Brentrup Guitars and Mandolins

[Joe Sustaire]

And Merry Christmas to you also Haans!
I tell you that workbench shot is just about perfect for my vision of Santa's workshop. :-)

[Haans]

Thanks guys...
Yup Ed, they just keep getting better and better. There are two reasons. I use spruce and I don't make "instant gratification" instruments. Thin instruments sound thin and don't go anywhere. After all, the tone is in the wood. The more you carve away, the less tone you have...

[Haans]

A few photos of progress on the F5C mandolin. I'm just going to put everything into this thread.
Binding these beasts is a real challenge and it's difficult to get the shapes and details right. Here you see the box with the July 9 sidbound binding, ff holes cut and riser block glued on. At this point, the top is sanded to 150 grit. You also see the neck blocked out and ready for the veneers. You can make out a bit of the bound veneer at the bottom of the photo, and a photo of a July 9 Loar.



Inside with tone bars and most all the graduating done. The rest will come off the top on the outside when strung in the white. All set to add the back kerfing.



Shot of the roughed out and bound scroll. Takes a lot of work with skinny sanding sticks to get it to final detail. Still, as with the Loars, pretty hard to CNC these out and get the Loar feel to the instrument.

[justonwo]

As per usual. Awesome!

[Nort]

That's a Beautiful scroll, As usual looking good Haans!

[Haans]

Thanks guys!

[Haans]

Here is the instrument in the white. All that is left to do is dress the frets, install a good bridge and MOP nut (these are both setup in the photos), and sand.















I may distress this one.
Thanks for looking...

[Woodenhead]

Wow. Thanks for posting, Haans. You are the main reason I check this forum periodically. Nicely done.

cheers, Steve

[Haans]

Steve, thank you. It's folks like you that don't post much (or not at all) that keep me posting from time to time.

[maurerfan]

Haans, that is exquisite ... I hope you show it when its finished .. lovely work!

[Berf]

Looking really good Haans. I know even less about mandolins than guitars... can I ask is there any reason to set it all up with strings etc. before you finish it? Cheers, berf

[Nort]

Haans, That mandolin is So nice! the detailing of the scroll is just outstanding,
It's going to be Beautiful when finished.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Question: What does a world class mandolin maker do when he retires?

One answer: He builds Old Tyme guitars for a while and then he makes mandolins.

[oldgeezer]

Haans, once again your guitars make my heart pump wildly. They are beautiful. I particularly love the wide grain tops. It's a refreshing change from all the tight grained, homogeneous tops floating around. Nothing wrong with them. They are also beautiful and I appreciate them as well, but the character of those tops of yours is something to behold.

[Haans]

Thanks again, folks!
Maurer, I will put up a few when it is finished, but won't get to any finishing till it warms up a bunch.
Berf, I can tell you that 1923 Loars were the epitome of mandolins, and aside from the required flowerpot (mine is NOT Gibson), they had NO bling. They were built like fine violins...
Bruce, another answer is he does both till his hands don't work anymore. I have a new Stelle 12 coming up next. It's good to be able to build both again, although my hands were starting to hurt some when carving. Not nearly as bad as when I had to quit building them four years ago.
Geezer, thank you. I know there are a few of you out there that like traditional instruments and don't care much for "Wonderbread" tops.