Just dicovered crack on side of Mandolin

[Sheephead Shawn]

Do cracks happen due to low humidity on the "sides" of a mandolin ever? I was restringing and found a 2 inch crack parallel with the wood grain on the side that my arm pit covers; at first I though it was deodorant stain ( I now gross sorry), then to my horror I realized what it was.

Either I have a kid's accident that I will never know the real answer for (though they're all in high school or college, accidents happen), or the dry air made the contracting wood split and crack.

To answer anticipated questions, no I don't keep it in a case with humidifier, I keep it on a string sing in my home office for easy access/playing, I live in Florida and we have been running the heat some due to recent cooler weather but I didn't think it was nearly bad enough to do this. It does not hang on an outside wall or under a vent blowing out warm air.
Holy crap I am so bummed.

Any advice is appreciated.
Am sending it to my man Bruce Weber when I can scrounge up whatever he feels it will cost.
In moving forward will probably keep it in the case with humidifier all the time.
Thanks in advance for your advice, as I know this is a very informed group.

[George R. Lane]

Shawn,
Sorry to hear of your problem. I was just at Bruce's shop today, he is putting a set of Rubner tuners on my Yellowstone. I know he can fix it. Living in Florida I would suspect you have plenty of humidity. Bruce recommended a level of 40-50% to me, I use a small room humidifier and try to keep it in that range. I know those in the know will chime in soon. Good luck.

[rcc56]

Cracks can occur for several reasons. Low humidity AND rapid humidity changes are a primary cause. Cracks can also be caused by impact or other mechanical action.

The good news is that correctly repaired cracks do not have a major effect on the tone or structural integrity of an instrument.
The not-so-good news is that repaired cracks are very difficult to hide, especially on instruments finished with nitrocellulose lacquer.

In other words, the mandolin will probably be fine once the crack is there, but you'll probably be able to see the repair.

Run a humidifier or use a Dampit.

[HoGo]

Cracks on sides due to low humidity are not very common. If they occur they are usually near body blocks especially if the blocks are of wood with very different shrinkage rate from sides (like slab-cut sides and quartered mahogany block or when block grain goes top-bottom like on violin). They can also start in high humidity in case the block swells more than the side wood...
sometimer over-tightened armrests can deform and crack sides. Look for any dent near the crack, the rib can crack easily if you hit the music stand during gig... These cracks can go unnoticed for a long time and only when they are open or get dirty, owner notices. It the crack is not dirty and can be closed cleanly the repair can be near invisible.

[GTison]

In Florida, I would think you would not need to humidify. Generally. The last couple of weeks maybe if you had the heat on and it was 30s outside a lot. The humidity was unusually low. ... Hard to say what did the damage.
But, if it were me, I'd send it to Randy Wood in Savannah, it is a lot closer than sending it to the west. Shipping risk and all.

[allenhopkins]

Whatever caused the crack -- and I'm inclined to think it may have been physically stressed in some fashion, rather than wood-cell shrinkage caused by low humidity -- leaving the Black Ice hanging out "for easy access/playing" exposes it to more risk than putting it in the case. I know many of us do it, but IMHO the 30-second delay incurred by opening the case and taking the mandolin out, is less of a problem than the inadvertent bump, scrape or sudden environmental change affecting an uncased instrument.

Of course, I've opened a secure case on occasion, to find a tailpiece has failed or a guitar bridge has "crept" forward under string tension; instruments tuned to pitch are under a constant stress level, and components can fail. But I still would worry a lot more if my instruments were hanging unprotected.

[BradKlein]

I think it's unlikely that humidity has anything to do with it. Just think for a moment - how would that happen? Wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity (forever). Those changes are across the width of a piece of wood, the length does not change. If the edges are held rigidly in place - say by a lengthwise piece of wood or metal going across a wide piece of wood (like a tabletop). Or in the case of a mandolin top or back - by the relatively rigid sides and the different woods, top and back. There IS the gluing of the neck block to the sides, but keep in mind that the sides are only 1.3 inches in width...

Just another opinion in the Cafe crowd, but I wouldn't let this change your habits regarding storage and playing your instrument.

[rcc56]

The opinions about low humidity and drastic humidity changes causing cracks are not some recent theory. They are based on the collective experience of musicians and instrument builders over a 400 year history. The opinion is well accepted throughout not only the string instrument world, but also the woodwind and keyboard world.

Anyway, my high school band teacher told me to use a Dampit [instrument humidifier] in the winter back in 1970. Whenever a student came in with a cracked clarinet, he would ask "Have you been using your Dampit?" The almost universal answer: "No."

[BradKlein]

Those changes are across the width of a piece of wood, the length does not change. (Problems arise, that is, cracks form) ...if the edges are held rigidly in place - say by a lengthwise piece of wood or metal going across a wide piece of wood (like a tabletop). Or in the case of a mandolin top or back - by the relatively rigid sides and the different woods, top and back. There IS the gluing of the neck block to the sides, but keep in mind that the sides are only 1.3 inches in width...

My quick reply may have given the opposite impression of what I was trying to say. Top and back cracks ARE common from low humidity in guitars, mandolins, violins etc - for the reason I stated above. 'Shrinkage' cracks are not common in the sides of those same instruments, for the same reasons. Woodwinds are a different story completely, due to their shape. My point was just that a relatively minor change in humidity isn't the most probable cause of a crack forming in the SIDE of a mandolin, away from the neck and end blocks.

[Bill Clements]

Anyway, my high school band teacher told me to use a Dampit [instrument humidifier] in the winter back in 1970. Whenever a student came in with a cracked clarinet, he would ask "Have you been using your Dampit?" The almost universal answer: "No."

I have never heard of using Dampits in wood woodwind instruments-not to disrespect your music teacher. Putting a Dampit directly in the bore is really bad news. Woodwinds will see more issues with pads and loose keys in extreme dry conditions. The most common cause of instrument cracks are due to accidental damage due to drops, etc. However, wood instruments (oboes in particular) left in a car trunk without being swabbed in the dead of winter invite catastrophe.

I second Allen's advice to keep mandolins in their cases when not being used. My one and only accident was with a mandolin sitting on a stand.

[George R. Lane]

Allen,

Your thoughts ring true for me. My mandolin always go back in the case when not playing it. I agree about a change in humidity being the cause, that sounds more like an impact of some sort caused it. Is your mandolin accessible to any of your co-workers? No matter what the cause, a good luthier will know what method will work the best.

[Phil Goodson]

I'm surprised that, going forward, no one has mentioned a hygrometer.

I monitor the room constantly. Keep an instrument out and ready to play as long as relative humidity is 40-60%. Otherwise, in the case with a small hygrometer and humidifier if needed.

[peter.coombe]

I agree that humidity is unlikely to be the issue for side cracks that are not on the tailblock or headblock. I have never seen it in any of the mandolins that have gone through my workshop. There have had a couple with small side cracks where the tailblock is, but that is all I can remember. Side cracks do occur on guitars, but the cross grain dimensions are much greater, and many guitars have cross grain braces down the sides. With humidity, the most important thing is to avoid extremes of humidity. Over use of dampits can cause extreme high humidity in the case, so only use them if the conditions are very dry.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I don't know how much 'residual stress' the sides of a mandolin might retain after bending,but if there is any,then even a slight knock might release the stress & cause a split. Regardless of 'how',as long as it can be repaired,especially if it goes back to Bruce Weber,it should come out fine !,
Ivan

[Sheephead Shawn]

Just picked up the Black Ice, per GTison's advice, from Randy Wood's shop in Savannah! Could not be happier, and I didn't have to risk shipping it to Oregon or Montana. I did speak to Bruce of it and he offered to help me out himself out of his new shop (unbelievable Guy, TOTAL CLASS), and I tried to speak with TOH to inquire of a possible warranty coverage categorization, but they weren't biting. Mr. Wood's repair makes it barely even noticeable,, which I didn't think was possible.............. and he tweaked the action a little(I didn't think it could be set up any better than it already was) and checked the truss rod etc............. saying to me, it needs broken in but that's a fine mandolin you have there.............. I thanked him, a legend, and simply had to ask.............. "so how cool was Vasser?"

A fine example of how this Forum is so great for so many reasons, thanks to you all for the advice and good will;