My homemade mandolin (page 3)
January 16, 2008: I took my good sweet time making sure the neck was sitting flush on the headblock and that there was no discernable gaps anywhere. Fitting two pieces of wood together perfectly is something I have a hard time with; it's an art in itself. Factories with CNC machines have a clear advantage, as do "real" craftsmen with better eyes, steadier hands and sharper tools, but I think it came out fine. It looks to be in very good alignment, at least what I can tell with a straightedge and the aforementioned old abused and neglected eyes. I purposely didn't make a dovetail or any other fancy joint for attaching the neck, and I may regret that; only time and string tension will tell for sure. My thought on this is that if you have two pieces of wood that fit together well and are glued well, then they should stay together. As I said, I may be sorry, but for now it's worth a shot. As you can see, I used my typical hi-tech methods of putting things together. Those old beat up cabinet clamps have rescued me many times. Once the glue set up I wiped it down with a damp cloth to get rid of the excess glue.
January 18, 2008: I brushed on two thin coats of Minwax clear lacquer.
January 19, 2008: I spent a good part of this day fitting the nut and bridge. I had a couple high frets that I had to level, nothing major. I sweat bullets the whole day, wondering what would explode.... nothing yet!
It plays great. I can't tell much about the tone yet, as it's technically brand new. It's plenty bright enough but it's also still tight and a little constrained. Time will tell!
Update January 29th, this thing is opening up already. I know it's still too soon to judge, but even that one week seemed to have made a difference.
I like it.