A Completed Mando with a twist

Last week while the kids & I finished up our vacation at the beach, Randy came back home earlier in the week. He didn't want to use all his vacation in one week & he had something else he wanted to finish up- his latest mandolin!
It's officially complete! And it's officially sold & out of the house as of last night! It's a little bittersweet each time this happens. Randy works so hard on these instruments & then he gets a little attached to each one. He ALWAYS wants to keep it on some level but gives it up anyway. He wouldn't let the buyer come pick it up until I came home from the beach because I had the camera with me & he wanted pictures. Can't blame him there... We need something to remember the details of each one. So here are the final pictures of Moss Mandolin No. 8...


And are you ready for a huge twist? About a month or so ago, Randy had a message on our answering machine from another guy who was interested in a mandolin. Randy called him back & told him that he was finishing up one soon & he could come take a look/listen when it was complete. That man (we'll call him Joe) came over Friday night & loved the mandolin that Randy had built for the original buyer (we'll call him Craig). In fact, he really wanted it. But Randy couldn't sell it to him obviously because it was built for Craig. However, Joe told Randy he would pay him cash on the spot for the one Randy plays (Moss Mandolin #7). Randy hasn't built a mandolin since right after Eli was born because life just gets crazy & he hasn't had the time (plus he built a custom guitar for someone during those years instead). So mando #7 is about 4.5 years old & has remained Randy's because it fell & got a crack in it. Randy repaired it & just kept it for himself & you'd never know it was cracked in the first place. Even with all this information, Joe still wanted the mandolin, though & offered Randy only $500 less than what the brand new one was being sold for. Seriously? This deal is getting sweeter & sweeter!

Hang on though... It gets even better! Joe not only wants #7, but he also wants Randy to build him one too. Is your jaw dropping, yet? Mine did when Randy called me on our last night of vacation to tell me this! I just know this is the Lord providing for us! It's been a tough year!

(#7 on left with no pick guard, #8 on right with pick guard)

Randy had no reservations about building another, but wasn't as convinced on selling #7. If Joe takes #7, then Randy won't have one to play (which he plays daily), nor will he have anything to show his craftmanship if someone else is interested in a mandolin. If he builds Joe one first, then it will be well over a year before he will have another for himself. But, we think we have come to a conclusion. Randy will sell #7, and then instead of building mando #9 for Joe and then #10 for himself, he will take a little more time to complete, but will build #9 & #10 together! Then in about 8 months or so, should have one to sell and one to keep! Let's hope this plan works out! :)

So, we of course, had to take pictures of them both before they were gone!!


This will be the last time for awhile that Randy holds one of his own custom built mandos! He looks thrilled, eh?!
But i have to say that I am so proud of his hard work and talent! He is truly a gifted man to be able to get something so beautiful in sound & aesthetics from one block of wood! It is crazy & magical all at the same time! Great job, babe!

Staining the Mando

Several weeks back, I posted that Randy was getting ready to start staining the mandolin, then the rest of the work would only be in the finish- meaning the sanding/laquering/sanding/laquering. Last week, he began the staining process and I took some pictures for you all to see how this goes!

Basically it is layering of two shades of dye and sometimes his own mixture of the two to get the shade he is looking for.
When he gets it pretty close to the way he likes it, he then takes an airbrush to fill in & fine tune the staining just the way he likes it. No pics for that - I think i was in the bed at that point! :)

While he is staining it, it is inevitable that he is going to get stain all over the white binding (the outer edge). So, after the staining is complete, he begins the dreaded scraping. He has to scrape all the dye off of the binding around both the front & back of the mandolin. (He hates this part & does a lot of screaming!)



It takes a lot of patience and concentration. Something I am not very good at myself, but we all know Randy is the more laid back of this pair, right!?

So now he has started the clear coat to seal it which means lots of layers of spraying and sanding in between coats. Once that is complete & dried/hardened for about a week or so, the mando will be finished! Wahoo! I will post complete pictures for you of course! So stay tuned!

Almost There...

Randy is almost ready to string up Mando #8!!

He is ready for it to be over too! This has been a tiring process this go round! This is the first mandolin he has built since being in our new house so the set up isn't nearly the same as having his own shop back at Ironwood. Add that to the month long hiatus when he had Bells Palsy & this has been quite an ordeal. He has been sprawled out over the dining room table for months rather than having his own table to work at out in the garage. I guess we know what he needs for Father's Day- his own shop! Wishful thinking, though!!

But, I am ready to have my dining room back, and I think Randy is ready to have some of his spare time back - not to mention compensation for his labor of love!

Here are a few pics I took tonight so he could email the latest progress to the customer he is building it for....

The hardest part is over- the inlay work. And yes, he cut it out by hand! He is so talented!

The scroll has also got a beautiful crest to it now as well!

The F holes....
After he strings it up to make sure the sound is right, puts one final piece of binding on the back, & then begins the staining & varnishing, it will be done! Can't wait to see how much more beautiful it will become! (That's when it gets hard for him to give them over to someone else! :)

Did I forget to mention?

We (Randy) sold a mandolin last Friday! Yippeee! I think Randy had mixed feelings, elated to have sold it, sad to see it go at the same time! One down, one to go..... He has several people also interested in his latest one #7 (but this is his current baby, & i am not certain it will go so soon). If he sells it, then he won't have anything to play at all! (His guitar is on loan to the guitar customer until the finishing details are complete). Either way though, did i mention?? YIPEEEEE!! Our savings account doesn't know what to think- it actually is holding money! Until we get 8 tires, 2 balance rotations, 2 vehicle inspections, & 2 oil changes, then it will basically be non existent! But at least our cars will be up to date & safe....

So here's to you, Randy.... Congrats!

Daddy's projects

Well as everyone knows, Randy builds mandolins as a hobby & sometimes we sell one & make a little cash. Well his latest project has been to build a guitar for the son of a man who he built a mandolin for years ago. It has been quite the project since all the equipment Randy has to build a mandolin is set up for a mando, which is much smaller than a guitar (and quite honestly, more intricate). He has had to adapt all his equipment as he has gone along which has been frustrating for him (he says he will never do another guitar), but nonetheless he is almost done... Here's the proof....
starting the staining process...
the head stock- this time he used curly maple for the Moss logo inlay (rather than the mother of pearl he uses on the mandos) & i like the vintage look it gives the guitar
here is the back - no staining here, just varnish to bring out the woodgrain & seal/protect...
here is a shot of the guitar once he laid the pickguard & saddle on it to get an idea of how it would look just before stringing it up.....And while this is getting ready to go, he has also just listed one of his mandos for sale. He has been playing it since the end of 2006, so now it is considered a "used" instrument, but hopefully it will go into good hands. It really is a beauty.... Isn't Randy just so talented?!

This picture is cool to me because the mando is so shiny that you can see jackson's reflection on the bottom left, & the refection of Randy taking the photo with the tripod....