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***Sorry! I hadn't searched the forum when I posted this. I found a LOT of other threads with strap info. Thanks!
The mandolin strap I ordered is maddening. The holes/cutouts in the leather are far too small to fit over the end pin on my Kentucky A style (that is one BIG endpin) and I was wondering if anyone could recommend one for it that would be more accomodating. :mandosmiley:
Just buy a hole puncher in the right size. https://shop3992.hstatic.dk/upload_d...ackdrop.wm.png
Is it a hole puncher, for leather? That is a good idea. I could widen it. Or, I could use shoelace to tie it on.
I have connected a strap to a ukulele, in a pinch, using a rubber strap lock and shoelace.Quote:
Originally Posted by Melonie
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...eyCJY&usqp=CAc
If it is too small you can cut a slit, if it doesn't have one already, from the center of the hole toward the mandolin side of the strap. It works best to punch a small hole where the slit will end to keep it from moving more. I like the strap to fit tight so it is hard to get on and more importantly off the mandolin.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by pops1
I've done this before with great success.
The holes in the leather straps I buy has slits, I lengthen the slit with a sharpened pocket knife. If I am careful I can get exactly the right size to where it grips the pin but isn't too hard to get on and off.
I have several pieces for our mandolin straps that have large strap-buttonholes, precisely because I designed them for my Kentucky KM-675 years ago. We have since changed to a more common 1/4" diameter, but I still have the dies.
Bill
El Dorado Guitar Accessories
I just picked up an el Dorado trap for my A-style mandolin. Absolute perfection. Fit, sizing, comfort. Gonna have to order another one for the other mandolin in my herd.
Tom
I will also add to the El Dorado love. I have one on my F-style and it’s sublime. You can make it fit exactly how you want and I love how the strap is a bit wider over the shoulder. It’s pricey, but completely worth it to me.
I am using a selfmade strap from leather shoestrings (kind of the Bill Monroe thing). That is the strap on my expensive mandolin. It looks extremely cool (I think) and it has worked all these years without fail. It cost me a few nickles and dimes. Great cost effect ratio.
I am using a curtain chord for my trusty old Strad-O-Lin (kind of my own thing). It works like a charm. The curtain chord is probably older than I am and it works without fail for all of these years. It cost me to ask my father if he had something that could work like a strap for my mandolin. I gave him a hug for it.
On a guitar or banjo I would go a different route (kind of the vintage style belt straps; they adjust nicely and attach well to the instrument).
I made all my straps out of whatever soft scrap leather I had and never punched a hole. I used razor and scored T shaped cuts with the long foot in direction of strap towards player shoulders. The upper part of T was just small enough so the "throat" of the endpin would fit and the long cut just barely enough so you could insert the pin. Sometiems I relieved the upper cut to tiny rhombus on harder leathers.
I like a hole on both ends. Larger for the button, small for the slit. The hole keeps the leather from tearing further over time.
That's what I ended up doing. Worked out perfectly.Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by kurth83
Ditto Poul’s comment. Harbor freight sells an entire gasket punch set for cheap, one of the punches will be the size you need.
I use 30 06 shell casings to ream over small holes. Works fine. The sharper the better.