Balaliaka

Another instrument from May that I forgot to post.  A balaliaka s/n 079   This was a new challenge on this one.  For the body I created a mold then applied a thin overlapping veneer of avordire and olive wood.   This was covered with a medium fiberglass cloth and resin and sanded.  Then another more precise layer of veneers were glued on.  The veneers were about as thick as a fine index card (i.e. very thin).   The top is mahogany with leopard wood pick guard, corner guards.  It is decorated with a hand painted scene of medieval knights in combat.  The neck is maple with a bubinga  (African cherry) fingerboard.   TIt has a standard 17 inch scale length.  I used Russian tuning machines.  These have shorter tuning posts necessitating routing a pocket to recess the gears enough for the post to protrude to accept strings.   (I came up with this solution on my own, then after research found this is what the Russins do for their balaliakas)