I'm new and need help!

[Deborah]

Hello, everyone. My name is Deborah and I just joined this forum. I know little about computer message boards and (sadly) less about mandolins. However, I just came into possession of a 100+ year old MayFlower mandolin. It appears to be in excellent condition. My parents were planning to sell it, but hated to see it leave the family---it was probably purchased new by my step-dad's grandfather. Since I am the only musician in the family (I am a flutist), my step-dad entrusted it to me.

After reading some of the vintage instrument posts, I would like to get some opinions about new strings. The mandolin was recently restrung at a local music store---I'm sure they used standard strings. They are beautifully in tune, but I wonder if they may be damaging to such an old instrument. How fragile is this puppy? Should the strings be replaced with something other than standard strings? If so, what should I use?

Also, the mandolin's case disintegrated some time ago and was discarded. Not a great idea, I know. Had I known, I would have told my folks to use duct tape or anything that would hold the case together. Now I would like to find a source where I might buy a new or used case. It is a bowlback mandolin, so will not fit in a standard case. Any suggestions?

Finally, is there any source of information on the care and feeding of such an instrument? It is "surface clean", but has accumulated grime over the past century, especially in the frets. It has a tortise-shell plate (with inlaid mother of pearl) around the sounding hole that has heavy fingerprints. I do not want to damage any part of this lovely little mandolin, but I think it needs some serious TLC.

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Deborah

[JEStanek]

Deborah, Welcome to the Mandolin Café.

I'm assuming that is a bowlback mandolin and, if so back the tension off those strings right away. Modern strings are too thick and put too much tension on those fragile bowlback instruments. Use light guage strings like the GHS ultra lites for classical strings.

If you let us know where you are located we could recomend a decent shop to look the instrument over and get it inspected, tuned up, and cleaned up.

The mandolin is tuned from lowest pitched string to highest GDAE like a violin and is a real joy to play. Please ask us any other questions you may have. We love helping people learn about and start playing family instruments.

Jamie

[Deborah]

Jamie, Thanks for the info. I will loosen the strings right away. I am in Florida now, but will be driving to my home in Colorado (just south of Denver) in a few days. When I get there, I hope to devote some serious time to getting this mandolin in shape.

Deborah

[JeffD]

Eastman makes a great fiberglass case for bowlbacks, in birght bold colors. They are available any number of places on the net.

[JeffD]

Should you decide to play the mandolin you should know your flute skills are not irrelevant, especially if you can read standard notation.


It would be cool if you can post some pictures of the instrument. Folks here could tell you its entire history.

[Deborah]

JeffD, Thanks also. I would like to learn to play this mandolin. I know it would make my step-dad very happy (he's 80 and remembers his father playing it when he was a little boy). I hope that, at age 57, I'm not too old and uncoordinated to learn! I read music, so I hope that will give me a leg up. I hope to take lessons when I get home.

Deborah

[Mike Bunting]

Don't forget to humidify, the air in Colorado is probably a lot drier than in Florida.

[Elliot Luber]

it's the sudden change in himidity that can crack mandolins.

[Jim]

Hi Deborah
I have a couple older mandolins which I have strung up with Light guage strings. I tune the fragile old bowlback a step low and that works OK.
Jim

[Deborah]

Humidity---hmmm. What would you recommend I do to avoid damage from humidity change as I travel across country? I have carefully wrapped the mandolin in thick towels and placed it in a hard-shelled container. Is there anything more I should do to protect it?

Deborah

[Youda]

JeffD, Thanks also. I would like to learn to play this mandolin. I know it would make my step-dad very happy (he's 80 and remembers his father playing it when he was a little boy). I hope that, at age 57, I'm not too old and uncoordinated to learn! I read music, so I hope that will give me a leg up. I hope to take lessons when I get home.

Deborah

I always enjoy hearing from someone who has just gotten the mandolin fever. You're not too old at all. There's lots of us second-childhood-age folks playing and just learning the mandolin....or any other new instrument. Get the "too old" thing out of your mind immediately!

Before you head back to Colorado...pack it up very well for traveling. Try to give it lots of insulation for the trip. The sudden changes in temperature and humidity can cause some serious damage. Since you don't have bowlback strings on it, loosen the strings. Before you unpack it, go to a string music store, and buy an instrument humidifier -- and if you can -- a hydrometer to keep the instrument at 40-50% humidity. There's lots of posts on this forum about humidifiers and hydrometers, just do a search. A case is going to be a tougher solution...because there aren't many cases that fit the old bowlbacks available in the USA. You might get lucky and find one locally, but since they aren't in great demand, you'll end up paying more for a bowlback case than a case for a different kind of mando. If you can't get a case right away, figure out a way to protect it from the dry air when you aren't playing it. You don't have to avoid dry air exactly, but to let it adjust gradually. Care and feeding, also lots of posts here on the forum, so I won't try to repeat the wisdom already given.

Welcome! Hope to hear from you more!

[Tobin]

For the grime in the frets, I would de-string it and use a soft-bristle toothbrush with mineral oil to dislodge it. Then wipe clean with a towel and let the wood soak in the oil that remains on the surface. Usually older wood will suck up a lot of oil, which it needs to keep from shrinking/cracking/drying out. Mineral oil will usually not harm the finish, but not knowing what finish is on there, I would make no guarantees. Just be careful and don't saturate anything or let it run anywhere you don't want it to be.

[Deborah]

This is a lot of information. I'm getting an education fast!

I won't attempt to clean the mandolin until I get to Colorado. Would the mineral oil be OK to use on the body as well as the frets? The top of the mandolin has a crack (which has been repaired) near one edge of the bridge (?). I would like to upload photos, but don't know how to do this on this site. (I'm pretty lame when it comes to computer savvy.) If someone could explain how to do this, I could show you what the crack looks like.

Also, what would I use to clean the tortise-shell plate? I don't think there has been any cleaning/oiling of the mandolin's surface in at least 30 years, probably more like 50. Even so, it looks to be in pretty good shape.

[Tobin]

Would the mineral oil be OK to use on the body as well as the frets?

I would not dare to venture a guess on that without knowing what the finish on the body is.

It should be fine on the tortoise shell, though.

[JEStanek]

Deborah,
Mandolin fingerboards do not have any finish on them which is why they can absorb the oil. As far as that goes I would use very little as it will go a long way. The soundboard is finished and won't absorb oils so don't use that. For the body and scratchplate I would use a water damp soft cloth to wipe away the grime. Keep the mineral oil away from the tuners. Oils hold dirt and grime and will gunk up your tuners very fast. Paul Hostetter has excellent instructions for cleaning and maintaining old tuners. You can read those instructions here.

Here are the instructions for how to post a photo.

Jamie

[Deborah]

I managed to upload one photo. Working on getting 5 more on this message board.

[Deborah]

Here are 2 more photos. Hope I can get the rest in one more post.

[Deborah]

Here are the final pics. BTW, I saw a gentlemen playing "Nana's mandolin" on YouTube. This one looks exactly the same. He said "Nana's" was over 100 years old. Note crack on right side. It has been repaired, but will this make the instrument even more fragile?

[Capt. E]

Beautiful mandolin. Chicago made. Please learn to play it, it will be so much fun for you. I was 57 when I began my Mandolin journey. Never too late. Welcome to Mandolin Cafe. Lots and lots of learning resources to be found here.

John

[JEStanek]

Deborah,
If the cracked top is well repaired it shouldn't make it any more fragile than before. Use light gauge strings (like those I suggested above) but have the inside checked out by a competent repair person. An unrepaired cracked top shouldn't have any tension on it. You have inherited a nice looking bowlback mandolin. For most purposes you can learn to play almost everything on it (save maybe a woody bluegrass chop).

According to Mugwumps your mandolin could have been built after c1910. One of this board's best resources for old bowl info, Jim Garber, has this on his website (an old catalog for May Flower Instruments including Flower & Groehsl). Take a look, your mandolin is there!

Jamie

[Mandojulie]

Deborah,

I'm making a couple of assumptions based on how I would wrap something to travel. You say you have it in a hard container? I assume a Rubbermaid type container. Buy a sponge - or use paper towels - dampen it put it in the bottom of a high sided Tupperware type container so it doesn't run water all overand put it in the container with no top or holes in the top. Cheap, easy, humidifier until you can get to a music store or make your own. (I regularly use a sponge in a plastic soap box that I drilled holes in the top) Florida to Colorado is quite a humidity change.

Yes, you'll love the mandolin and you sure have a pretty one. Good luck!

Julie

[Deborah]

Hi Julie,

Your comment about a Tupperware container... I tried that, but couldn't find one the right size. Actually, I found that the mandolin fits almost perfectly in my cat carrier---who knew?! I like your idea about the sponge. I have a plastic soap container that I can drill holes in to hold a sponge for the trip. The mandolin is wrapped pretty good, but not "rock solid" in the carrier. Should I put the sponge on the inside or the outside of the towels?

I would add that it has been VERY dry here in Florida this year. The fire danger in Highlands County is extreme---the highest in the state. While I expect to be driving though humid parts of the country on my way home, it's not very humid here in south central Florida. At home in Colorado, we have a humidifier on the furnace and the humidity doesn't drop much below 50%. I'm really uncertain whether the net change in humidity between here and Colorado will be all that great.

I am truly delighted that you and so many others have taken the time to respond to my request for information/assistance. Y'all have been great! I definitely want to look up Jim Garber---I saw his postings on another message board and was hoping to get a link to his website. Thanks for that help. I really hope I can find out more about this lovely little instrument.

Deborah

[Youda]

That is a beauty! I'm so glad your family didn't sell it. It's a keeper mandolin. Several mentioned about using strings for the fragile instruments...but it's been my experience that most music stores never stock them...everyone wants bluegrass strings. Go to juststrings.com and you can find the GHS strings mentioned.

[EdHanrahan]

I may be off base a bit here, but if I am, I'm sure we'll hear soone enough.

First a disclaimer: Here in New Jersey, I haven't had to worry about specific humidifying. I DID worry at one time, but then gave up. I keep all instruments in their cases, and the better ones inside climate-control covers (that is, insulated & waterproof fabric, but that breaths along the seams & zipper). My wife's watering of plants seems to be enough to keep everything humidified in winter, and our summers are just humid enough. I am familiar with both Florida and Colorado, and have done a bunch of humidifing as part of instrument repair. That said...

Keep in mind that wooden instruments are like people: Over time they'll adapt to a wide range of humidity and temperature. But they DON'T like quick changes of either humidity OR temperature.

As I see it, the issue isn't so much the difference in humidity while travelling to Colorado; it's the difference that you'll encounter after you're there and expose the instrument to its new home. All of the above coments will apply. Temperature change, on the other hand, can be brutal in any car at any time of year, both on the too-hot and the too-cold side.

Note that most cases provide marginal temperature control, even the better ones that come stock with most instruments. The common black color can heat up quickly in direct sunlight. That's why folks like Calton are able to charge $700 for an (empty!) case.

So... I would make sure that the instrument is well insulated (wrapped in towels and/or blankets both inside and around the case), shielded from the sun (keep on the north side of the car), and shielded from temperature extremes (in the passenger compartment, not the trunk). Bring it indoors if you stop overnight.

I'd also save the humidification suggestions for after you get to Colorado, and simply bag it in airtight plastic, bringing that humid Florida air along with you. A too-common cause of damage is "humidification malfunction", and you don't want to be on the interstate wondering why there's water dripping from...

Not trying to be a downer here, but I just think that a 2 or 3 day auto trip shouldn't have to be a cause for experimentation.

And YES, congrats on the instrument!

[Jim Garber]

Mayflower on eBay

The seller says it was made by Larson brothers. Anybody know of that connection. I don't.