Hi Jerry, I really appreciate your videos, especially this one on carving the top. I’m a late entry (I’m in my 70’s) into the “I wanna be a mandolin builder” club, with the first instrument I’m working on being an octave mandolin which I designed myself. (therefore no kit available) I got the sides bent after watching a couple of your videos. You are an inspiration!
Well Jerry, you have certainly out did yourself! You have done this for many years and it shows. The conference you have is overwhelming. You give a guy like me, the desire to repair or build my own acoustic instruments. Thank you so much for sharing! Thankz
Amazing how much work goes in to just carving a top, even preparing it to carve, and mounting it, not to mention the work done to build a complete mandolin from scratch. Good video Jerry!
I have been a subscriber for a week or so. I have been working my way through these videos, starting with number one to the current videos. About 2/3 of the way. Thanks for these, I find them very interesting. I play "bluegrass gospel". I like to do woodworking & remodeling. You've got me thinking about buying some "junk" guitars & fiddle around trying to fix them. Work my way up to building on of my own. Keep up the good work!!
Wow my hands were cramping up just watching you carve that mandolin top geez with my arthritis I wouldn't have been able to hold a pencil after that. That sure does take alot of work not to mention you making these videos filming the whole process. Thanks for the informative video. Hope things at your shop get a little better over time and you have things placed where you need them.
Nice to see someone besides me and others still likes to use their hands.. The whole world is to automated and controlled with robotics. Good ole fashion working with the hands seems like it could become a past time so to speak... Great work on that piece thus far, I cant imagine the hours you have in it so far...I once made a homemade crossbow out of walnut stock and even with the handy dandy tools and equipment we had in wood shop still took a while to get the stock like i wanted..Work can be much more appreciated when done by hand by seeing the finsihed project... take care
Thank you. You speak the truth my friend. I also made a crossbow with a walnut stock. That was back a few years, I was only about 18. Still have it. Not very powerful, but deadly accurate. Groups the size of a quarter at 20 yards. I used it to shoot fish. It was awesome for that. Thanks for watching.
+Rosa String Works LOL.. That's funny! Never thought about using it for fishing. I bet that was fun. I to,,still have mine. If my memory serves me correctly. The kit we got in wood shop class said the crossbow was capable of 75 pounds within them specs. I did not go exactly by the specs as I decided to make the crossbow my own since I knew I would have it the rest of my life. So, I made it longer by a few inches and changed a few other things. Made my shop teacher mad. Told me I had to go by the instructions. I told him, I bought the kit and wood I will make it my own. Having said all this. Making it a bit longer etc seem to give the bow a little harder stretch and it would appear it allowed it to release stronger and harder. My friends and I lined up and shot ours at the same time and mine shot faster for sure. Again I don't know if making it longer had an effect or not. Maybe I just got lucky I dunno.. Always wondered if the theory could be proven with it.. But since I own a Tenpoint Titan extreme crossbow for hunting I guess I don't need to really worry about it. But now I kinda wanna drag the ole crossbow out and shoot it. Maybe I will take it fishing this summer sometime. That really sounds fun. Thanks for the reply. Be safe..
I love it! Using a planer for carving isn't any worse than using a table saw like a bandsaw which I do in bow making. Guards are sometimes only a suggestion.
Very nice video as a wanna be Mandolin Player it is so nice to see some of what it takes to make one will be watching for Part 2 for sure As always a joy to watch be well Paul
My dad had a WHOLE bunch of sharpening stones and he used every one of them for different knives, and he probably had a hundred knives. Every thing from tiny jack knives to big draw knives he used for fleshing hides. Even in the sixties, some of the stones cost twenty or thirty dollars. A lot of money back then.
I'm 76 and don't think I have 30 years to learn how much planer blade to have below the bottom of the frame LOL. Guess I'll have to be a little quicker study. Love your video.
Jerry, that dust will kill you! Why are you sanding without protection? Have you gone crazy? Do you like dragging an oxygen bottle with you? All the best, Edgar from Canada!!
+SGNT yes that's right. My dad had a very large lawn service business. From the time I was twelve or so I was sharpening lawn mower blades just about every morning especially during the summer break. He taught me how to do them with a hollow ground. I got to the point where I could do it without any guides or anything because I was so used to doing it. And they were a perfect Hollow ground for the length of the grind. Thanks for watching my friend. Good luck to you.
+SGNT one more thought. The trick to holla grinding any blade is you watch the spark. When there is just a very tiny trickle of spark coming over the edge that you're grinding you're right on the money.
Nice work. It looks to me like you need a router copy carver. It would save you tons of time for the roughing out then finish by hand. You know time is $$$$$
Yes sir, I probably do. In fact I made one one time. It worked but my design was a bit too bulky. But at the price I charge for a hand made custom mandolin, I'd probably feel guilty doing it the easy way! Thanks for watching.
Yes, It has been traced back to the 1700's. All Castleberry (or Castlebury ) are related. 5 brothers came to the states and went in all different directions. We are related but distant
Jerry (if you see this), Would a router have been easier for the edging process instead of using the drill press, or was it a six of one, half a dozen of the other situation?
A router could be used but the problem is I'm not starting with wood that's flat and square it's tapered and it's difficult to get a router to cut it the way I want it to cut it I mean it could be done on a table top router so like you said it's about 6 and 1/2 half a dozen in the other
Hello Jerry, I just want you to know that someone else is using your name. When I search for 113 rsw I get someones episodes of a foreign detective or something like that. All the best, Edgar from Canada
One question, and I admit that I am a total newby at this stuff, but would it have been easier, since you were tracing from a flat medium, to have used the back of the blank, with the template flipped, still with a center line, to transfer the shape of this top? Or were you concerned about confusing which side was up, as you mentioned that it was easy to do. I guess that is two questions. All in all though great video, and I just subbed, and am working through the back catalogue of videos now.
Ryan yes, sure could do that. But it's easier to cut it out with the flat down on the table. So the design needs to be on the "crowned" side. Thanks for watching.
Glad to see you still have all ten digets🙏🙏👍
Hi Jerry, I really appreciate your videos, especially this one on carving the top. I’m a late entry (I’m in my 70’s) into the “I wanna be a mandolin builder” club, with the first instrument I’m working on being an octave mandolin which I designed myself. (therefore no kit available)
I got the sides bent after watching a couple of your videos. You are an inspiration!
Just finished my practicing now I'm going to watch this build
Well Jerry, you have certainly out did yourself! You have done this for many years and it shows. The conference you have is overwhelming. You give a guy like me, the desire to repair or build my own acoustic instruments. Thank you so much for sharing! Thankz
Thank you. I do what I can. Hope it helps some folks.
Amazing how much work goes in to just carving a top, even preparing it to carve, and mounting it, not to mention the work done to build a complete mandolin from scratch. Good video Jerry!
Thank you Randy.
Watching this helps me appreciate how much work goes into building a handmade mandolin.
Thanks for tuning in. It sure is work.
I have been a subscriber for a week or so. I have been working my way through these videos, starting with number one to the current videos. About 2/3 of the way. Thanks for these, I find them very interesting. I play "bluegrass gospel". I like to do woodworking & remodeling. You've got me thinking about buying some "junk" guitars & fiddle around trying to fix them. Work my way up to building on of my own. Keep up the good work!!
Phil Womack thanks buddy good luck with it.
Wow my hands were cramping up just watching you carve that mandolin top geez with my arthritis I wouldn't have been able to hold a pencil after that. That sure does take alot of work not to mention you making these videos filming the whole process. Thanks for the informative video. Hope things at your shop get a little better over time and you have things placed where you need them.
Thanks Larry. Really appreciate your comments. Things are getting better, but still have a way to go.
Nice to see someone besides me and others still likes to use their hands.. The whole world is to automated and controlled with robotics. Good ole fashion working with the hands seems like it could become a past time so to speak... Great work on that piece thus far, I cant imagine the hours you have in it so far...I once made a homemade crossbow out of walnut stock and even with the handy dandy tools and equipment we had in wood shop still took a while to get the stock like i wanted..Work can be much more appreciated when done by hand by seeing the finsihed project... take care
Thank you. You speak the truth my friend. I also made a crossbow with a walnut stock. That was back a few years, I was only about 18. Still have it. Not very powerful, but deadly accurate. Groups the size of a quarter at 20 yards. I used it to shoot fish. It was awesome for that. Thanks for watching.
+Rosa String Works
LOL.. That's funny! Never thought about using it for fishing. I bet that was fun. I to,,still have mine. If my memory serves me correctly. The kit we got in wood shop class said the crossbow was capable of 75 pounds within them specs. I did not go exactly by the specs as I decided to make the crossbow my own since I knew I would have it the rest of my life. So, I made it longer by a few inches and changed a few other things. Made my shop teacher mad. Told me I had to go by the instructions. I told him, I bought the kit and wood I will make it my own. Having said all this. Making it a bit longer etc seem to give the bow a little harder stretch and it would appear it allowed it to release stronger and harder. My friends and I lined up and shot ours at the same time and mine shot faster for sure. Again I don't know if making it longer had an effect or not. Maybe I just got lucky I dunno.. Always wondered if the theory could be proven with it.. But since I own a Tenpoint Titan extreme crossbow for hunting I guess I don't need to really worry about it. But now I kinda wanna drag the ole crossbow out and shoot it. Maybe I will take it fishing this summer sometime. That really sounds fun. Thanks for the reply. Be safe..
It is amazing to see this coming into shape, you are a master of your craft!
Thank you Jeff.
Hi Jerry, absolutely love your work.I wanna build a mandolin one day.You make it all look so easy.
Thank you George.
Thanks for sharing your talent with us. Maybe it will be of help to someone along the way. Take care,
You are welcome. Thanks for the note.
I love it! Using a planer for carving isn't any worse than using a table saw like a bandsaw which I do in bow making. Guards are sometimes only a suggestion.
+J R's Place agreed. Thanks for watching. Happy New Year.
Exceptional skill. Is there anything this guy can't do??
I, really, don't think so.
He says, he can't play guitar or fiddle, but he's, at least, halfway there, on both of them.
Very nice video
as a wanna be Mandolin Player it is so nice to see some of what it takes to make one
will be watching for Part 2 for sure
As always a joy to watch be well
Paul
Thank you very much Paul.
My dad had a WHOLE bunch of sharpening stones and he used every one of them for different knives, and he probably had a hundred knives. Every thing from tiny jack knives to big draw knives he used for fleshing hides. Even in the sixties, some of the stones cost twenty or thirty dollars. A lot of money back then.
It was a different world back then. Thanks for taking a look.
I'm 76 and don't think I have 30 years to learn how much planer blade to have below the bottom of the frame LOL. Guess I'll have to be a little quicker study. Love your video.
Great work.
Jerry must have had a little too much coffee this morning...Y'all.
Jerry, that dust will kill you! Why are you sanding without protection? Have you gone crazy? Do you like dragging an oxygen bottle with you?
All the best, Edgar from Canada!!
I am sure you are correct. However I doubt I'll live long enough for the dust to kill me. I'm pretty sure the arthritis is doing that.
Hollow grinding lawnmower blades..... I've never sharpened one like that. I'll have to try that some time (may not hold an edge though).
+SGNT yes that's right. My dad had a very large lawn service business. From the time I was twelve or so I was sharpening lawn mower blades just about every morning especially during the summer break. He taught me how to do them with a hollow ground. I got to the point where I could do it without any guides or anything because I was so used to doing it. And they were a perfect Hollow ground for the length of the grind. Thanks for watching my friend. Good luck to you.
+SGNT one more thought. The trick to holla grinding any blade is you watch the spark. When there is just a very tiny trickle of spark coming over the edge that you're grinding you're right on the money.
Rosa String Works . Great! I understand what you mean. I'll remember that.
Nice work. It looks to me like you need a router copy carver. It would save you tons of time for the roughing out then finish by hand. You know time is $$$$$
Yes sir, I probably do. In fact I made one one time. It worked but my design was a bit too bulky. But at the price I charge for a hand made custom mandolin, I'd probably feel guilty doing it the easy way! Thanks for watching.
BTW, any relation to the late great Troy Castleberry of the Tennessee Gentlemen?
Yes, It has been traced back to the 1700's. All Castleberry (or Castlebury ) are related. 5 brothers came to the states and went in all different directions. We are related but distant
Hello Jerry, why dont you use the electric plane, it would sakve you a lot of work?
Jerry (if you see this),
Would a router have been easier for the edging process instead of using the drill press, or was it a six of one, half a dozen of the other situation?
A router could be used but the problem is I'm not starting with wood that's flat and square it's tapered and it's difficult to get a router to cut it the way I want it to cut it I mean it could be done on a table top router so like you said it's about 6 and 1/2 half a dozen in the other
Hello Jerry, I just want you to know that someone else is using your name. When I search for 113 rsw I get someones episodes of a foreign detective or something like that. All the best, Edgar from Canada
You make it look so easy.I know it is not.
Thanks Michael.
Other than being pretty, what is the purpose of carving a top?
One question, and I admit that I am a total newby at this stuff, but would it have been easier, since you were tracing from a flat medium, to have used the back of the blank, with the template flipped, still with a center line, to transfer the shape of this top? Or were you concerned about confusing which side was up, as you mentioned that it was easy to do. I guess that is two questions. All in all though great video, and I just subbed, and am working through the back catalogue of videos now.
Ryan yes, sure could do that. But it's easier to cut it out with the flat down on the table. So the design needs to be on the "crowned" side. Thanks for watching.
+Rosa String Works there is the reason. Thanks!
Bet you wish you had a CNC. Just sit and enjoy a coffee while it makes the part.
No wonder the plane gets hot - slow down! :)