I bought an A2 in 1996 and when I bought it- as this is pre-internet and my knowledge was limited, I bought the mandolin because it had great tone and volume- I knew nothing about snakeheads and Lloyd Loar and all the other stuff that is de rigueur now.
At that time, I was unaware that the tailpiece cover was a repro, that the tuners were not original, that it was missing its pickguard etc although I knew the case was modern. I have now acquired a case, arrowhead tuners, an original tailpiece cover and now a pickguard. The sellers of the guard- a very well-known firm had it listed as "Loar Era" but in truth, with that small bracket, it is post this famed era- I think the F style mandolins got this bracket in 1925 while probably because there was a huge stock, the A series had the clamp until at least 1928 and mandolins from that time were often not shipped until 1930 or later.
My question is, should I drill a hole and screw it on or find a clamp? I know it is my mandolin and it would have had a clamp originally- there is no existing screw hole. I can remember Danny Gatton maintaining that if he modded an old vintage instrument, it was okay- because he had done it, so it was fine! I don't think there is an alternative method of fixing that avoids drilling a hole, so I am canvassing opinions.
These photos are not great but the guard is in good condition:
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