Musicmakers Dakota Mandola KIT User manual

DAKOTA MANDOLA KIT
651-439-9120
harpkit.com

WOOD PARTS:
A - Neck
B - Fingerboard
C - Heel Block
D - Tail Block
E - Clamping Block
F - 2 Short Ribs
G - 4 Corner Blocks
H - 2 Mid-Ribs
I - Long Tail Rib
J - 2 Dowels, 1/4” X 1”
K - 2 Clamping Wedges
L - Back
M - 2 Braces for Back
N - Front (Soundboard)
O - 5 Braces for Front
P - Bridge
Q - Spacer Block (11”)
HARDWARE:
40” Fretwire
1 White Side Marker Rod, 5/64”
8 Gold Geared Tuners
w/bushings & 10 screws
Set of Mandola Strings
Tailpiece w/3 screws
White Nut Material
3 Wood Screws, 1 - 5 /8”
2 Tiny Nails
Drill Bit, 1/16” for tiny screws
Drill Bit, 5/64” for Marking Dots
Drill Bit, 7/64” for wood screws
Drill Bit, 1/4” for dowels
Medium Donut Ring
Assembly Instructions
A NOTE ABOUT GLUE
We recommend assembling this kit with standard woodworker’s glue (such as Elmer’s Carpenters Glue or Titebond Wood
Glue). Don’t use Hotmelt glue, Superglue, 5-minute Epoxy, or the plain white School Glue for assembling the major wood
parts -- they are not strong enough for a high-tension instrument. There is no need to look for any special violin-maker’s adhe-
sive. You may, however, see epoxy or superglue recommended in one or two steps for installing non-wood parts.
Every time you use wood glue on this project, it is wise to have a damp rag handy for cleaning up afterwards. It is always best
to scrub away any excess glue that squeezes out of the joints before it dries, especially on the outside of the instrument. Keep
your hands and workbench as clean as possible too. Glue smudges will show up vividly on the finished instrument.
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
_____1. CAUTION: PLEASE DO NOT OPEN THE SEALED PLASTIC BAG CONTAINING THE FRONT
AND BACK PANELS UNTIL YOU REACH STEP #14. These two parts need to be kept very dry until you glue
the braces on them. Check over your kit parts to make sure you have everything (see fig. 1 above). Contact us right
away if you are missing parts so we can rectify the problem without causing too much delay for you. We also recom-
mend checking off each step in the directions as you finish it. You might be skipping forward to another part of the
assembly while waiting for something to dry, and it helps to keep track of where you left off.
CUSTOMIZING OPTIONS
If you are an enterprising woodworker who wants to make this project special with
some sort of decorations, here are some ideas for you to think about. You may want
to order decorative materials now so you have them when you need them.
1 Medium Wood Rosette for the Soundhole, with Donut Ring
4 strips of Inlay Banding for trimming the Front and Back
2.
fig 1
DAKOTA MANDOLA KIT
A
B
C
D
E
F
H
G
G
G
G
L
M
N
O
P
Q
K
J
Q
F
H
I

_____2. Begin at the heel where the
body will join the neck. Place the heel
block and the clamping block together
and drill two pilot holes into the clamp-
ing block using the 7/64” drill bit pro-
vided, as shown in figures 2a and 2b..
Tools Required for This Stage
Masking Tape Small C-clamps Cordless Hand Drill
Plastic Grocery Bag Spring Clamps Phillips Driver Bit
Wood Glue Damp Rag 7/64” Drill Bit
clamping block
heel block
7/64” drill bit
Hold blocks
carefully on
a flat sur-
face so they
are flush
with each
other as you
drill pilot
holes.
_____3. Find the two short ribs and look carefully for pencil markings that show “H” at one end. ese are the
ends that get glued to the heel block. Orient these pieces carefully: e end of each piece marked “H” will be
clamped against the heel block with the pencil marks facing the inside of the body (g 3a).
Tape the two short ribs to the heel block WITHOUT GLUE rst, and test the shape against the soundboard (front
piece) of the instrument. It is possible to fasten these pieces backwards and have them ared the wrong way!
_____4. When everything checks out, put glue on the end of each short rib and tape them carefully back against heel
block as shown in fig 4a.
CAUTION: Don’t glue the
clamping block to this as-
sembly! Put a thin plastic
barrier between the clamp-
ing block and the heel block
so you can remove the
clamping block later.
Install the screws into the
clamping block to draw parts
firmly together until the glue
dries (fig 4b).
Wood Glue
short ribs
with “H”
marks
against
heel block Tape the short
ribs in place
WITHOUT
GLUE first.
Test the shape
to make sure it
matches the shape
of the sound-
board.
“S” mark
at free end
Masking Tape
Plastic
Bag Scrap
3.
fig 2a fig 2b
fig 3a fig 3b
fig 4a fig 4b
GLUING THE BODY FRAME

_____5. Find the 4 corner blocks. These are all the same, so they are interchangeable. Test-fit a corner to one of
the short ribs without glue to make sure your clamp will hold it firmly in place (fig 5a). We have included a couple
clamping wedges made of scrap wood in case you need them. When satisfied with the fit, glue and clamp a corner
to each short rib, making sure the rib fits all the way into the corner of the ledge (fig 5b).
_____7. Continue by gluing the next two
corner blocks at the open ends of the mid-
ribs, as shown (fig 7).
4.
tight fit
fig 5a fig 5b
Allow at least 30 minutes dry-
ing time.
After the corners are dry, you
can remove the clamps. You
can also remove the screws
holding the clamping block to
the heel block.
_____6. Now you can glue the two mid-ribs
into the corners. These ribs should flare out-
ward, as shown (fig 6). They are symmetrical,
so it does not matter which end you glue to the
first corners. Notice the use of clamping wedg-
es to make it easier to clamp the parts together.
CAUTION: It’s possible to glue these parts
together crooked! Make sure all the parts are
pushed firmly into the corner blocks, that the
parts remain flush with each other, and that the
entire assembly remains flat. Lift the assembly
up and look carefully at each seam to make sure
it is tightly fit. Also make sure the whole as-
sembly will lay on your flat work surface with-
out rocking.
clamping wedge
corner block
corner blockclamping wedge
fig 6
fig 7

5.
Tape a clamping wedge to the joint and and then add your clamp, as shown in fig 9b, still without glue.
If the joint comes together correctly, then remove the clamp and tape so you can repeat the process with glue. Allow
this joint to dry another 8 hours (because it is under tension).
_____8. Glue just one end of the long tail rib to one corner block, as
shown (fig 8). Let the entire assembly dry overnight (or 8 hours) before
proceeding to close the frame. If you proceed too quickly, the glue is
likely to break at one or more of the corners. It takes about 8 hours for
most woodworking glue to harden completely.
While you are waiting for this assembly to dry, you can skip to step #34
(page 15) and begin shaping the neck and peghead.
_____9. When this assembly has fully dried, you can use masking tape to
pull the final corner together roughly (fig 9a). Do this WITHOUT GLUE
first, just to make sure everything works easily for you, and no corner blocks
break free. fig 8
_____10. When dry enough to remove the last clamp, measure 7-3/8” from each end of the large curved rib and
mark it for locating the tail block (fig. 10a). Please note that this may not look exactly centered at this point because
the frame may be slightly skewed one way or the other. You’ll straighten it in the next step. Glue and clamp the tail
block in place as shown in fig 10b.
fig 10a
fig 10b
fig 9a
masking tape
fig 9b
nice tight glue joint
While waiting for
this last corner
to dry, go back
to shaping the
neck -- it’s good
to spend time
smoothing it to
fit your hand.
tail block
Center the
tail block
between
your
marks.