Sears Catalog Supertone Mandolin from Grandpa

[IT_Xaumby]

Hello and thanks for letting me join this awesome community! I picked up my first mandolin this weekend (Ibanez m510a) after playing guitar for about 15 years and I'm in love with the instrument.

What sparked my interest was my Grandpa telling me about a mandolin he grew up with that was his Uncle's before him. After buying my mandolin I went over and played for him a little before he pulled out the mandolin he's had all these years. He stopped playing when he was a teenager and the thing is completely covered in dust and looks even worse on the inside. He offered the mandolin to me and I gladly accepted, knowing that it's going to take time and love to breathe some life back into it. The only things I know about the instrument for a fact is that it has a Supertone label, appears to be a set bridge (haven't removed strings yet), and is much thicker than my ibanez. Now for the speculation: I believe it was purchased somewhere in mid Missouri in the late 1920's or possibly early 30's based off of my Grandpa's age when he received it, the front and back both have an odd curve to the wood like it comes up to be a carved top then dips back down in the middle. I'm not sure if the wood is just warped but it does appear to be symmetrical.

Here are two pictures of the mandolin to start. I can get some good pictures of the inside and other angles after work today if needed. I just want to get some more information on this instrument as I know it doesn't have much monetary value but I would really like to get it back into playing condition so my Grandpa can hear a few tunes get plucked on it again.





Thanks,
IT_Xaumby

[MikeEdgerton]

Very standard entry level mandolin built in Chicago by either Harmony or Regal (probably Regal) and sold by Sears (thus the Supertone label). Sears didn't make instruments, they jobbed them out. Both Regal and Harmony made that mandolin from the teens (perhaps even earlier) thru the 50's for Regal and the 60's for Harmony. This Regal is basically the same model. You'll see slight differences in headstock shape and ornamentation. This one belonged to my Uncle and was given to him used in the late 20's.

Yours is missing the tailpiece cover.

[IT_Xaumby]

Thanks for the info! Is there anywhere that I could order a new tailpiece cover for one of these? And is the wavy shape to the top something that was done intentionally on these or just warped wood?

[MikeEdgerton]

Just warped wood unfortunately. Chances are that tailpiece looked like the one in the picture or it might have been a Waverly Cloud tailpiece. They looked like the one below. You can camp out on eBay looking at mandolin tailpieces and you might get lucky. They aren't cheap and most folks seemed to lose the cover at some point.

[IT_Xaumby]

Sounds like getting this mandolin back in decent condition is going to be a bit more of an undertaking than I anticipated. I guess to start I'll need to remove the strings and inch of dust from the inside. Any suggestions on removing dust from the inside of a mandolin?

[MikeZito]

Since it is an oval hole mandolin, once you remove the strings, getting the dust out should be as simple as using a vacuum cleaner attachment, made to get into tight spaces -preferably one with a brush on the end of it. The hard-to-reach areas can probably yield some pretty good success with a simple can of compressed air, which you can buy just about anywhere where they sell computer supplies.

Good luck - and nice acquisition!

[Jess L.]

... inch of dust from the inside. Any suggestions on removing dust from the inside of a mandolin?

This is probably the wrong way, but this is what I would do.

Get some brown rice (uncooked!), pour some of the rice in the mandolin, lightly cover the soundhole and then gently shake the mandolin around for a while, then pour the rice out. Repeat as necessary.

The idea is that the rice acts as a sort of slow-speed gentle 'sandblasting' to dislodge dust that's already inside the mandolin.

(Personally I'd use brown rice rather than white, because brown rice seems less dusty - at least the stuff we have available around here - and won't leave behind as much dusty rice residue.)

YMMV. As I said, I often do things the 'wrong' way but that's how I would approach the problem.

[pops1]

Remember if and when you string it up with new strings they need to be light strings. No heavier than 10-36 or lighter.

[William Smith]

Kool mandolin that I hope stays in your family! Happy pickin!

[MikeEdgerton]

...Get some brown rice (uncooked!)...

Yes, Uncooked! I'd probably do that too.

[IT_Xaumby]

Wow! Thank you all for the suggestions. I just restrung my new mandolin (the Ibanez) tonight since the strings it came with were as bad as the strings on the Supertone! I gotta say Mandolin players got it tough when it comes to restringing and I've been so spoiled as a guitar player.

As for getting the dust out I think I'll try the vacuum first lol. With my luck the rice would get stuck in the dust.

[V70416]

I like to blow out dust etc. with compressed air,rather than vacuum.

[Eric Platt]

Agree with the others, light strings or extra lights would be the way to go. And when the strings are off, you might want to very carefully check the tuners to make sure everything works fine. Not sure if it's just patina on the brass or rust, but they might need a touch (a very small amount) of lube to get them working smoothly again.

And as to getting the dust out, I like compressed air and a sable haired paint brush to move stuff around. Sometimes the dust gets stuck into the nooks and crannies and the brush can get it out.

[Tobin]

Is it just an optical illusion in the photo, or are you missing part of your bridge from the E strings outward?

Once you clean the inside, you'll want to look around in there and see if there is any bracing that has come loose, which may have contributed to top sinkage.