Search:

Those tuners suggest it is from the 19th century- possibly, even the 1880s. To my eye they look to be German although imports of metal parts for musical instruments from Germany was common and even...

He may have been a big Jethro Burns fan, whoever got inspired to do this makeover. Alternatively, somebody with red paint and time on his hands. I note that the original was a rather nice honey...

I have revived this thread because this rather distressed mandolin has come up on eBay. The seller is not taking questions, so I can't ask any. However, the mandolin has a Supertone label inside- one...

I've got a nice signed photo from Chris because I helped his wife Connie tracking down an advertiser that used the song Lazy Days on a TV commercial and they were unaware of this. They also sent me a...

It was Chris Hillman's mandolin playing on Last of the Red Hot Burritos- an album that my older brother had bought in 1972 that got me interested in the instrument. Of course Byron Berline was on...

There have been a few threads on these. Unfortunately, somebody posted up on Wiki that these were made by Regal and it has stuck as the default reality. They were made by United of New Jersey in the...

You really need to post some photos. Here is a Supertone ad from the 20s. There is a style 312 & 1/4 which is called the Viol which is not your mandolin, I am sure. Old parts for mandolins- tuners...

I am sure you will get plenty of help and advice here as it is a very generous site in terms of assistance. I was a huge fan of the Daredevils and saw them at the 1975 Reading Festival. I bought one...

Most likely made in one of the Far Eastern nations- Japan, Korea or China depending on its age in that order. It is probably newer rather than older- and by older I mean 1970s.

There may be a prize for knowing what this is. No prize for buying it at the price being asked.
...

I have a Regal from the early 30s with those tuners, so it may well be from 1934 and has had an eventful life since then, it seems!

Those round ends just push into the gears and you can see in the photo of the tuners before I cleaned them that the bottom gear below the replacement gear is coming away- and it dropped off when I...

Yes, 14 teeth all right. I took a look at bowlbacks after Mike's comment and found two Regal examples which were reckoned to be 1890s and 1900s. Both had these tuners but with the gears screwed in....

Here is the "before2 photo. You can see the gear and the fact that the post has been modified to fit it into it. It seems to turn okay You can see that the gear below was beginning to fall off- which...

Well spotted- when it was the right way up, the post was not vertical, so I took it off and afterwards, it did not want to stay on except upside down! There is a gash mark on the plate by it which...

It is a Kay from just after WW2. The model is most likely the K-73 which has maple back and sides and a spruce top and sold for about $33 in the very late 40s. Here is one on Reverb which still has...

These were on eBay advertised as "Kay Harmony Stella Guitar Tuners 1950s" which they are not! I believe they are early 20th century and the tuner posts are a push fit into the gears. Jake Wildwood...

Whatever it is, it is probably a George Houghton & Son banjo uke- a Melody Junior. The lion dates it to the 1930s- from about 1934 on. Here is one which is probably not the same model:
...

I have bought three of those wider covers on eBay- one quite recently- they are out there as Kay used them into the 1960s. The engraved example already highlighted above would be a very nice addition...

There should be a brace immediately above the sound hole which you should be able to feel and another below the sound hole- perhaps, not as close to it as the top brace. There are different bracing...

I have seen a number of old mandolins on eBay in Germany that were cheap and had buttons that might do. Likewise in Italy. However in France, there is this listing and although the buttons are not...

Leaving the seven buttons as they are, is the best option. Every now and again German made mandolin tuners appear on eBay- they do not have to be the enclosed version like yours. Sometimes, they are...

This company has had camel bone buttons made but they are currently out of stock. There is a nylon inner part, so it might be possible to press the button on- or make a square hole as described...

I have spoken to my luthier and he says you can buy mammoth tusk and bone buttons if you search hard- or you could use a plastic button and shape and age it- you would probably have to shape a bone...

Yes, starting at a very low gauge is good for two reasons- less tension on the instrument when you string it up and if all goes well, less of an ordeal for you as a learner in terms of damage to your...