

Below my jig and the roughly cut mahogany blocks. Note that I left enough spare material for final shaping. When clamping the neck joint block I used extra pieces of wood to avoid too much pressure on the glued surfaces.

Below the Stewart McDonald building plan with the roughly cut blocks in place where they will eventually wind up. Watching building videos and reading websites, I am contemplating building an outer jig as well; next time I will be finishing the mahogany blocks to their final shape, and I will start bending the sides (rims) out of flamed maple. The "fins" will be adorned with bone (?) or ivoroid "point protectors" which will in turn align and become an integral part with the binding.

So tune in next time for the next step in building my F5 style mandolin! I am already contemplating the headstock inlay, for now I'm thinking of the traditional "flowerpot" design.

Until the next episode!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

ASPIRAN - a documentary by ThickShag

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:07:20 PDT

My parents owned a house in the south of France, Aspiran in Languedoc Roussillon to be exact. I hadn't been there in 18 years; join me in my quest to tread in my father's footsteps.

if you don't see anything; here's the links to the video's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I_uAoctGhY (part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb5RB3zDbL8 (part 2)

I am still writing the subtitles in english and french.

ThickShag & Marty - Wijdewormer

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:10:21 PDT

In which me and Marty go play at my uncle's birthday and have a really good time!

here's the direct link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5e5Z452xUM

ASPIRAN (theatrical trailer)

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:44:30 PDT

In which I tread in my father's footsteps and revisit the small town Aspiran in the south of France where I spent 15 summers, 18 years ago. I meet new and old friends. Trailer / teaser; video coming soon.

If you don't see anything: here's a direct link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V41hHXCqZGk

ThickShag & Marty - A Dutch Wedding

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:43:31 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty in iTunes:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=271197949&s=143441

One of Marty's best friends Michiel is marrying his Hélène in de Bilt today. The sun is shining, bottles pop and ThickShag & Marty are playing!

Enjoy!

If you don't see anything: here's a direct link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54S6AWLPGFA

ThickShag & Marty:
http://www.myspace.com/ThickShag

ThickShag & Marty - Maasbracht

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:12:47 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty in iTunes:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=271197949&s=143441

In which we go on a boatride on the river Maas, near Maasbracht in beautiful Limburg, the Netherlands. In honour of a family member of Martin; we find ourselves stranded on a party boat with party people. We had a great time, and our thanks to the wonderful crew of the "SS Princess".

the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thickshag/ThickShagMartyMaasbracht

ThickShag & Marty:
http://www.myspace.com/ThickShag

Princess:
http://www.rederijprincess.nl

If you don't see anything; here's a direct link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsN1ggQOl6Y

Building An F5 Style Mandolin - Part 1 - Preparation

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:53:06 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

I've been contemplating building a mandolin for quite some time now. I am currently restoring an old violin, on which I plan to fiddle, and I recently got an old mandolin as a gift which also needs some work done on it.

Being a big Gibson fan, I decided on building an F5 style Gibson mandolin, quite like a "real" distressed model:

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson%20Original/Gibson%20Mandolins/Distressed%20F-5%20Master%20Model/

I ordered some "guitar parts megastore" catalogs online, which they were happy to send to the Netherlands free of charge; Stewart McDonald is one of the biggest. They offer thousands of instrument parts, woods, tools, and a bunch of stuff you don't really need. You can buy instrument kits for various guitar models, mandolins, banjo etc. in which the parts are prerouted, sanded and almost ready for assembly.

A kit doesn't sound like much fun, so I just ordered the building plans for the F5, which set me back $24 US including shipping; nice big envelope with huge technical drawing; all measurements in inches. I will be building this instrument from scratch: but not alone. I found an instrument builder who runs a workshop where people can build an instrument using her expertise and tools; I will start around september 2008.

Of course, the first step will be talking to my luthier-coach how to address this project, because I've never done anything like this before; I reckon the selection of wood will be one of the first steps; meanwhile I'm studying the drawing every once in a while. There are many websites on luthiers (instrument builders) and videos online.

I will make a series of videos on this building project which I will post on YouTube and on this blog; I will keep track of my expenses as the project progresses, so we can see how much it costs and what it takes to build an F5 style "Gibson" mandolin without any prior experience whatsoever.

Comments are welcome, keep posted for the parts to follow and the videos!

Happy Pickin'! -ThickShag.

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Project total:

1. Stewart McDonald F5 building plan - $24

Part 1 - Preparation

Part 2 - Support Blocks

Part 3 - Jig

Part 4 - Bending Sides

Part 5 - Neck & Soundboards

Part 6 - Glueing Sides

Freshen Up Rusty Corroded Guitar Or Mandolin Strings Using Copper Polish

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:57:37 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

I recently grabbed one of my mandolins which I had quickly put away after a show. The strings were all coarse; corroded / rusty by sweat.

It will always pay off to clean your strings after playing to remove as much moist you can, because human sweat contains acids and salts that make metals corrode easily.

There are products like "Fret Fast" which you can smear across the strings and wipe off, which will protect your strings longer, and make playing slighty lighter during a short period of time.

I used a dab of generic copper polish on a paper towel, and cleaned the rust off the strings. Keep buffing the strings until there is no more extra black residue left on the paper towel. When the strings no longer smudge your paper, you can lube em up with a "Fret Fast" like product. Result: shining strings, all smooth again and ringing true; it didn't even get out of tune.

So save yourself a run to the music store, just clean your strings with copper polish!

Happy pickin'! - ThickShag

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Firefox 3 - Close Tab, Music Keeps Playing

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:35:14 PDT

Another strange quirk emerged: I was listening to some flash based audio players, and I discovered that when I close the tab with the website playing audio, the audio keeps playing! Kind of disturbing. The only cure to this is to completely close the browser and restart it. Is this a feature or a bug? You tell me.

ThickShag & Marty - Pulp Vixion

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:58:18 PDT

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

direct link to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl4OzBPVF1o

the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thickshag/ThickShagMartyPulpVixion

Buy ThickShag & Marty music in iTunes!

Firefox 3 - Missing favicons in bookmarks bar, Firebug no longer works

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:37:45 PDT

Well, at least those were my first two complaints when I opened up my new browser. I didn't backup my old one, so out the window it went.. :(

To fix your favicon bookmarks bar; visit this link that Lifehacker.com found:
http://lifehacker.com/394488/add-favicons-to-the-bookmark-toolbar

However, the favicons are MILES apart. You can approach a fix by tweaking the padding in this script mentioned above, change the padding-right from 3px to 0px; but it still leaves half of my icons dangling under the "rest" button on the right.

I don't like that "most visited" button, and I want it gone, but I can't find a fix for it.

I hate the new popup suggestions in the address bar, they're much too big and cumbersome to use. If you use one website a lot, this won't make any sense and won't be of any help whatsoever.

To download a proper version of Firebug that works in Firefox 3 is:
http://justtalkaboutweb.com/2008/02/11/firebug-for-firefox-3

My favorite skin "mostly crystal" stopped working. Haven't found a fix for that yet.

FireFTP found itself a nice upgrade, so that kept working, account info and all! Maybe this sounds stupid to you, but I was thrilled.

Oh yeah, the Delicious plugin seized to work, and there is no new one (yet).

Good luck patching up your browser, if I find anything else that matters to me I'll let you know.

ThickShag & Marty - The Hague

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:18:10 PDT

In which we go to the Hague several times to play and be interviewed at Midvliet FM, Leidschendam, and later perform at Lokaal Vredebreuk, The Hague. We had a great time!

if you don't see the embedded video below, click this link instead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bet6850IdQ0

ThickShag & Marty:
http://www.myspace.com/ThickShag

The photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thickshag/ThickShagMartyTheHague

Lokaal Vredebreuk:
http://www.lokaalvredebreuk.nl

Midvliet FM:
http://www.midvliet.nl

Buy ThickShag & Marty in iTunes:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=271197949&s=143441

Buy ThickShag & Marty on CDBaby.com
http://cdbaby.com/cd/thickshagmarty

ThickShag & Marty Cafe Big Brother's Groningen Holland

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:07:32 PDT

if you don't see anything, here's a direct link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHeKXMAy2oI

and the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thickshag/CafeBigBrotherSGroningen

RedShaw - 14 Year Old Delta Blues Musician & Luthier

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:35:50 PDT

Today, I was watching luthier (=guitar/instrument building) again on YouTube, and by accident I found the phenomenon of "cigarbox" guitars. There's a whole bunch of folks out there building homemade guitars out of cigar boxes, biscuit tins, and what have you; most of them with 4 strings, some with resonators, some with pickups.

One of these builders is a 14 year old lad from York, United Kingdom, who goes by the name of RedShaw. He has a steady gig at a local pub, and he met Seasick Steve! Awesome! He built about half a dozen homemade instruments, and collected a whole bunch of guitars as well. He mainly plays delta blues, and I think it sounds very authentic.

He's got a MySpace friend request coming!

RedShaw's MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/bluesbeatenredshaw

RedShaw's YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/axe600

if you can't see anything, here's the direct link to this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2o8QtG4Ldc

The Hackensaw Boys - Nieuwmarkt Amsterdam

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:35:28 PDT

Ferd (fiddle, Hackensaw Boys) endorses ThickShag & Marty

If you can't see the video; here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYk3ucO_aaA

The show on the Nieuwmarkt, Amsterdam

If you can't see the video; here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MClKHVVcUZY

ThickShag & Marty Pub Henry VIII Valkenburg - The Video

thickshag@gmail.com (ThickShag) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:31:24 PDT

If you don't see anything; here's the direct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIbL7k9dZAk