Projects I have been working on.

Building a Mandocello

I heard Mike Marshall playing a mandocello on youtube and decided that was an interesting instrument. They are not so easy to come by (in my price range) so I thought to redo a guitar by removing the neck slimming it etc. Then I thought maybe build one.

The C in mandocello is pronounced as CH just like the Cello it is named after. It is tuned in the same manner, but has two strings for each one the Cello has in the style of the whole Mandola family.

Page 1 - Design and mock-up

Page 2 - Collecting parts and cutting skins

Page 3 - Milling Blocks

Page 4 - More Milling and Sanding

Page 5 - Truss rod slotting

Page 6 - Gluing the Ribs

Page 7 - Adding the neck block and front

Page 8 - Setting the neck

Page 9 - Gluing the fretboard and lining the back

Page 10 - Adding the Back

Page 11 - Binding part 1

Building a "Trekker"

The Trekker is normally a kit guitar, but the plans are free to download... and they don't seem to sell the kits right now. This design is made to be easy to make and small enough to take with one when hiking or camping. It would have been nice to make it headless too but I think that would have made it too complex for the target audience.

Page 1 - Introduction

Page 2 - Start With a stick

Page 3 - Away we go

Page 4 - Drilling for sound