Page 5 of 5
After the sunburst colors are applied, all the binding gets scraped clean. | |
And scraped, and scraped. | |
Here in the spray booth, clear coats go over the entire instrument. | |
A bunch of mandolins drying. | |
Looks like home to me. | |
More standard models in the spray booth. | |
Charlie shows us the backside of a new Sam Bush model. | |
In fact, it's the next one actually headed for Sam Bush himself. | |
The Master Model does not go through the same spray booth line. After final sanding, the entire instrument gets a brushed coat of gamboge, the natural yellow pigment used by the old Italian master violin makers. | |
Then, the sunburst shading is produced by wiping and rubbing waterbased stain right into the wood. | |
The Master Model gets a hand applied varnish finish. The varnish is made right here at Opry Mills using the classic old time Cremona formula. | |
Here's a shot of the interior doors to the spray booths. The one in the foreground is a varnish curing booth. UV lights are used to cure the natural oils in the varnish. The curing time is reduced from months to days with the high intensity lights. | |
After the varnish is cured, it gets a "scuff sanding" to level and prepare the surface for the final French polishing. | |
Charlie and his assistant are the only ones who do the French polishing. | |
It takes a long time to produce the soft glow and level finish. | |
There's nothing like it, though, for that old time shine! | |
Only about 2 Master Models are made each month. | |
He can work on a few instruments at once, with some drying overhead. | |
Every bit of the instrument gets a slow going over. | |
From the cut of the wood to the glow of the finish, this mandolin looks every bit like its famous predecessors. | |
This one was just getting its very last setup operation while we visited. | |
And, luckily, Charlie let me take it home on the plane. The first mandolin player who saw it on display at Gryphon snapped it right up! | |
Speaking of details, even the original patent stampings are reproduced on the bridge and fingerrest.. | |
Here's Charlie, doing the final sign-off. |