It's been a long while since I worked on my mandolin. Too long. I finally had some today and decided to start working on the headstock. The kit comes with an already-applied veneer. It's very thin. While it's perfectly ok for what it is, I want a more substantial and more interesting veneer.
To remove the veneer. I used a clothing iron and spent time steaming it off. I used a rag in between, to protect the iron. It did not come off easily. I had to scrape some of it off as the glue did not want to give, even with the heat and steam. You can get an idea of how thin the original veneer is, from the picture.
It did eventually release but left a big glue mess to deal with. I tried to sand it off with a low-grit paper (50-80) but it was too gummy and didn't want to release. I used a paint scraper to remove the bulk of it and then applied some mineral spirits.
The solvent method worked the best and the headsotck cleaned up nicely. I then sanded it down by hand with a sanding block. It's looking pretty good for gluing up a new veneer.
Of course - now I need to decide which veneer to use. I have both a nice piece ebony and a rosewood veneer that I had bought from StewMac.
I'll settle on the design first.
I also spent some time today practicing sharpening and honing my chisels. I'm using the ScarySharp method and found it very easy for flattening the back of the chisels. Nice polished mirror finish. However, I could not hold the chisel steady enough when working on the bevel side. I broke down and ordered a honing guide to get me through this step.
