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This beautiful lute-style mandolin has been in
my family since the '30s. At least 20 years of its life it had been buried in my
grandmother's closet (or attic, or basement). When it was given to me in the '80s a large
section around the sound hole had dry rot, and the inlayed pick guard was coming off.
Also, the tuner's mounting plates were very rusty. This instrument has had a lot of use at one time, because of the cupping between the frets. I didn't replace the fretboard or re-fret it, but I did plane and sand down the top to get most of the dry rot off and treat the remaining dry rot so it wouldn't spread. Because I thinned the top, which was fairly thick to begin with, I had to deepen the inlay for the pick guard. I used a Dremel tool with a mini-router bit and router attachment to clean out most of it, but I had to carve the edges by hand (because of the intricate edges on the guard). After soaking and cleaning the gears, I put it back together and applied a tung-oil finish. It sounds beautiful. The only piece missing is the cover for the strings where they attach at the base. (If anyone knows where I can find one, please let me know.) |