Electric Mandolin

Published: Aug 15, 2015 by K. E. Claytor

Electric Mandolin

This 4-string 14” scale length mandolin was constructed over the course of one summer. I ordered a bunch of mostly barebones parts and did the design and construction myself.

Some lessons learned:

  • Never use Bass guitar tuning mechanisms - or at least buy a wider drill bit. Filing the holes larger by hand almost killed the project.
  • Glad I had the freboard pre-cut.
  • Shaping the nut is actually really difficult - would pay for a pre-cut nut in the future. Or buy a few extras and experiment.
  • Run through a complete virtual build in your head - I skipped the bridge ground wire and added it in later, so it’s bit ugly.
  • This was tons of fun and I’d recommend it!

I also decided to “live-tweet” the construction, so here’s the history:

Here are some more images of the complete gadget:

full emando

bridge

back

music, woodworking, project

Share

Latest Posts

Netrunner Laser-Cut Identities

Netrunner Laser-Cut Identities

I’ve been using the laser cutter/engraver to generate some Netrunner identities for some time, and finally got some that look really good.

Read more

Published: Jun 3, 2023

M.C. Escher Ice Cube Molds

When staying at a bed-and-breakfast they had these really neat hexagonal ice cube trays. We picked up some of our own when we got home, but the thought was planted - “what other shapes could I do?” Of course, one of the most interesting space-filling tiling artists of all time has to be M.C. Escher.

Read more

Published: Jan 17, 2023

Netrunner Card Boxes

Netrunner Card Boxes

I’ve been wanting to upgrade my Netrunner card storage for a while. Now that I have access to a laser cutter/engraver, I finally took the plunge and designed these boxes. I think they turned out fantastic!

Read more