New mando repair article

[Frank Ford]

I haven't added much in the way of mandolin repair stuff on FRETS.COM lately, but last week I had fun with this one, #an old Gibson with a sadly collapsing top:

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/Structural/MandoTopSag/MandoTopSagViews/mandotopsag04.jpg

THE FULL STORY (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/Structural/MandoTopSag/mandotopsag.html)

[Steve Davis]

You are amazing. Great work as always. Thanks for sharing.

[troy]

Very nice Frank!

Your site is a real boon to us hobbyists. I recently used one of your other articles (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/Structural/MandoBrace/mandobrace.html) to save a 1970's Brazos F-style mandolin.

The top was sinking since the treble-side brace was half detatched. I used a micro torch to mutilate a seam separator, and some f-hole clamps to hold the glue job. After it was ready (waiting was torture!) I slowly worked it up to tune. It sounded great. I started pounding on it to be sure it would hold. After three minutes of hard chopping, I heard POW! You can imagine how my heart sank. It took me a moment to realize that one of the E strings had given up the ghost. The brace is fine.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

It's now my main ax. My other playing mandolin (an IV kit which I had been playing in the white) is now in pieces so I can finish it!

[BlueMountain]

This is an elegant solution, Frank. But why was it better to put in a transverse brace than a vertical brace that would stiffen only the part where the grains were too thin? Was it because with the transverse brace, the stronger parts helps support the weaker section?

[Frank Ford]

Well, I surely don't know what's best for all situations, but I chose the transverse brace because there was a slight amount of sinking on the treble side as well. I figured the brace could help carry the load out to the edges if it went all the way across.