Saga AM-10 A-Model Mandolin Kit

I wanted to build a stringed instrument, something less unwieldy than a guitar but more complicated than a ukulele. The Saga AM-10 was the only kit I found that came complete with all the required parts, including strings and tuning machines. Some reviews stated that the back was inadequately sized and that the kit came without instructions. Having no experience in woodwork or mandolins, it was a leap of faith to buy this kit. However, the kit came well packaged and included a set of clear instructions. I learned some important lessons in the process of putting it together, perhaps basic knowledge to an experienced woodworker, but I'll share them anyway. When attaching the binding, use generous amounts of masking tape to prevent separation before the glue cures. To attach the kerfing, ¾" binder clips worked very well, even better than clothespins. The pattern suggested for attaching the tone bars are for a right-handed instrument; since I was building a left-handed one, I adjusted the pattern. Make sure you are tidy and wipe off all the excess glue with a damp cloth as soon as possible. Wood glue hardens quickly and is impossible to remove without excessive sanding. This will result in blotchy staining, especially if you are using a translucent stain to showcase the grain. The two halves of the top (and bottom) of the instrument may not come from the same tree (or forest) and stain differently. Be sure to start with a light hue and test it first, gradually increasing the intensity. The only problem I had was attaching the neck to the body; the fit wasn't good and I couldn't make any adjustments. The dowels were oversized and I had to use chopsticks from my Chinese takeout instead. This improper fit caused the fretboard to be higher than intended causing me to elevate the bridge more than I would like. I recommend sticking a piece of leather where the strings cross the tailpiece to prevent string buzz. The finished instrument sounds wonderful. All in all, this is a great kit, excellent value for money, provides a good lesson in lutherie and I'd buy another one.

I'm giving 3 stars because there are some things I like and some pretty bad flaws. I almost think I should give it a 2.The Good:The wood that the top and back are made of are nice. The top looks like spruce, as they claim, and the grain is straight and reasonably tight with some variation. It is made of two glued-up book-matched slabs, so the variation in grain width is mirrored on each side. The back is maple and has a tight fiddleback figuring.The Ho-Hum:The hardware is all sort of cheap average. The tuners feel a little gritty and a couple have a bit of slack in them. The bridge looks like decent rose-wood but is a little rough. Tailpiece is functional but nothing special. The cuts and finish of the wood is rough—expect to do a lot of sanding.The Bad:The veneer of the headstock is extremely thin and warped as if there is damage to the wood underneath, or gobs of too much glue—because it is so thin, this could only be fixed by sanding it off completely and buying and applying my own veneer. The wood is splintered where it is routed for the binding on the top—several are too deep to sand out completely. The grain is separating on the sides by where it connects to the neck, hopefully that can be sanded out. The pre-glued kerfing was done very poorly. Big gaps near the neck, small gaps other places. A lot of glue left behind as well. The binding on the neck is rough with glue squished out onto the fret board. One of the inlays has a big gap. The binding has also been over sanded on one side. viewed from the top the binding on both sides kind of tapers instead of staying parallel to the fretboard. One side does so a lot more than the other and almost disappears. There is no way to put binding back that has been sanded away. I used to have a $50 Rogue mandolin with cleaner binding and fretboard than this.To sum up:For the price I expected to do a lot of work and maybe replace the hardware if I wanted a decent instrument. I was disappointed to discover that some of the work that is already done is actually the worst part of this kit. Some of it just cannot be fixed. I'd probably give it a 4 if the neck wasn't so crummy.

This was a really fun project for me to do. It took me 2 years to build this but I had a lot of fun learning each step. My goal in the build was not to just put it together. I really wanted to take this kit and learn how to graduate the wood down to the correct thickness and then how to put the correct finish touches on it. Such as staining the wood or how to spray on a lacquer finish on it. how to put the binding on it correctly etc. If you get this kit and just put it together you will not get what you want.The top and back have a lot of wood that needs to be taken off and graduated down before you will have a good sounding instrument. The instructions that you get with the kit are not the best. I suggest that you buy Roger Siminoff book how to build a mandolin to help you. This book will help you in understanding what wood is used in constructing a mandolin and it will also help you buy the right tools that are needed to build a mandolin and many more helpful hints.I also found that he has youtube vides that will help on more challenging parts of the build. I also found Stewmac was a great place to buy luthier tools that you need to complete the project.Overall I would buy this kit again. This mandolin was a great first mandolin build to learn a lot about luthier and mandolin building.

Much better than pictured! Back is solid book matched highly flamed maple. Top is very close grained engleman spruce. Solid top as well. The sides are solid Mahoghany . Looks to be philliphine mahoghany. The tuners are close cut gear ratio with nice pearloid tuners. Strings and tailpiece are cheap Chineese crap as expected. Get a quality tailpiece and a good set of strings, you got a good $800.00 mandolin! At this price, you have no right to complain at all. The strings supplied are great for setting up the action.

Excellent!!!!

Came with no instructions had to email manufacturers for pdf