Gibson F-2, F-4, F-5

[peterleyenaar]

I came across this article some time ago and found it intersting reading.
http://bellsouthpwp.com/r/d/rdevelli/Gibson%20F-4.htm
I (am so lucky as to) own a 1917 F-2 and a 1921 F-4, and this article gave me some insight to the development of the mandolins of that time frame, it also provides some information on the influence of Lloyd Loar and Lew Williams on the design and quality of Gibson mandolins.
You might find this interesting reading and perhaps others with knowledge of Gibson from that time period can add to this.

[Bob DeVellis]

Peterlevenaar:

Glad you enjoyed it.

[peterleyenaar]

Hello Bob , I didn't realize that the article was written by you, well done and nicely illustrated.
Thanks
Peter

[ericwall]

You know, some enterprising entreprenuer could create modern versions of the Handel tuning knobs. I would bet that they would sell- and at a pretty penny. And on Waverly tuners - what a thought!!!
Impossible?

Eric

[Bob DeVellis]

Eric -
The topic came up a while ago. The general sense was that they're too expensive to copy. I believe Luthier Vandross said he did them, reluctantly, at $150 per button. To do them cheaply, someone would have to tool up to cut the shell in batch, cut and bend the wire in batch, and mold the ivoroid together with the shell and wire in the correct locations. This may be a job most feasible for off-shore manufacture, where labor costs wouldn't pose as much of a problem. Of course, the originals were made off-shore, too -- in Germany.

[Michael Gowell]

The link did not work for me. #Is there another way to get to that article?

[Yellowmandolin]

Yea me too. Apparently it has a max bandwith of 30 megs a day. Could somebody post the highlights? Maybe a picture of those tuners?

[Bob DeVellis]

Sorry that Bellsouth is blocking access due to heavy traffic. Here's an image of the tuners.

[Yellowmandolin]

Wow! I had never seen something like that before. What are the buttons and inlay made of?

[Bob DeVellis]

Apparently, more than one material may have been used but the prevailing view among a bunch of folks here (myself included) is that the buttons are generally ivoroid (i.e., plastic). The best guess is that the bits and pieces were laid out and then the plastic, in a semi-liquid form, was added. I'm not sure if the original thread is still around, but it's a very interesting read, with some very knowledgable folks contributing. You might try a search on "Handel," the German company that supplied these tuners.

[Rob Powell]

Hey Bob...any chance you could post the text of that article somewhere here on the cafe board? If not could you email it to me?

beergeek@comcast.net

Thanks!

[Jim Garber]

Here is the recent thread.

Jim

[Michael Gowell]

I too would like to see the text of this article.
mgowell@hotmail.com #Thanks.

[sunburst]

I've downloaded the article and found that I can post the text (including captions so you can tell what pics you're missing).
It would be a big, long post, Scott would it be too big to post?

[wallflower]

Please post it!! Or provide a link.

Thanks!

[sunburst]

Wallflower, where could I put it to link to?