Building an F Style Mandolin - Timelapse

This is a timelapse video documenting the process of making a hand carved F style Mandolin. The top is reclaimed redwood and the back and sides are flamed maple. The fingerboard and headplate are walnut.
If you’re interested in seeing more of my work, check out my other videos as well as my website
Strackwoodworking.com

[@StevDoesBigJumps]

Oh man, I can't describe how nice it is to see a new mandolin that doesn't have a sunburst finish.

[@cgandy2]

Incredible! Great craftsmanship. No wonder the F Style mandolins cost more than the A style. Lots of extra effort.

[@stuco]

Some company, can't remember which one, said they can make 5 flat top guitars in the time it takes to make an F style mandolin. No wonder good ones are pricey.

[@bessiebraveheart]

Hello from England, the handwork and build skills are amazing. No wonder they are expensive.

[@charlesmontgomery7002]

Great to watch and thanks for sharing your excellent craft. A sound sample at the end would have been a great addition.

[@GrayByrd]

Great soundtrack. Enjoyed the straight-up woodworking. The video hints at the great skill and dedication and time it takes to create art and function. Was mesmerized the entire video.

[@debrabish1494]

Wow and I love traditional Celtic and Bluegrass-started at Union Grove NC at 19 loving it-I built a dulcimer-a hand carved head and tail from an Oregon Big Leaf Maple we unfortunately cut down (my friends tree) I made a horse head and tail -whittled and did teardrop hearts in Mahogany back and sides spruce top-my friend Willy gave a class-I am in awe of your art-just loved this-I play guitar and now bought The Loar Mandolin -it should come today-may the Four Winds continue to bless you with warm sunshine!!!!!!!!!Debra

[@debrabish1494]

Oh this Mandolin is breathtaking-I love the back of the neck where the crosscut ? maple stripes across-In NH where I lived a long time in youth, I had a big curvy top drawer claw foot maple dresser with oval mirror -the mirror I still have -you are a wonder of nature-I loved every minute of this-love the darker edges. Debra

[@Richard-bg1rz]

This was an absolute joy to watch!

[@davidsims1329]

Great Job my friend. And then Bill Brown was the highlight of my woodworking career out of my own little shop. What time trying to get back into after this from health issues but you’re doing a great job man it looks awesome.

[@nicholasgeorge7825]

There's a trick to adding ears to the lower bout so you don't have to make a three piece back. Wedges are cut off the top of the block and slip matched. Its a little tricky but it works with curly maple. Excellent workmanship there.

[@henningwagner1099]

Ein großes Dankeschön für das Video! Da sieht jeder, wie aufwändig es ist ein tolles Instrument herzustellen. Viele denken ja, man drückt in China auf ein paar Knöpfe und der 3-D-Drucker spuckt sowas aus.😒

[@PMoney365]

Beautiful!

[@marcjakout]

Great !!

[@steveslate3601]

Loved watching from beginning to finished!! Also enjoyed the music!! I've always had a heart for mandolin but not a big Bluegrass fan!! Go figure haha!!

[@luisMusicoLurhier]

Hermoso mandolyn y bonita música. Saludos desde Argentina

[@Apillicus]

This was really pleasant. Thank you

[@laevulooze]

greatwork!

[@RobHersh-st7rh]

Great sound track background. Fast filming is good for a change. Do doesn't require so much patience all the time where one would lose attention and focus. different. Nice and welcomed.much many gradituidus thanks.

[@aprilandi3187]

Beautiful 👍

[@alexanderkutschera149]

Wow great video beautiful instrument. I always thought that the f style was called the f style because of the shape of the holes where the sound comes out ……obviously I am NOT an expert.

[@pedrolarenas]

great job

[@stevetrockman204]

Beauty!

[@samuelwilliams2245]

Nice

[@CMRWoodworks]

Really cool man! How long did it take? I’m about to start A-style mandolin build. Not brave enough to try an f-style😅

[@strackwoodworking]

It probably took 60-80 hours stretched over a few months.

[@markmelville6670]

Pretty dang cool. Ive never made anything but f holes. After watch this I may try an oval hole. I love the no binding affect. What's that goop you slathered on to finish it? Looks great!

[@strackwoodworking]

It’s Bioshield Hard Oil which is similar to old violin varnishes. It’s basically linseed oil, tung oil and rosin.

[@ositoCastro]

Very fine work. What is your polishing formula? Thanks

[@stuco]

Nice work, is that a tru oil finish?

[@ozarkscarguy540]

Why are F styles 2-4 x as expensive as A style? This video shows why. Does it need to be made out of specific woods? Looks like you're using mahogany and maple here. How much would the tone change if used maple and walnut or rosewood

[@strackwoodworking]

Typically they have a spruce top and maple back and sides. I used redwood for the top and maple back and sides. The tone would definitely change if you use different woods. In general, harder woods will create a brighter tone and softer woods will sound more mellow. The thing about instruments is that every little detail affects the tone in some way. So it can be hard to know exactly how changing one thing will affect the overall tone. You can make two instruments out of the same woods and they will still sound slightly different.

[@pierrelacoste6621]

AWESOME AWESOME MAN, 😅😅😃😃😃😂👏👏👏👏👏✌👍👍

[@KuhnGuitars]

My dude did you freehand the fret slots with a Dremel? If I did that they'd look like linguini! :P Great looking build!

[@strackwoodworking]

The slots are already cut. I was just cleaning them out. The Drexel bit follow the slot

[@thefreese1]

I liked the video... picked up a couple tips .. BUT I wish that Luthiers would stop using Titebond 2 and 3... Original Titebond holds beautifully and you don't need near as much heat to take something apart for repairs.. There's a reason original is used in most Big Name factories .... so if the instrument comes back for repairs you don't have to torture it with higher heat and there's less tearout... Sorry..just hard to watch someone grab that green bottle..lol Best tip was the rough smoothing out the top's dome with sandpaper on a flexible piece of flat metal like a ruler or something.... makes me wonder why I didn't think of that..

[@strackwoodworking]

I switch to original Titebond for the joints that might be worked on in the future. I mainly use 3 for laminating veneers.

[@guitfidle]

Wow, gorgeous work!! How did you like carving the reclaimed redwood? I did an archtop out of it a while back, and found it almost too soft. My carving tools wanted to take off more than I needed, and I ended up getting some grain line cracks that needed gluing back together. Just my experience anyway

[@strackwoodworking]

Thanks! I actually love working with redwood. It is soft so I made sure that my tools were super sharp and I worked slowly. The final results are definitely worth the effort.

[@RobHersh-st7rh]

Fun fun also as. Well.

[@jgarber235]

It is very strange that after watching this long video, we never hear what the mandolin sounds like.

[@captbuscemi]

Yes, apart from the line at the beginning stating that the soundtrack is all his instruments, including this mandolin, for 34 minutes.

[@jgarber235]

I didn’t see at the beginning that that music was played on this mandolin and frankly I would have liked to hear the mandolin demoed for tone by itself. I assume that is not the point and the maker can provide a sound file for those interested in buying it.

[@eyeofamon]

One thing I've never understood about mandolin making - Why is it traditional to put the fancy figured woods on the back and a plain top? Beautiful work, BTW.

[@jjmuni]

For the top a light and rather unspectacular straight grain wood like spruce or cedar or redwood will transform the sound waves best while the fancy maple adds a bright color in tone plus stability and if possible beauty. The wood choice of the classic mandolins of the early 1920s refers to European classical instruments who are mainly made of what was best of the trees growing nearby.

[@DSteinman]

Straight grain soft wood is flexible, which is needed in a top for it to vibrate well. Hard woods work for other parts and those can be found with more figure

[@josephovermyer9276]

white glue?

[@strackwoodworking]

I typically use Titebond I for everything.

[@listerguitars]

Was that Indian tattoo on your forearm the Indian shooting the start from the Blow Pops wrapper? Lol

[@Patrick-gm3fb]

The mandolin has been extinct for 1,000 years and archeologists find this video saved to someones phone. What are the odds they can revive it with just this video?