Gibson mandolin top crack

[MandoMan1]

Not my Gibson mandolin, but just curious how one would repair the crack in the top? Place glue in the crack in the front of the mandolin? Place a cleat inside the mandolin where the crack is? Thank you for the insight and information.

[MandoMan1]

[Greg Mirken]

Not enough information; not a close enough photo. Crack looks open- has it been there for a long time? Trauma involved?
Looks like the crack was stopped by the transverse brace, which is good.
Basically the edges get lined up, glue squished in the crack and a cleat added inside. More details will enable a more thorough answer.

Greg Mirken

[MandoMan1]

Not enough information; not a close enough photo. Crack looks open- has it been there for a long time? Trauma involved?
Looks like the crack was stopped by the transverse brace, which is good.
Basically the edges get lined up, glue squished in the crack and a cleat added inside. More details will enable a more thorough answer.

Greg Mirken

It is difficult to tell from the photo. The mandolin is at Guitar Center.

[jim simpson]

I would hope it's being offered at a low enough price to make it worthwhile.

[MandoMan1]

I would hope it's being offered at a low enough price to make it worthwhile.

$869

[rcc56]

Poor picture. The crack may be open, and/or misaligned. It looks like there might have been a not-so-good previous attempt at repair.
A combination of the 3 would be a worst case scenario, requiring cleaning out the crack, installing a splint, and an attempt at touch-up. If so, the repair would be quite visible even if the repair person is really good. At the minimum, at least a couple of hundred dollars worth of work.

What it does not look like is a clean, tight fitting, well aligned, glue-and-go crack.

Buy at your own risk. The instrument may also need other work to make it structurally sound and playable: i.e. if it needs a loose brace repaired and $100 worth of setup, a buyer would be upside down on the cost of the instrument versus its market value if correctly repaired.

Also, be aware that the end piece that fits on the pickguard arm and the clamp are missing. While the copy states that a case is included, it does not indicate whether it is a hard case, soft case, or gig bag.

I'll spare the details, but not one Gibson mandolin they are showing on their vintage page appears to me to be worth the asking price, not even the better looking A-4. I will suggest that you do your shopping elsewhere.

[rcc56]

.. duplicate post, please remove.

[MandoMan1]

Poor picture. The crack may be open, and/or misaligned. It looks like there might have been a not-so-good previous attempt at repair.
A combination of the 3 would be a worst case scenario, requiring cleaning out the crack, installing a splint, and an attempt at touch-up. If so, the repair would be quite visible even if the repair person is really good. At the minimum, at least a couple of hundred dollars worth of work.

What it does not look like is a clean, tight fitting, well aligned, glue-and-go crack.

Buy at your own risk. The instrument may also need other work to make it structurally sound and playable: i.e. if it needs a loose brace repaired and $100 worth of setup, a buyer would be upside down on the cost of the instrument versus its market value if correctly repaired.

Also, be aware that the end piece that fits on the pickguard arm and the clamp are missing. While the copy states that a case is included, it does not indicate whether it is a hard case, soft case, or gig bag.

I'll spare the details, but not one Gibson mandolin they are showing on their vintage page appears to me to be worth the asking price, not even the better looking A-4. I will suggest that you do your shopping elsewhere.

Thank you for your help and information! I was thinking the same thing about every vintage mandolin GC has is overpriced.