Why is it done this way?

[Billy Romp]

I'm building my first mandolin from raw wood (w/Siminoff book), after thinking about it for twenty five years and disassembling/reassembling a few old mandolins and guitars.  This seems to be the place for newcomers' naive questions.  Other than easing future repairs, why do we build with a separate neck and headblock? It seems that a combination neck/headblock would allow construction to proceed with little adjustment to the process.  I'm not ready to experiment (maybe after a couple dozen instruments), so I'm following the book, but this question vexes me.  Thanks.

[William F.Eden]

If I under stand your question right you want to make the neck & end block all in one piece. As i see it when you install the block first with the sides and then put your top on then cut your mortis you now have a chance to set the neck to it's proper pitch & straitnes. Buy the way i have built a few F style Mandolins off of Siminoff's book and it is a very good book just follow the directoins and you will do alright ,Good luck Bill.""""""""""""

[Billy Romp]

Yes, neck angle and skew can be fine-tuned that way, but I still wonder why it wouldn't be just as reliable a method to build a one-piece neck/endblock assembly with the same level of precision. My mind turns these things over and over, but in practice I take a conservative approach. I plan to follow Siminoff's instructions to the letter, at least until I have built a few. Then I'll re-invent the wheel, as my dad used to say. By the way, it's (sort of) not my first mandolin. Ten years ago I took a cigar box and a chunk of maple, built a four-string mandolin that still survives. I yanked the frets and tuners off of an old $75 banjo neck, and used nails for the tailpiece. One-piece neck/fretboard. It took me ten hours, and included position dots made from a violin bow, and heart-shaped headstock inlay made from real tortise shell.

[FRANK]

are you referring to a Spanish heal ?

[Frank Ford]

The very earliest Gibson instruments were made with an integral neck, block, sides arrangement. Didn't take them long to switch to dovetail neck joints.

My best guess is that, difficult as the dovetail joint may seem, it is more expedient in production to make that joint rather than try to come up with some system that resembles the Spanish classical guitar neck attachment.

[Donald A. Fortune]

I agree with Mr. Ford on this one since I've built a classical guitar with the block as part of the neck-
best to you on your build Billy
Peace,Donald