Kit explanation

A good friend of mine (Suave) asked for some detail that separated this kit build from simply building from scratch. After reflection I realized that the aspects of the kit might not be clear to everyone from the descriptions so far, so I sent him this:

I guess I should have spent some time illustrating the kit itself. The kit came with all the wood, the fret wire, the fretboard side and top dots, and the nut and bridge material. The top was bookmatched, properly thicknessed, and had the soundhole cut. The back was also bookmatched. The kerfing was precut and prekerfed, although there were four pieces each of which was far too long and had to be properly trimmed. The braces were provided, properly thicknessed in cross section but requiring shaping both to form the curve of the top and the shape of the side of the braces away from the top or bottom (the manufacturer provided a long narrow piece of plywood that, when clamped to the table at one end and blocked up at the other end, will form the curve necessary for the curvature of the top). I do have to learn to fret an instrument, though - but they provided enough waste fingerboard with fret slots cut into it that you can practice this before going big time, and they also included extra fretwire. Critically, the sides were prebent. This is probably the biggest advantage of the kit since it meant that I would not have to learn to bend sides in concert with everything else (though it should be noted that I have some limited experience with bending wood and it is not that difficult to do - though my experience is not to the level of tolerance required for instrument building). I plan to bend them myself the next time.

Interestingly, not included were a tailpiece (mandolins typically use trapeze-type tailpieces) or tuning machines. I will buy these this spring after completing the instrument. I think the project is going fairly well, although it appears that the mandolin will be slightly nonsymmetrical about the axis of the neck - the sides might not have been exactly the same length and that seems to have resulted in a slight lopsidedness favoring the side that will be "up" when I play it. I don't know that it will be obvious to anyone but me (and, now, you) or that this will be the most out-of-whack thing about it in the long run. So far I am pleased.

I see your point - most of the tough stuff was left for me to do - but just gluing together a pretty much already built instrument would not be all that rewarding, I guess. This has been very rewarding so far. Believe it or not they actually have a kit with less stuff done for you. You have to bend the sides and glue up both the top and the back in that one. I might try that one next. In fact, I almost certainly will.