Damaged top

[James Sanford]

Folks,
I am looking for advice as to the best way to try and repair my no. 3. I recently had hip surgery and was putting the mandolin in its case when the ball came out of the socket on my right leg and I fell on top of the mandolin. As you can see it did not stand the pressure.

The treble side crack is the worst and a preliminary check by hand indicates that the tone bar is broken. The other crack/depression near the tail piece did not seem to break the bass tone bar but the split occurred along the inside of the bar.

I am really sad that this happened because even though its rough it played well and sounded great. Can this be fixed without removing and/or replacing the top? Any help appreciated.

[James Sanford]

another view

[James Sanford]

and another

[James Sanford]

and finally

[Bill Snyder]

Sorry about the mandolin Jim, but how are you?

[Stephanie Reiser]

I don't know, Jim, if you could squeeze glue into those cracks well enough to do the job or not. Then you'd have to insert some sort of apparatus into the F-holes, like pliers, to realign the wood again.
If it were me, I would remove the top to repair it. This would provide you with the opportunity to glue on some cleats along that big crack. I recently performed a retop (an entirely new top) and it was not that big of a deal.
I don't know any other way. Let's see what the pros have to say.
Good luck, and I hope you will be okay with that hip.

[James Sanford]

Sorry about the mandolin Jim, but how are you?

Thanks for asking, I am doing ok but had to take an ambulance ride to the hospital and get it reset. The doc says that I need to have surgery again to repair the socket which slipped. Scheduled for surgery Monday.

[JEStanek]

I don't know how to fix your mandolin but I sure hope you get on the mend fast, Jim.

Good Luck.

Jamie

[JeffD]

Jim,

I am glad to hear you are getting that hip taken care of. Put in perspective, the mandolin is small potatoes. I am sure it can be repaired to your satisfaction.

Is it your camera, or is the mandolin really that bright a red? Maybe its my computer screen. I could light a cigar off that thing!

Get well, all your mandolin buddies on this site are pulling for you.

[sunburst]

Good luck with the surgery, first of all!

Have you learned more about tops since you made that one?
If the top got damaged on my 3rd mandolin, I'd take the opportunity to re-top it with a better top. I think the mandolin will probably have to be opened to get a good repair anyway, so re-toping might be just as easy if not easier than fixing that one. Without the broken tone bar I'd be much more optimistic about the potential to repair it without taking it apart.

[Steve Davis]

I hope your hip is better soon. Hopefully the repair is covered under the original warranty. (The hip that is.) I'm sure the mandolin can be repaired.

[Bill Snyder]

Jeff this is one that Jim built himself and all of the previous photos show it to be very red.
I can't say much about that though. The first mandolin that I built has an almost opaque red top. I have refinished another with an Aggie maroon top.

[Stephen Perry]

Good luck with the surgery. Surgery isn't fun.

I'd take the opportunity to retop it. Spruce is easy, it's that maple that wears me out.

[Chris Biorkman]

That sounds unbelievably painful. Best of luck to you for your surgery. Worry about the mandolin later.

[James Sanford]

Yep, she's Stew-Mac lacquer cherry red. Always wanted one and by golly I got it now. The photos are actually right on color wise.

Thanks for all your well wishes and comments. I felt that the top would have to come off but was hoping not. So as soon as I am able will start on that project.

[mercenarymandolinist]

Since it appears that there is no binding on the back, would it not be easier to remove the back plate? In my experience, removing a top is quite a bit trickier than a back. Then the back could be bound if there are any fitment or cosmetic problems.

[sunburst]

Why would one remove the back to replace the top?

If you were going to repair the top rather than replace it, it would be easier to remove the back.

[BlueMountain]

If you have a set of these F-hole clamps, http://www.stewmac.com/shop....et.html some glue, and some little cleats made of spruce or something like it, there's a chance that you can fix the vertical cracks (along the grain) with a bit of time. (I glue the cleat to the bottom of the clamp with a tiny bit of thin CA, then put a drop of Weldwood on the top of the cleat, then slide it into the hole.) But it looks like you may have a substantial horizontal crack below the bridge, and that's a lot harder to deal with. So this may be a great opportunity to carve another top. Sorry. Get well soon.

[James Sanford]

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update to this post and my situation.

I am finally back home and recovering from the surgery. I won't bore with the details. Lets just say I haven't been doing any mando work for the last two months.

I have now taken the top off the mando in question and am in the process of putting a new top on. Hope it works out as good as it was pre-bust.

[Stephanie Reiser]

Take your time recovering from the surgery. I recently had extensive surgery, and it took 3 weeks before I felt like working on any instruments, and that was just sitting on a pillow carving a top and back.
Take your time and you will be fine.
Thanks for the update; I was wondering how you were doing.

[Big Joe]

Jim...
It is fixable with the right materials and clamps. I am sorry to hear about your fall and hospital stay. I spent all last week in the hospital with a bacterial infection. I guess CCU is a good place to be when you need it, but I NEVER want to need one again!

If I can help you just e-mail and I will do my best.

[James Sanford]

Jim...
It is fixable with the right materials and clamps. #I am sorry to hear about your fall and hospital stay. #I spent all last week in the hospital with a bacterial infection. #I guess CCU is a good place to be when you need it, but I NEVER want to need one again!

If I can help you just e-mail and I will do my best.

Big Joe

Thanks for your input and concern. I have already taken the old top off as I did not have tools, etc. to try to do the repair in place.

I can certainly appreciate your comments re hospital as I contacted a staph infection during surgery and have just finished up a 6 week long dose of antibiotics at home.

Thanks again for your comments. Hope your new business does well.