Carving Acoustic Musical Instruments

[JerryMcGuire]

Is there anyone out there using the Carvewright to carve mandolin backboards and soundboards? Are there patterns available? Has anyone successfully carved both sides of a backboard or soundboard from a single piece of wood? I want to build mandolins but I have found handcarving tedious and not reproducable from one instrument to another.

[jpaluck]

http://liquidguitars.com/

the guy on the forum name is LG..he uses the CW..beatiful work

[JerryMcGuire]

Thanks for the link. I've seen these instruments previously, however they appear to be "solid" body instruments and are electrical. Acoustic involves more precision carving in that the soundboard/backboard are thin (about 0.25 inches at the thickest point) and when assembled give an instrument with "arched" top and back.

[lynnfrwd]

He would probably be the best one to advice if what you need can be done.

[eelamb]

I do not believe LG's are solid, but Acoustic as you mentioned. But he can fill you in better in that area.

[liquidguitars]

My mandolins and electric violins " 1.6 to 1.8 lbs " are caved like an acoustic violin inside and out TYP. Solid violins would be way to heavy to hold for long.


Below image, early prototype.

[JerryMcGuire]

Your instruments are certainly beautiful. I apologize for thinking they were solid body. I'm trying to carve a standard F-style mandolin. I ordered a precarved top and back and made patterns using the scanning probe. I can carve one side of the top/back but cannot seem to get the reverse side of the top/back to match up so I can flip the billet and carve it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[atauer]

There is actually another user that creates miniature violins. Goes by the moniker of FiddleMakerMills. I haven't seen him on here recently, but all the fiddles that he does are acoustic. If you send him a message, he may get back with you.

[mtylerfl]

Your instruments are certainly beautiful. I apologize for thinking they were solid body. I'm trying to carve a standard F-style mandolin. I ordered a precarved top and back and made patterns using the scanning probe. I can carve one side of the top/back but cannot seem to get the reverse side of the top/back to match up so I can flip the billet and carve it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Jerry,

As long as the front and back patterns are accurate, it should be no problem getting them to line up from front to back. Are you aware of the Snap to Grid tool and the use of Attachments when laying out a project? Many of us use those features to achieve precise alignment of front/back carvings. Quite a few of the Projects of the Month are front/back projects and the alignment has never been a problem. Of course, without actually seeing your particular MPC and patterns, it is difficult to suggest what you need to do to get your layout to carve properly. Call or PM me if you need specific help with alignment of your project, but don't want to post your MPC's publicly.

[JerryMcGuire]

Being kind of a novice at using the pattern software, I'm not really up to speed on the Snap to Grid and Attachments features. I'll look into them and see if I can figure it out. Otherwise, I may be getting back in touch. Thanks a bunch!