A mandolin is the guitar’s grass-roots cousin. A lot of people use the instrument to produce a woody high-pitched sound that can be heard in country music. Nowadays, the mandolin stands as an alternative and complement to the guitar. Various music genres have successfully infused the rather unconventional sound of the mandolin to produce great music. If you are a budding musician, the mandolin can be a great starting point for your musical career. You can even carve a niche for yourself if you turn out to be an exceptional player. Better build one to get a head start on your music fantasies.

Even if it looks simple, the mandolin is not easy to create. Mandolin-makers must practice for several months before they are able to create an error-free mandolin. Fortunately, these people created mandolin-making kits to make things a lot easier for you.

A mandolin kit contains a disassembled mandolin that is made from fine spruce. The parts of the mandolin are already carved and shaped. Obviously, your only responsibilities are to assemble, string and apply finish to the mandolin. You can have a top quality mandolin within a few hours if you follow the steps carefully.

Materials Used:

• mandolin kit
• glossy varnish
• wood glue
• mechanical drill
• router head
• paintbrush
• sandpaper

Purchase a Mandolin Kit

First, go to a music store and look at the store’s selection of mandolin kits. Manually inspect the parts of several kits and purchase the kit that contains the best parts. Once done, you can go to a hardware store and buy the necessary tools that you do not have at home.

Assemble the Mandolin

When the mandolin kit and all the tools are ready, open the kit and view the mandolin-making guide. You will see the dimensions of each part and how you can connect all the parts together to form your mandolin. Assemble the parts together in accordance to what the guide tells you. Use your mechanical drill and the drill’s router head to provide connection points for some of the parts and apply wood glue to each part that you will connect.

Smoothen, String and Finish

When you have assembled your mandolin, smooth the mandolin surface with sandpaper. Be very careful when you sandpaper the fret boards since those parts are pretty sensitive. Once done, apply a glossy varnish throughout the mandolin’s surface. Remember to place very thin layers of varnish on the mandolin neck’s playing surface because too much varnish can affect the sound of your mandolin. When the varnish dries, you can get the mandolin strings and fit each in their respective tuner, saddle and bridge.

At this point, you have a good mandolin to satisfy the symphonic hunger of the musician in you. Get ready to perform unforgettable mandolin solos and unconventional-sounding symphonies with your new mandolin. Who knows, you may be known as the Mandolin Hendrix if your mandolin-playing career flourishes.

Watch The Video

How To Make Building A Solid Body Mandolin (Part I)

How To Make Building A Solid Body Mandolin (Part II)