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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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new crate motor? nice.. fancy ;) mines got over 16,000k and a few cranks and tops ;) Rev's rule as far as durability goes. I like the middle track, enough flotation to get around but still lighter and more maneuverable..
I'm more apt to rip pow then climb crazy hills anyways so i don't need the huge track and motor..
sorry for the drift..
cute kid :) I see you have the '08 kill switch mod also!
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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so i hadn't picked up the mandolin in maybe 2-3 years and it had become practically unplayable.
never fear, time for that fret job i've been putting off.
"fret jobs are expensive," says the manager at mccabe's. "we charge $300, and before investing that in this instrument, i think you should take a look at some of the other things wrong with it."
sure enough, the top was cracked and collapsed, the bridge sunk down at a bad angle. didn't need new frets, needed a new top.
nonna elina--my italian grandmother--gave me this mandolin when i graduated from high school in 1965. a charming, italianate, not too expensive instrument, we had been through a lot together, and i wasn't about to throw in the towel. from an irish folksong:
"i had a fine drake
and i'd die for his sake
which me grandmother left me
and she gone to die ..."
i get in touch with a local guitar maker. he sells his instruments for $6,000 apiece, so i figure it'll be good advice. he puts a bug in my ear:
"yes, there's all kinds of spruce available, but i always wondered if douglas fir would work pretty well." i have lots of douglas fir. i also have some home-milled bottlebrush hardwood, lovely, wine-colored stuff.
it takes the better part of a month, and many lessons to be learned. glueing is the most important thing. brace it. use guideposts. the doug fir works into a wonderful, strong, if somewhat broad-grained top, the bottlebrush goes into a new fingerboard, a little wider than the original, easier on my older fingers, and i use it also to make a new bridge, welding on some bone from mccabe's, and some dadoed inserts into the head, so the tuning pegs won't wear into the old, soft mahogany.
it's beautiful, it has a nice, bright, douglas fir-bolstered sound, the bottlebrush with ebony highlights gives it a clean look, and even the old plastic scratchboard, with the medieval-looking minstrel, comes across fairly well. "gonfie vele," nonna always used to say. "may your sails be full."
bottom line, if you've got some basic carpentry skills, you can do this stuff. i got three good finger cuts out of it--once with the exacto knife, once with the utility knife, once with a home-made chisel for transferring some tiny inlay. you find yourself putting lots of pressure onto small spaces with something sharp--new defensive skills to learn. the luthier told me i'd need a drum sander, but my old skil classic belt sander sufficed, backed up by a variable speed grinder.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Tony, BEAUTEOUS!
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Bill Mc Kirgan
Trad climber
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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Great work on that mandolin Tony Bird.
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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thanks--it really was an adventure.
here's the web page of the fellow who gave me advice--i'm going to show it to him next week. he makes lovely instruments which go into the hands of some of the top musicians out there.
http://www.gregbrandtguitars.com/
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Very artistic Tony! Nice.
I got my motor out today... Took me about 3.5 hours..
Tomorrow ill rip it apart after riding..
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Gunkie
Trad climber
East Coast US
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"doorway of pain" (tm)
Because you occasionally bash your head into the rig ;)
At least it's somewhere you will see it and can throw in a set or two between food/tv/toilet/bed. My setup is out of sight, out of mind, in the basement. I think silverfish may have taken over my board.
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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don't tell me--you're going to mount it on that kayak back there? btw, did you build that kayak?
i didn't spend much on this project, kathy--the bushings for the tuner pegs came to around $10, the new fret wire was $8, the bone blanks were also less than $10 and a new set of strings came to around $6. being a "wood vulture", i already had the basic material. i used spray lacquer for final finish--less than $10 for a can. because it's colorless, i didn't even have to show an i.d.
a quote from my wife: "you don't make much money, but you sure save us a lot of money."
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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i did do a little online shopping in that department, ekat. nice, new tuning works ought to do it fine, so i thought. the works on the market run from around $30 to $90, except those recommended by that legendary mandolinist, david grisman, "simply the best," $500.
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tooth
Trad climber
B.C.
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Jan 17, 2013 - 12:20am PT
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So 26 sheets of plywood and 2600 tee nuts later, we are finally finished the thing. Except for 4 sheets, everything is overhung, 4 full sheets on the 8' ceiling. Found some cheap deck paint that is full of sand, works perfectly on the walls for a finish that I played with until my wife decided she liked it. Darker color underneath and a broken trowel finish on the top. Got 400 holds from Atomik and I really really like their stuff. Have some Metolius but 3 already broke. I'll put up more pictures when I have a real camera. It has cost less than 2 year-long gym memberships, but we use it every day.
You can get on the wall and traverse down, across, up the other wall, then across the ceiling from another feature to the right - and then keep doing it again, the endurance factor comes into play and we can get 9 people on the wall at once that way. Unlike lake Perris, you don't have to go clockwise.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 17, 2013 - 01:29am PT
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What am I building?
A helluva shooting guard!
Christmas tournament she scored 13, 14 and 16 against the team that ended up winning the tourney.
First game after the Christmas break she had 10 points, 4 steals, 4 assists and 5 rebounds and got her first player of the game recognition. That's the first time all season that the coach gave it to someone who wasn't high scorer! She ate Yuba City's point guard alive that game. Not bad for a freshman.
The Placer JV girls are now 12-5.
Tonight she put in 11 points in the 3rd quarter and almost single handedly brought her team back. Three 3's in a row!
I've been coaching her since she was 5 years old. So yeah, I guess I helped build that.....
Thanks for working so hard Amber.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Jan 17, 2013 - 10:16am PT
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Awesome Bruce! Building a future!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 17, 2013 - 11:20am PT
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No he isn't. He's building his retirement by making a full-ride scholarship
shooting guard. Not that there's anything wrong with that! :-)
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 17, 2013 - 11:33am PT
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GGNN, First World Problems, or "How I Saved A Little College Dough!"
It's funny to get attention at the school just because I happen to be her dad. Kinda fun.
She bringa much ahna upon humbr famiry!
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Chinchen
climber
Way out there....
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Jan 17, 2013 - 12:35pm PT
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Nice Tony, I have built mandolins with redwood and like how they sound also. Very bright and full. Probably a lot like Doug-Fir. I have a few extra sets if you need some....let me know if you have questions also, would be able to answer some of them....
THis is what I have been doing. Just finished this pedal...going to fix the graphics alignment issues for the next one...sounds great too.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 17, 2013 - 01:31pm PT
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Bump for daughters who bring the real goods! Instead of talking, she shows up and works. Building, if you will.....
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Zander
climber
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Jan 18, 2013 - 06:07pm PT
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I love this thread. Wood, electrical, motors and daughters too, Woo hoo!
In an effort to keep the Magic alive (as Ekat would say ;-)
Twenty years ago I built these stairs out of doug fir, couldn't afford redwood at the time, should have used presure treated, which would have worked fine if I had maintained an impeccable paint job but real life and a tree that won't stop growing finally took a toll. Railing was alright fortunately.
Cheers, Z
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John M
climber
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Jan 18, 2013 - 08:30pm PT
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That staircase is way cool. Thanks for posting that. This is a great thread.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 18, 2013 - 08:36pm PT
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Zander, creative and stout-looking. Obiviously not done on a permit as
those retards never recognize quality. I've done lots of stairways and a
high percentage I've done twice cause people wanted what they want not what
some phukking building infector says they can have. So I've build 'em
twice- one butt ugly one to pass the infector and then the money unit.
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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Jan 18, 2013 - 10:22pm PT
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cool rail Z.
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