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Thread: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

  1. #1
    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    From THIS current Ebay listing.

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    Any thoughts about the back wood? It appears to be a carved arched back. A bit folk-artish.

    I wonder if it may be American Chestnut.
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  2. #2
    wood butcher Spruce's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    Wow, that's cool...

    I thought it might be one big piece of wood, like some charangos or other instruments I've seen, but the back of the peghead looks to be quartered and the body slab...
    Chestnut on the body? Maybe. I'm not all that versed in the stuff...
    The medularies on the back of the peghead look oak-ish...?
    That's all I've got...

  3. #3
    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    I'm with you, Bruce, regarding the medullary rays on the back of the headstock. They suggest quartered Oak to me.

    As for the back, I seem to remember seeing that zigzag pattern on american chestnut plain sawn lumber, long ago. (not before the blight. I'm not THAT old..,) Maybe some fan of antique american furniture will recognize it.
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    Sure looks like oak to me.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    American Chestnut is very pourus. I agree it looks like oak.

  6. #6
    I may be old but I'm ugly billhay4's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    I vote for oak.
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  7. #7
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    I don't think there's much room for doubt about the neck being quartered oak; the back is probably oak as well. It has grain characteristics that are common to ash and oak and coloring that tilts it toward oak. Whatever it is, the cool effect of that cathedraling is really nice, I like the way the luthier carved that back!
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  8. #8
    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    After poking around online, I see that my memory was faulty. The zigzag grain pattern that I remembered from way back is a characteristic of Elms not Chestnuts. In fact, it's called 'ulmiform' after the Elm Family. (the pattern is much clearer on the endgrain)

    Here is a sample of Red Elm from the web.

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    I suppose that I mixed up the two 'missing' trees from the N. American landscape.
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  10. #9
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    Perhaps Black Ash. It was used on guitar backs by some early parlor guitar builders.
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  11. #10
    Registered User bbcee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    That was my first thought too, Mike. Looks a bit like my Robin, which I believe to be swamp ash.

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  12. #11
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    Also, does anyone know if that is the original back? Any other pictures of this thing out there.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
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  13. #12
    poor excuse for anything Charlieshafer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    The back could easily be chestnut, it looks exactly like what we come across here in old houses. It can look identical to oak in it's pores, but is much softer and lighter in weight. It gets confused all the time by folks not familiar with timber framing in the 18th and 19th centuries with oak, many calling the frame of the house chestnut when it'a not. Oak was always the preferred structural timber, and chestnut the preferred board stock, as it'a much easier to rip, especially when done by hand in a pit saw.

    Ash is a possibility, but when stained, the growth rings don't show as much color differentiation as in the photo. I've even seen some sassafras that came out somewhat like that. Being from California at that period doesn't help much with the species identification geographically, I'm thinking. Locally harvested? Doesn't seem like it.

    We come across a lot of old eastern cherry which looks like the neck and headstock, rays and all. I can't identify it as such from those photos, though.

  14. #13
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    If the body were just a tad larger, I'd go ahead and shell out a bill for this. I really like the mahogany top, and the star shaped inlays around the sound hole. I like the sound of the mandolettos I've heard in videos, but most have a bit larger body with larger lower bouts. Hate to take too big a chance on the sound of this one. It's been relisted with lower starting bid point, and a $99 "buy-it-now" price.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-191...n/232540237559
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  15. #14
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolinetto - What Wood is This?

    Antique Mandolinetto dated 1915 on the inside

    the name "Art Barnes" is written, as well as "Redondo, California"
    Almost looks like somebody converted a uke to a mandolinetto.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
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