(Dobie) Lazarus rises again. Can mandolins heal?

[Nik-chick]

I quit coming here because I was busy. Then I didn't come back because of limited net access for a while. Finally I stayed gone because I wasn't playing mando anymore (mine, as many of you know was damaged pretty badly).

He...um...recovered. Is that possible? The warped neck is not as badly warped as it was before. I'm not sure if it was the lessened tension being out of tune in storage, or the light tension where it was still strung up...but it does seem a little better. I'll have before and after pictures as soon as my computer and my camera are in the same place at the same time.

[John Flynn]

Nik! Good to hear from you again!

I guess anything's possible. They say that a banjo left in its case long enough always reverts to D tuning. If that's true, I guess a mando can heal itself.

[John Rosett]

does that mean that if i leave my mandolin in it's case long enough, it'll stay in tune.
now that's alot cheaper than buying those waverly tuners!
john

[Russ(String-Alley)]

welcome back Gal! hope all is well or better than well.
It's been a cold winter here, if it's been as bad by you, it may have helped somehow.
I guess the wood shrinking up or tightening up could help a bit. you may have had to raise the bridge up a bit too after a while, Just keep pickin on it.
cheers

[AspiringLuthier]

I'd say humidity has more to do with it than anything. Instruments are generally built in an environment kept at about 50% humidity at 72 degrees F. Forced air heating can easily suck the humidity down to 10 or 20 percent, and cause some pretty radical changes to the thin wood in an instrument, especially when it's firmly glued to another piece of thin dissimilar wood.

[Nik-chick]

Mandolin necks aren't any thinner than furnature are they?

I think I'm fixin' to jess figger it was miracle and leave it at that.

Hey again ya'll!

[John Rosett]

sister, dontcha know
mandolins, like ailing sinners
respond well to the laying on of hands.....

[AspiringLuthier]

How many times have you checked your furniture to see if it had expanded or contracted by 1/32"? Your furniture expands and contracts with humidity too, it just isn't as noticable as on a neck. The adjustable bridge on a mandolin is there for a reason. Most people just raise the action until it plays okay year round, but it's not uncommon for a player to be able to have the action lower at certain times of the year than others due to temperature and humidity changes. The Taylor Guitar web site has several good articles on how humidity effects instruments. Have a look at http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/reference/techsheets.html