Originally Posted by
rcc56
I like to keep instruments "looking right" as much as possible.
And I've done some fix-up-and-resell over the years.
But, you have to think it through and be practical.
1. If you pull the board, you will probably have to do some finish touch-up. Depending on your skills and how the wind is blowing, the touch up will be at least slightly visible, and some picky buyers may not like that.
2. If the board was glued with an unfriendly glue such as epoxy, you'll have opened a real can of worms. And yes, there is a trend among some modern builders to glue fingerboards with epoxy, although I don't know whether its use has gotten into the mandolin world yet.
3. An alternative solution might be to just pull the binding, make any adjustments that are necessary to the binding channel, and re-bind it, either with or without a black stripe, but, see #1.
Me, I don't pull a board unless there is a compelling reason to do so, such as mis-located fret slots or a severely warped neck that cannot be straightened by other means. If you do pull the board or the binding, make sure you can do a really good job, and remember that an eagle-eyed potential buyer will probably be able to tell that the work has been done.
As far as extremely obsessive buyers are concerned, you can't lose too much sleep over them. If one thing is right, they'll find something else that is "wrong." And this is a <$5000 instrument, not a Loar, or a pre-war Martin, or a pre-war flathead Mastertone. There will be a good sized pool of buyers in the under $5000 price range.
My view as a player, repair person, and occasional seller is that while cosmetics and originality are important, playability, sound, and structural integrity are of greater importance.
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