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Broken bowl backs seem to find me and quickly become festival hats!

Hi David,

A very interesting piece! I've been playing with bowl backs a bit recently and can offer a few thoughts... Use abuse or ignore as you see fit.

First of all, what you have is an...

NickR: first to defend my 2016 post, I did not state that ACME was a Sears brand just quoted Mike Holmes and stated that I did not think it was so and more likely made by George Bauer for SS Stewart....

You have not shown the tailpiece. Judging by the colour on the top, there appears to be a slight change where a cover from the tailpiece might have been for many years. This may be a sperate or...

I have 4 playable bowlback mandolins, and I paid less than$200 each. YMMV, but you asked for "ballpark."

Thanks! I'd read a few things on line about dying bone. This is what I could find at my local supermarket:
...

Thought this might be interesting to a few here like me who have recently bought F2s and F4s and not been completely wowed by the sound.

When I first got my 21 it had this, with a major sag:
...

10 years ago, my mentor, Randy Torno, my hard-working wife, and I decided it would be a fine idea to turn the garage into a full-time mandolin and guitar shop.

Of course, it started with good...

Sound and video samples, as promised:

Gittern:
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Colascione:
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Yes, absolutely, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching you work on this mandolin, and I think it came out amazing for how it looked when you started! Kind of shows how almost anyone can tackle some...

Great job! This has been a very fun thread to follow and it’s nice to see an instrument brought back to life. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

FINISHED SHOTS:

195734 Full frontal shot.

195735 Close up, top.

195736 Repaired headstock.

195737 Fingerboard.

IN PROGRESS CONTINUED:

195727 Neck being re-attached.

195728 Headstock veneer being re-glued.

195729 New bridge being re-glued.

195730 Leveling, crowning and polishing frets.

Silicon repels finish. I don't know of anything that can be done about that, except to either live with whatever might happen when you try to get something to stick to it, or cut out the...

You can make a temporary mold out of rigid foam insulation from the lumber yard. You can insert cardboard shims between the mold and the body to make any adjustments. It's a lot easier then trying...

Slipping the block is OK for fiddles because of the top and back plate overhang. When done to guitars it very often results in eventual side cracks.
The head block is released from the back along...

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills, which far exceed my own. I am reading, studying photos, and perhaps driving my woodworking husband a little crazy as I learn. I'm long on enthusiasm...

Two useful products. I have not used them on an instrument. They do soften stretchy glue.

195512

Hawkeye - Thanks for keeping us updated on your repair of this Harmony 410. As an instrument that has survived nearly 80 years, it deserves to be restored so it can continue to make music and last...

If the glue on and around the braces is old hide glue, denatured alcohol might help. It can liquefy the glue or dehydrate it, making it easier to tool it out. If it's epoxy or plastic resin, it...

If it is AR glue (Titebond et al) or PVA glue (ELmers et al) white vinegar will slowly dissolve it. (I suppose any color vinegar will work, but when you read about it they always say to use 'white'...

This thread below from a few years back discusses Monterey mandolins. About the seventh comment there is a post by Mike Edgerton and there is a catalogue page from the mid to late 30s he uploaded....

Unlike their guitars, Harmony seemed not to date their mandolins; however, there were changes to design features that are useful in estimating the age of a particular instrument. I looked into this...

Well done! Those oblong plate Waverly tuners suggest it may be very late 30s or early 40s. Harmony got close to Kluson in about 1940- Kluson helped arrange the finance for Harmony's management to buy...

Best of luck on your project, and I'm so glad you plan to share your progress. I will be following with interest. My Louise is in need of some refreshment, and I'm a rank beginner at attempting such...