keeping finger rest put

[jasona]

I have an abbreviated finger rest on my mandolin, and it is only held in place by two short pins. During the winter, when its dryer, it falls out annoyingly frequently. How would you suggest I make this a more permanent relationship?

[Phil Goodson]

I noticed that the 2 pins in mine slightly diverge as they stick out of the finger rest. So one pin has to be very slightly flexed as it is inserted into the fingerboard edge. The springiness seems to keep it tight. Whether one of your pins could be slightly (and carefully) bent without damage could be considered.

[Loudloar]

One approach I've employed successfully is to carefully place some thin superglue into the holes, trying to get it around the edges to reduce the hole size. It doesn't take much to solve the problem. If necessary you can use a slightly a smaller drill bit to reopen the hole. Just hold the bit in your fingers, no need for a electric drill. It's a good idea to mask off the mandolin before bringing superglue anywhere near it.

Steve

[Ivan Kelsall]

You could superglue the pins as Steve above says,but if you ever need to remove the rest,it'll be difficult (IMHO).I'd use nail polish myself.Make sure that no polish can drip onto the top of the mandolin by masking it off or putting a cloth on the top.Coat the 2 pins with nail polish & slide them into the pin holes.It should dry off in a couple of minutes.The reason i'd use nail polish,is that while it's sticky enough to form a decent bond,it's not that strong that with a bit of wiggling about,you can't break the bond & remove the pins. I use nail polish on the Ebony end-pin on my Lebeda mandolin which popped a couple of times in the past.A quick turn with my fingers,is enough to break the bond so that i can take it out if i need to,
Ivan

[Doug Edwards]

spread the pins as mentioned and put a small drop of woodglue on the ends. safe and effective.

[jasona]

I will give a look at spreading the pins, but they are already somewhat divergent, and a bit too short as mounted to probably make a large difference.

[Cheryl Watson]

I like the one screw, one pin option. You could replace first pin with a screw and use the wood glue to make the 2nd pin hold better. I'm not a luthier, however, so maybe someone can either say it is not a good option or give more info about it if they think it is a good idea.

[Loudloar]

Oh my! Let me clarify. I was not suggesting that anyone glue the pins in with superglue. No, no, no. What I was trying to describe was using a little superglue around the edges of an EMPTY hole to reduce its size very slightly. After the superglue is completely dry the pins should fit tightly. If you accidentally fill up the hole with glue or get it too small then you can use a hand held drill bit to re-size the hole.

Nail polish could be used but the problem is that it shrinks a lot as it dries and takes several days to dry completely.

Steve

[Ivan Kelsall]

Steve - I stand corrected !. However,re.nail polish,the acetone solvent evaporates & it dries very quickly. Many of the finger rests (scratch plates) that i see,have the 2 pins inserted directly into the edge of the rest itself,so tiny screws can't be used. The rest on my Lebeda has a shallow brass bracket glued to the underside with holes for 2 or 3 screws in it.I use 2 screws to fix it to the mandolin & it's as solid as a rock. It shold be possible to make a similar bracket & use small screws in the pin holes. It wouldn't take much time to do it & the result would be far better (IMHO),
Ivan
97571

[jasona]

Turns out it was easy to bend, so I took the one in the opposite direction. Problem appears to be solved now. Thanks!