1930’s Stradolin I Bought

(Reposted from its original location where I “buried“ it as a response to an old thread)
I just grabbed a 1930's well worn-- at the bottom edge-- in good playing shape Stradolin. The back shows some burl of maple so it looks to be a solid wood version. I want it to practice fret leveling and re-shaping the fretboard a bit. I am going to take it easy and do what I can. Refurbishment with linseed oil and elbow grease. No major wood working and that is good since I have no experience in that area. Also, it comes with an adjustable saddle with wheels so that is less of a concern. The machines seem to be replacements. It looks to be very playable. The front looks good and the neck joint is strong. I just want the fun of playing it and fixing it up a bit. Knew I couldn't go wrong for $175. Has original finish and pickguard. Legit Painted-on Logo. Any recommendations for those of you who have experience with these?

Pictures would be nice:)

Okay, Bill, I will do so. I am not sure I can download them from reverb. I will send you there to the site where I bought it. It is very ready to play, although I wanted a project that wouldn't require any major structural work. I am excited to do some of those things -- such as smooth the fretboard and filing the frets. Any suggestions are appreciated. Here is a link where you can see the various views. https://reverb.com/item/29544770-str...-ice-tea-burst

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Originally Posted by lflngpicker

Okay, Bill, I will do so. I am not sure I can download them from reverb.

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I can! It looks like you’re having fun, Dan! :grin:

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Way to go Dan, don't know how I missed that one. Old brain I guess, probably saw it and forgot about it. Have fun.

That should be a fun project. Seems odd to me that the top looks fine, but the back and sides (especially) seem quite worse for wear. Or sitting in a case.

Thanks Pat, Pops and Bill. Karrie gave me the money for my 65th next weekend. I was looking for something to work on that was low risk and likely to play fairly easily after a bit of fret leveling and sanding a bit on the fretboard. I will rub some linseed oil in the wood to clean it up but I don’t intend to refinish it, necessarily. Thanks for the support!

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Originally Posted by pheffernan

I can! It looks like you’re having fun, Dan! :grin:

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Pat, Thanks for the photos! You’re a tech wiz, bro! Thanks pal!

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Originally Posted by Bill McCall

That should be a fun project. Seems odd to me that the top looks fine, but the back and sides (especially) seem quite worse for wear. Or sitting in a case.

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Good thought, Bill! It Does look like the friction of a case. The top seems unaffected, relatively, as do the frets. Unplayed for years while living in a case in a cold environment? Could cause the checking and removal of finish. I will have to see it when it arrives and consider how much can be done with appearance. I plan to do the set up work and check out the tuning ability/stability before considering appearance needs. Wish I could just ship it to Jerry at Rosa String Works in MO! :mandosmiley:

Attachment 186854Progress report: I have done the fret leveling and crowning. Also, I used a single edge razor blade and scraped the fretboard between the frets and removed the fingernail impressions from the first three frets. The fretboard looks and plays nicely after intonation. I am waiting on the bridge. The bridge will need quite a bit removed when I fit the feet to the top because there is too much relief, although it does play fine. (Of course, there is no truss rod). I want to lower the action somewhat. I have filed the nut slots and lubricated the tuners. I rubbed in linseed oil throughout. I will let you know more as I proceed. Thank you for checking back and offering any advice.

I have gone as far as I wanted to go and have made this a nice sounding old mandolin that has really opened up from aging. I shaped the inexpensive Golden Gate Bridge and fitted it to the top with complete contact. It took several patient hours sanding and filing by hand. Increased the depth of the nut slots and it is a great little strummer. I leave it where I can grab it and I feel great that I was able to learn while rehabbing it. Thanks Jerry Rosa at Rosa String Works for his instructional videos!

Way to go Dan, nothing like doing it yourself.

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Originally Posted by pops1

Way to go Dan, nothing like doing it yourself.

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Thanks Pops1, I really enjoyed the work and the satisfaction of making it playable. The old woody A5 sound is hard to beat! Never thought I could level and crown my own frets and fit my own bridge until I tried it. Now I feel like doing it again to another fixer upper! Thanks friend (I remember you knew my cousin, the late Don Young of National Guitars)!

Looks great to me! Nice work, I love the sound of some of those I've played. I've thought about getting one that's a bit of a basket case and putting a 5 scale neck on one as on some with the F-hole placement it would work out perfect!

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Originally Posted by lflngpicker

Thanks Pops1, I really enjoyed the work and the satisfaction of making it playable. The old woody A5 sound is hard to beat! Never thought I could level and crown my own frets and fit my own bridge until I tried it. Now I feel like doing it again to another fixer upper! Thanks friend (I remember you knew my cousin, the late Don Young of National Guitars)!

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Yes in fact Joe Price and I were talking about Don last week. Joe used to come to National Guitars and play a show, have a few drinks and some food, when he was on tour. Sad how times change.

Your new mandolin is cool, Dan. It has that, "I've been around a long time and seen alot of things" look. I also admire your work on it. I shaved down the bridge on my Kentucky, but am nervous about frets and nut slots for whatever reason. I might try the linseed oil on my own new Stradolin. Did you take the hardware off? That's another thing I'm nervous about on the new mandolin, maybe because it's old. I had no qualms with the other one.

Sue

Sue, Thank you for your kind comments! I learned a lot about what to do to level the frets and file the nut slots by watching Jerry Rosa on this video: https://youtu.be/woHwJBAhZ9w

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Originally Posted by Sue Rieter

Your new mandolin is cool, Dan. It has that, "I've been around a long time and seen alot of things" look. I also admire your work on it. I shaved down the bridge on my Kentucky, but am nervous about frets and nut slots for whatever reason. I might try the linseed oil on my own new Stradolin. Did you take the hardware off? That's another thing I'm nervous about on the new mandolin, maybe because it's old. I had no qualms with the other one.

Sue

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Thought I better tag your quote so you’d see the above video in my reply. :)

Thanks, Dan. I saw that video. He ended up taking more things apart than he planned on (he always seems to do that in his videos). The screws on my pick guard are kind of rusty, so there is that. There's a lot of junk underneath there, though, so it would be great to clean. But here I am talking about my mandolin in the thread about yours :))

Sue

Please do! That is how I learn. These threads are just conversation starters and they blossom from there. I get educated on the M.C. So many fine people and musicians!