L&H bowlback - sunken top

[mando bandage]

I came across a Lyon & Healy bowlback with all rosewood ribs, nice inlay on the pickgaurd, all the parts present.

However, top was sunken in badly at the bridge and there was a top crack that was offset as a result of the top movement. #

Two questions: #can a bent-top that has sunk flat be repaired? #And, if so, what is the range of value for something like this?

Or, should I, as my wife told me today, "just walk away"?

Thx,
R

Your wife sounds like a very smart woman. In 'great' shape you might get $100.00 for it on ebay on a good day. You can fix anything if you're willing to pay for it.

[Eugene]

L&H made a lot of bowlbacks. #The nicest were the excessively ornate ones built for the Washburn label (I'm attaching an image of my ca. 1904-1909 style 225, a decent middle-class Washburn). #The mandolins with the simple, little, rectangular "Lyon & Healy" label were entry-level instruments of relatively cheap build: ivoroid inlay instead of pearl, ebonized headstock veneer instead of ebony, cheaper hardware, etc. #

The crease in the soundboard of bowlbacks and the older flat-backed mandolins is called the cant. #A collapsed cant ordinarily means big trouble. #In general, as Diego suggests, it's not really worth the expense of repairing a collapsed cant on such things, not even on any but the rarest of high-end Washburns.

If you want a decent Lyon & Healy bowlback, hold off for an already functional (or very nearly functional) entry-level Washburn. #They can often be found around $200.

[Eugene]

PS: Also check out this thread (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=12;t=35942) about a very nice, first-generation Washburn.

[mando bandage]

Thanks for the advice folks. Please don't tell my wife she was right, she already knows it.

R