Build Your Own Hamdolin

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THE TAILPIECE

In my first attempt at designing a good method of attaching the strings to the can, I simply drilled eight small holes in the bottom of the container, inserted eight screws, and slipped the loop ends of the strings over the screws. But the plan was a dismal failure. The ham can simply wasn't strong enough to hold the screws when I tightened the strings.

Remembering Thomas Edison, I dismissed this minor setback as an experience familiar to all great inventors and turned to a source of salvation that has seldom failed me: my miscellaneous-and-unidentified-parts-and-hardware-and-other-assorted-junk box. I reached in, pulled a chunk of metal out, and gasped in astonishment at what I instantly realized was the ideal hamdolin tailpiece: an old brass strike plate from a doorjamb, beautifully tarnished to give it the look of a vintage Gibson tailpiece from the 30's. I was in heaven.

To install it, I merely wrapped one end of a short piece of heavy wire through and around one of the plate's (two holes, attached the other end to the other hole in the same way, and—with the strike plate's tongue pointing toward the neck—hooked the middle of the wire over the screw that holds the dowel to the can. Then I looped the strings around and through the plate's slot, ran them over the bridge and along the fingerboard, and attached each one to its respective peg head. (A tip: Don't glue the bridge to the hamdolin's body, because you may need to move that piece one way or the other slightly to adjust the pitch of the strings. As a starting point, place the bridge so that its top edge—where the strings first make contact with it—is exactly 13" from the bottom edge of the nut. The tension of the tightened strings will hold the bridge in place.)

TUNING

Just to make sure the strings wouldn't slip, I poked each one through the hole in its peg and then stuck it through a second time before turning the wing nut. Once I had a string up to tension, I fastened its hex nut down with a 1/4" open end wrench, and then fine-tuned it by turning the wing nut. The pegs work like a charm; every once in a while I'll have to retighten a hex nut with the wrench to keep a peg from slipping, but most of the time I can tune my hamdolin just by adjusting the wing nuts. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the way a mandolin is tuned, here's a short course: The first pair of strings—the one closest to your knees when you hold the hamdolin on your lap—is tuned to E ... the second pair to A ... the third to D ... and the fourth to G. A violin pitch pipe is handy for tuning a mandolin. Also, remember that new strings stretch and get out of tune even on expensive mandolins, so if you're installing new strings, give them a chance to stretch before you fine-tune them.)

HAM IT UP!

In case you haven't guessed, I like my hamdolin. I may joke about it, but the fact is it makes a terrific little instrument for beginners and experienced players alike. Granted, it's not quite as perfectly designed or true-to-pitch as a real mandolin (yours may be more or less" so, depending on the time and care you put into making it). But it does have an unmistakable beauty all its own . . . and produces an impressively pleasing mandolin-like sound.

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