Rebuilt Mandolin

[Blackheathen]

After 10 months of research, hard work and frustration, I have completed the rebuilding of my mandolin 'The Pagan'.
Before Shot:

Before.jpg (30.48 KiB) Viewed 6570 times

After shot:

PagOnBench.jpg (15.69 KiB) Viewed 6570 times

I bought it on eBay about 6 years ago. Last christmas I discovered the top and back had collapsed. I suspect green wood and a thin top were the reasons. I decided I could fix it. After all - how hard could it be?

Among the attached images there is a before shot. In the before shot, the soundboard had not yet collapsed along the lines of the tone bars. (The back collapsed in along the centre joint.)

The mandolin has a long scale - 369mm. All future mandolins I make will probably have this scale length, mainly because not many people are doing it. I'll draw up my own plans very soon.

Work done by me:

• Removal of the collapsed top - I destroyed parts of the ribs in the process:-(
• Repair of the back.
• Removed the old, nearly one mm thick, ugly, satin, nitrocellulose finish with paint stripping Gel.
• Replaced the kerfed linings and sanded the top of the ribs flat (eventually).
• Carved a new soundboard from European spruce wedges from Stewart Mac.
• X Braced the soundboard.
• Lined the soundhole with hardwood.
• Installed the rosette (What a mess I made of it!!!).
• Drilled out the endpin hole and installed a piezo quartz pick up.
• Removed the ugly yellow binding from the fretboard and pickguard.
• Glued on and trimmed the new soundboard
• Made new bindings from a piece of bluegum flooring. I didn't route a binding channel because the ribs were so damaged and thin in places that I'm sure they would have disintegrated had I tried. I bent the Bluegum using a spray bottle and a soldering iron with a fat tip, held in a vice. The bindings have strengthened the ribs and covered many holes and errors.
• Made a spruce insert to support the end of the neck and fretboard above the soundboard.
• Levelled and crowned the frets.
• Made 4 new antique bone nuts - pne of which I got right.
• Made 3 bridges from ebony - two of which I got right (Wow I have a choice of bridges - luxury;-)).
• Installed new side dot fretboard markers.
• Made new brackets for supporting the pickguard.
• Learned how to French Polish the hard way.
• Spent 3 months French Polishing the soundboard, headstock and pickguard. -
• Danish Oiled the back, sides and neck (can you blame me?)
• Modified and installed the new Allen AR-2 gold tailpiece.
• Modified and installed new Grover 309FG tuners. These are really stiff under full string load - does anyone know how to free them up a little?

Texts used include:

• Myriad websites including those of Peter Coombe and Darrell Sheppard not to mention this one (the best trousery advice I've ever had) and the Mandolin Cafe.
• The Mandolin Project" by Graham MacDonald
• The Ultimate Bluegrass Mandolin Construction Manual by Roger Siminoff.

Thanks are due to a lot of people for their help and advice. A special thank you to Bill Burke from Arizona USA and a Vilolin Luthier from the south coast of NSW who's name I'm ashamed to say I have forgotten - Roland or Rowland something?? I met them both at the Illawarra Folk Festival in Bulli NSW. Both of them are real gentlemen. Thanks to both of them for their generous advice and support. Apologies to anyone I forgot to thanks for their help.

Work still needs to be done to improve the action and intonation at the bridge.

Here are some more pics.

Tail.jpg (10.43 KiB) Viewed 6570 times

PagResting.jpg (15.13 KiB) Viewed 6570 times

Head.jpg (12.34 KiB) Viewed 6570 times

Cheers,

Pete Jenner
Blackheath

[Tod Gilding]

Nice Work Pete, I would say a fair bit of satisfaction, bringing this back to life, well done.

[Blackheathen]

Thanks Tod. Yes, probably the most satisfying thing I've ever done.

[Pappy Green]

Pete I'm tired just reading the list of work let alone doing it. Great job