My International Violins mandolin kit arrived moments ago. Somewhat auspiciously, the day I ordered it, I discovered that the top of my wretched Chinese-made all-plywood hell mando had collapsed. I think the torch got passed, or something.
Even though I have zero previous woodworking experience, it looks like this is going to go together pretty easily. I’m very psyched.
You might want to do yourself a flavor and get some [u]nice tuning machines[/u].
The kits usually come with poor tuners (I don’t know about Int’l Violin, though… looks like a nice kit)
Dude, you beat me to it! 
Keep us posted, I was thinking of ordering an IV kit in the next few days, so I’ll be interested to hear how it goes. What tools did you decide on using - Scraper only, or fingerplanes and ??? What sort of finish are you going for? I’m fairly certain I can do a good job on everything except for the the finish. I have zero experience with the type of finishes used on string instruments.
Loren
Somewhere I ran across a catalog…hmm, I think Paul Busman recommended it…that had a mandolin kit. They also had a uke kit which I think I might try first. It looked pretty simple.
Dale
Oh, yeah, here it is
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Kits/Ukulele_Kits/Ukulele_Kit.html
Right-on, get in on this action too Dale.
A Uke, eh? Tiny Tim would be Proud!
Loren
Yeah, the tuners that came with the kit look nice enough, but I’m going to use a set of Grovers I originally bought to go on my late lamented Pacific Rim mando. Besides just being generally better quality, they’re a little heavier, which should enhance sustain. I’m going to use a cast tailpiece and make a maple violin-style bridge as well.
Re finish, I’m going to take the easy route and use Tru-Oil; I don’t have the patience for french polishing or the equipment for spray lacquer. I’m thinking over a honey/amber stain. Depends on my mood when I get that far. If I screw up a lot, I may just paint the thing black.
First order of business is tools. I guess I’m going to have to make a thickness gauge, and get some scrapers and learn to burnish them properly – from what I read on Mandolin Cafe, the plates are already so near to their desired thickness that finger planes would take off too much wood.
Then I can begin.
Also, the quality of the wood looks really good: the spruce top has nice tight grain and no flaws that my inexpert eye can see, and the maple back is seriously flamey. It’s going to look fantastic, whatever its other qualities may be. This kit has a very high bang/buck ratio.
I would imagine. $110 is pretty reasonable for all the pre-carving they do.
i suspect the carving is done on a CNC machine, but still, $110 is a very good deal.
now you just have to fight tool acquisition disorder…
Yep, it’s a whole new realm of consumerism I’ve never experienced firsthand before. Though it’s going to be a while before I start lusting after tools I don’t specifically need. I don’t even own a power drill yet, let alone a Dremel or a belt sander or a bandsaw or one of these.
Strictly speaking, the kit is $95. The extra is for a copy of Roger Siminoff’s book “Constructing a Bluegrass Mandolin,” by way of instructions, and you can order the kit without that. It’s a steal.
I actually DO have something very similar. Mine is a cast cutter, for removing plaster casts and uses a very similar oscillating blade. It’s not all pretty and shiny and sterilizable, but it’s basically the same thing.
A Dremel is a vastly useful tool that most people would find good uses for. Careful though: running at 27 K RPM, they can be dangerous.