New (old) mandolin day for me!

  1. Swimbob
    Swimbob
    I just found a Kentucky KM700 in a local pawn shop and was able to talk them down to an almost reasonable price so I bought it. It needs a lot of TLC and so I pulled out my copy of Rob Meldrum's mandolin set up book that I'm glad I had the foresight to print out and comb bind. I'm really scared to do some of this myself though.

    The nut is way too high and I'm going to have to cut into it to lower the strings and I've ordered a new bridge because the one on it is already set as low as it can be and it's still too high.

    I wonder why mandolins come from the factory with such poor set ups.

    Think I may need to find a luthier?
  2. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I probably would. I wouldn't be nervous about fitting the bridge (I did that on my first mando, also an older Kentucky). I'd fret just a tad more about messing with the nut (but you might be bolder than me ). But mainly, I might want to have someone who knows what they're doing check everything out and make sure the neck is okay.
    If you do, make sure you don't go to just any old guitar guy - find someone who knows about mandolins.

    Sounds like a cool find, good luck getting it playing
  3. NDO
    NDO
    That’s super cool!
    To lower the bridge you don’t actually need a new one- you can either sand the base or preferably take some material off the saddle so it can be adjusted lower without messing with the fit of the bridge.
    Once you’ve made a set of the nut saws using Rob’s instructions cutting the nut is also not difficult.
  4. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    I think the key to cutting nut slots is "don't rush it". The homemade nut saws (ala Rob) work fine but slowly. It is easy to get tired of the process of stroke, check, stroke, check, ... ad infinitum. Especially when you finish one slot and realize you have seven more to do. It's easy to take another stroke. It's difficult to "untake" strokes.

    Also, be sure to use a feeler gauge saw that is a thousandth or two wider than your string width. Exact size slots lead to binding while tuning.

    edit: I made a point about sunken tops that almost certainly had nothing to do with your situation and just now deleted it - sorry for the distraction if you saw it.
  5. Mark Gunter
    Mark Gunter
    I cut a mandolin nut too low one time … I decided to order a new bone nut to replace the plastic one, and re-cut it. A good trick though, if you cut a nut slot a bit low, is to shim it with a sliver of a playing card. Another is to build up the slot with baking powder and super glue.

    I’m a believer in going for it. Worst case, learn to repair a mistake or start fresh with a new blank.
  6. Swimbob
    Swimbob
    Thanks for all the great feedback, gang.

    I've played it for a couple of hours now (even learned a new song on it) but it's still a monster to play. It looks like it has new strings on it and sounds great but playing chords on it is hard.

    Sue, I don't know many luthiers in my area but I'm sure most all of them are guitar guys. I do know a guy that I would trust to do an absolutely great job but I might not get it back for six months. Yeah, he's that good, and usually that busy.

    NDO I don't know if I trust myself to sand my bridge down. Number one I don't have much in the way of a work space and number two I want to make sure the base still fits the top of the mandolin. Kentucky mandolins come with bridges that have really thick adjusting screws so I ordered a bridge that has thinner ones. I did that with my first Kentucky and it worked great.
  7. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Swimbob, doing the bridge really isn't too bad. I'm no woodworker, and I did the work on my desk in the office. Here's the thread from when I was working on mine, including picture of a jig I made to keep everything vertical. I think this might've one of the first, if not THE first post I made in MC. Everyone was so helpful.

    Later in the summer when I got my Strad-O-Lin I brought both instruments to the luthier (Jake Wildwood) and he modified the bridge a bit more and tweaked the nut. He did it while I was waiting, it wasn't a big deal. The Kentucky is my travel mando now and plays pretty good.

    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...-Bridge-Height

    Here's a link to some setup videos that Marty Jacobson posted around the same time. I found them very helpful.

    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...through-Videos

    You could try working on your old bridge, and you always have the one you ordered in reserve. I might buy one of those low Cumberland bridges for this mando some day, but then again, I might not, either.
  8. Swimbob
    Swimbob
    Thanks Sue!

    Sorry to take so long to get back but I pretty much only get online on weekends.

    I took it to my lesson the other day and my teacher loves it. He thought that the bridge was fine but the nut needs work. He recommended popping the nut out, sanding it from the bottom, and then gluing it back in. Still not sure what direction I'm going to take. Lack of a place to do the work is definitely hampering my progress.
  9. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I hear you on lack of space. I've got a steamer trunk refinishing project I want to do (came from Scotland with my Grandmother) but my only choice is outside in dry weather in the summer.

    Then again, I seem to remember someone posting about building a mandolin inside a one bedroom apartment they shared with a partner
  10. Stacey Morris
    Stacey Morris
    I didn't see this thread earlier, Bob. I had missed Sue's earlier thread about working on her bridge/saddle also last year, so this was good information on all fronts. It was good to see HoGo's suggestion about the saddle in Sue's other thread, since I have a less expensive mandolin that has a split saddle just like HoGo described. When the tailpiece broke on my Eastman, I used the old one, broken saddle and all, just to have something to play. As soon as I have time, I am going to see if I can do a repair like HoGo described. I think besides the playing difficulty, the ultra high action puts a lot of unneccesary stress on the saddle. I really don't want to order a new bridge and saddle because I have already done that once and will soon have more money tied up in bridges and saddles than I paid for the mandolin! Good luck!!
  11. Swimbob
    Swimbob
    Well, it seems I've done it. It's very playable but not perfect.

    I had to cut into the nut pretty deeply and I put thinner spacers on the bridge. The G string has a couple of dead frets around the 14th fret and every thing buzzes just enough to be distracting on the others up there but I think I can eliminate most of that by raising the bridge a tad.

    Over all I'm pleased with the result. It's value has certainly gone up but I didn't buy it to sell it.
  12. NDO
    NDO
    Way to go! It’s a little scary when you start sawing on the nut but Rob’s book is a gold mine.
  13. Louise NM
    Louise NM
    Maddening little instruments, aren't they? Change one thing and then you have to tinker with three others to accommodate the first change.

    Your luthier sounds like mine, Swimbob: it takes a ridiculous amount of time and money to get work done, but the guy has the magic touch and his work is impeccable. On the other hand, he will do small jobs for me while I hang out and rant about politics and the like with him. Like Sue suggested, your guy may be able to refine your nut and bridge without a six-month wait.
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