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I don't have it yet. Thanks for info.

Here's the image 178899

I'm pretty sure its a Japan made mandolin, but I wonder what period.

I know kentucky serial numbers are not reliable, but does anyone have an educated guess when KM-1500 #302 14 may have been made.

Thanks Adrian.

Thanks John.

Have any builders used the Golden Age tuners from Stew Mac in the last twelve months? I have read as many golden age threads as I can find, but they all seem to be from a couple of years ago. Stew...

Jesse,

The experts have spoken above, but there is one tip not mentioned that I find important. Those little chips weigh almost nothing.
They will blow away from your own breathing if you aren't...

Thanks Pops.

Thanks Pops and Tom. I have almost finished planing the neck. Measured relief now is only .002" with feeler guage. Tom, the neck is not flimsy but barely bendable without the fretboard. Once that is...

I decided to stay with the two way rod, so I ordered one from Cumberland Acoustics. Turns out it had a Stew Mac rod. The only difference is the Cumberland is maybe 3/16" longer, but that just makes...

I'm still listening to all your advice and suggestions. I've ordered a truss rod from Steve Smith, but I still don't know for sure if I want to use that. It is a straight replacement and should be...

Thanks, John. Has anyone used a carpet seaming iron as a heat source to remove a fretboard? I saw one at a pawn shop. 11" long with heat settings from 140 to 450 degrees. Looks more efficient than a...

Did you ever have a "damn it" day? I reread the posts above to really absorb the advice. I decided to start slow and proceed carefully with the repairs. I took off the old strings and stripped the...

Thanks for all your input. The board is almost .180" at the edges by the nut. That should give me plenty to do the small amount of planing needed. John, do you agree that the truss rod should be...

Adrian,

The angle is right at 15 degrees now. It doesn't look like I would lose much with the small amount of planing I think it needs. I would probably get that back with new/taller frets. The...

I really like the tone of my new mandolin, so I'd like to make it more comfortable to play. I bought the mandolin knowing it needed a re-fret. It has narrow frets with deep divots. The frets are .016...

Just saw Sunburst's post. John, you are the "Master Po" of tonewoods. If I could just snatch the pebble........

Adrian, that is exactly what I am seeing. I appreciate your comments. Wood is in a...

Thanks Buck. I'll wait a couple of weeks, checking measurements, and see if there is any change. The mando is eleven years old and should be stable except for moisture changes. That will give me time...

Thanks for the responses. I found some green verdigree growing under and around the edges of the tailpiece which sounds like it was in a moist environment. It came from around Dallas where I think...

I bought a mandolin from the classifieds here. Very nice small builder mando, second or third hand. The back has some beautiful "fishbone" figure, but when I look down the back at an angle the back...

I received a reply from the seller. He said, "This mandolin is currently under observation at a luthier." Now, that sound like one sick mandolin. Seller took the auction down.

Thanks for the replies. I have messaged the seller but no response.

There is a Gibson F-9 for sale on ebay starting low, I think....

There are a number of youtube videos on how to remove tuner buttons with various forms of jigs and levers. Looks mostly harmless. Good luck.

I just found an older thread about the same topic. Didn't notice the string gauages. Thanks.