Fingerrest Attachment

[Matt Harris]

Hey guys,

Does anybody use 'non-standard' attachment methods for their fingerrests? I had thought that, rather than using pins, I might simply extend the treble side of the fretboard extension and glue the fingerrest directly to that. Other than perhaps being a slightly more permanent and less adjustable solution is there any fundamental reason why this might be a bad idea?

I would imagine there are similar examples out there, unless this is just an abysmal idea, and I just haven't found them.

Thanks in advance for the expertise.

Here is a picture of what I've got so far, for reference:

[fscotte]

It might be a tad high if you glue the pick guard on top of the extension?

[Matt Harris]

Yeah, I was planning on sanding it down a few millimeters, and with a bit of a downward angle. I suppose I should have mentioned that. I'm just not quite that far along on it yet.

[fscotte]

Ok, but it may still be just a hair too high. I think most pickguards are just below the bottom of the fretboard. I guess if you cut or rout the base of it below the fretboard then you might be good.

My second thought, why is this any easier than using two pins? It's a tried and true method that works perfectly.

Also, how are you planning on shaping the contours along the side with the riser block? Wouldn't that extension make it a bit difficult?

[Matt Harris]

Yeah, there could be a 1 to 1.5 mm of overlap between the edge of the fretboard and the top of the fingerrest. I wasn't sure if that would potentially be an issue. I've never personally owned a mandolin with a fingerrest.

I don't know that it is any easier than the pin method. This is my first build of an instrument of this style, and while researching and formulating my build methodology this idea was just something that seemed logical and effective to me. So I figured I'd go with it unless there was a compelling reason not to do so.

As far as the riser block, it's not an issue. This is a guitar bodied mandola, and the neck interface to the body will be more akin to that of an archtop guitar.

Thanks for your input. You make some very fine mandolins, BTW!

[fscotte]

Yeah just be sure that you won't hit the guard with the pick... Easy to do with the straight edge of the guard if its high.

And thanks appreciate your like!

[Ivan Kelsall]

That seems to me to be an excellent way of attaching a fingerrest (pickguard) - but a tad 'permanent' !. I'd always opt for a removeable one as one's taste can change. I used to like the rest on my Lebeda until i decided that it was simply an annonymous piece of Ebony that covered up more attractive top wood,so i removed it - 2 small wood screws, & easy to put back if i ever need to,
Ivan

[Matt Harris]

Ivan, that looks like a good solution.

There's no question this way will be more permanent, and I think if I was building for someone else I wouldn't consider it, but this is for me.

Here it is as it sits, the top of the fingerrest is 3.5mm below the fretboard. I'll mill it down another 2mm, and I don't think it will get in the way.

Also, I don't think I'm going to get tired at looking at this piece of macassar.

[sblock]

Well, that type of attachment is definitely more permanent, but that's the exact opposite of what most folks seem to want. They want fingerrests (pickguards) that can more readily be demounted. The two-pin friction system used on most abbreviated pickguards works quite well, and so, too, does the two-screw system used by many others (Northfield, Mowry, etc.). Those guards are perfectly stable and conveniently positioned off the fretboard extension, yet can be removed without leaving much in the way of a visible mark (the two small pin- or screw-holes in the extension are hidden from normal view). Your attachment method offers less flexibility to the user, and it is also less adjustable. There might be more mechanical stability associated with it, but in my experience, this stability has not been a problem with the more traditional method of mounting.

[pops1]

I always use a pick guard, but there are several times I have had to take it off to be able to do something to the body of the mandolin, or ease of installation of a pickup. Yours looks nice, but as some have said there may be a time you might like to take it off just to easier do something to your mandolin. Finishing the top with the neck attached may be a problem under a guard that can't be removed.

[Matt Harris]

That's a good point about accessibility for repairs/maintenance/etc. Finishing isn't/wasn't going to be an issue as I wasn't planning on permanently attaching the fingerrest until the mandola was completed (it's just held on with tape in the picture).

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Matt - That's an elegant & un-fussy way of attaching a fingerrest,& if it's for you - spot on. Building a mandolin for somebody else,might need the question - ''permanent or not'' asking - but nice work,& the 'rest' material looks beautiful,
Ivan

[Mandoplumb]

Not trying to be a smart a## but it seems to me a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

[Ivan Kelsall]

For anyone not knowing 'how' to fit a fingerrest - there is a 'problem' - or maybe a 'lack of a solution'. Matt's thread was simply outlining one possible 'solution'. I've thought of adding a nice fingerrest (Pick guard) to my Weber "Fern" - i don't know how i'd do it.
I know how my Lebeda PG fits,but my Weber isn't like my Lebeda - so i do have a problem - others won't !,
Ivan

[Matt Harris]

Yeah, it wasn't so much an issue of not knowing how it's normally done. In an academic sense I know that pins are used. But I've never actually done it. This is a new type of instrument build for me, with some new processes to digest and execute. It seemed like a logical and simple way to accomplish a task while removing one more new process from the mix, and yet it was clearly not the norm. So I figured I'd ask to see if there was a major flaw in my reasoning. The verdict was that no, as long as you're building for yourself, go for it. But I went ahead and cut it off anyway.