Compulsive purchase- Flatiron 1N

[PaulD]

Well I'm fasinated by PaulD's Backporch pancake. Regarding the sticker on the string gauges, check up-inside the sound hole where the body meets the neck. That is where my sticker is (I didn't know it was there until this post began). Is there any reason to believe that Flatiron had the name "Backporch Mandolin" prior to forming as Flatiron? Somebody. . .

To clarify, it still says Flatiron on the head, but the label inside says it was made by "Backporch Productions". I'll drag it out and get pics of the label if people are interested... if nothing else it would stretch this thread out! I would consider posting a pic of the whole instrument, but the finish looks like $#!@ because I never had a decent case and I used to take the thing everywhere.

In the mid-80s someone at a jam told me he had been to that "factory" and it was literally somebody's back porch (Weber's?). At least that's what I recall. I never drove to Bozeman to see for myself.

I swear, this thread is going to have me ignoring the house remodeling and the desk I'm building for my SO and filing frets. I guess that shouldn't really take too long now that I've got a fret file. I was using needle files and was having a hard time shaping the fret without scratching up the fingerboard, even with the rosewood masked off.

I'm also considering refinishing it; I talked to Weber about it's construction a couple years back and he said it would be glued with Titebond (I had some separation to repair) and finished with "Fullerplast" (?). I'm assuming that's a lacquer... maybe I'll ask on the builder's forum. Whatever I do, I'm trying to not screw it up!

[Ipnter]

Jim-
I think you should sell it. Cheaply. To me.
I hear they're not very good mandolins anyway.

In the time between when I last posted on this thread and now I ended up buying a mid-mo (m4), it's a great mandolin and I'm having a lot of fun learning on it, but I still kinda wish I'd have held out for one of these to show up at a price I could afford.

[pickinNgrinnin]

[QUOTE]Is there any reason to believe that Flatiron had the name "Backporch Mandolin" prior to forming as Flatiron? Somebody. . .

I'm thinking that is the way it went. Backporch Mandolin - Bozeman. Not sure when Steve Carlson's history began. Flatiron Mandolin & Banjo (mid 80's) Bozeman. Bruce Weber joined the operation in 87. Then down the road a bit to Belgrade. Not sure when they dropped the Banjo handle.

Hey Paula Jean! are you reading this thread???

[JiminRussia]

MIne is an '83 and it doesn't have the "Back Porch Productions" sticker on it but it does have the string guage sticker on it. I remember seeing one that was from well before mine that had that sticker. aybe someone that has the ear of Bruce Webber could wrire and ask him. I've never met him, but I hear that he's a nice fellow and would probably answer a question like that.

[fatt-dad]

Mine is an 83 also. I looked (played) at it last night and there is no reference to "Backporch" anything. Just a side note, I probably hadn't played it in 2 or 3 months, but it stayed in tune. This is amazing to me as there has been such a change in environment over the last few months (i.e., summer to autumn, A/C to heating, etc.). Just a very stable pancake (as they all are I guess).

f-d

[PaulD]

I took a pic of the label, but my camera is not "plug-and-play"ing well with my work computer so I can't post it now. It reads:

FLATIRON MANDOLIN
Model No. 1SH
Serial No. 8105960
Handmade in Bozeman MT by Backporch Productions

There is no string gauge sticker in it, and since I am the original owner I would have noticed if one fell out. I think I will make a note of the guages posted early in this thread. I wonder if people collapsed the tops on these early models by using heavy strings, or if the string gauges were a recommendation for the best tone.

[fatt-dad]

Maybe I posted this above - I can't recall, but the GHS A-250s have the exact string gauges recommended for the pancake series flatirons. They are a phosphore bronze string and work real well.

JustStrings carries them and they seem to be a good Cafe Sponsor. I just did some business with them and the price and delivery were first rate.

fatt-dad

[pickinNgrinnin]

The label lists the following string guages:

1st - .010
2nd - .013
3rd - .024
4th - .036

Bruce Weber told me to use light gauge strings. No need to question that. I suspect the light gauge is recommended given the flat top and bracing configuration.

My 1N has sweet tone and plenty of volume with light gauge.

[racuda]

Tomastik-Infeld Mittles also work very well. I have a 1-N and have had the TI's on it for six months. They sound great and feel really great.

1st #- #010#

2nd - #.015

3rd #- .021
#
4th - #.033#

[Nathan Sanders]

I usually use D'Addario J-62 strings on my 1N.

[mikeyjc]

Hey Forum!

I was the winner of the 2MC. #It arrived yesterday, and has finish cracks on the bass half of the top, all around the sides, on the back, and up both sides of the neck. #AARRGGHH! #Not quite the 'excellent condition; no blemishes or flaws' disclosed in the listing

Have sent the seller and his minion two e-mails - one last PM, one late this afternoon - but alas, have not heard back from either as of yet #Also just noticed someone else posted negative feedback for him this past Monday ...

HOWEVER ... other than needing a setup, it seems to sound and play fine.

Since I'm not a luthier, I plan to take it to the fine folks at Elderly to determine if it has structural problems, and have advised the seller accordingly ...

No, it didn't have a case. #The pickguard is definitely funky - will find out Saturday if it's covering up a bullet hole or something #

Way OT (apologies in advance) - my dad died in 1987. #He was born and raised in Quincy, Mass. #I can't help but think he's smiling - somewhere - now that the Sox have finally won the Series. #In 1986, we watched Game 7 together over the phone - he, in Seattle, me, in Anchorage - while he was losing his battle with lung cancer.

Thanks to all - the Cafe is an INCREDIBLE community <salute>.

- Mike in MI

[fatt-dad]

Mikeyjc - you can always scrape the finish off the neck and get rid of the cracks that way. My 1N arrived with a naked neck along with a bad finish repair job. While I received the case, it is the tone and fun of playing it that keeps it in my not for sale list.

f-d

[racuda]

The label in my 1-N looks like someone has erased the serial number and crudely written a name with a black Sharpie. While I am not in favor of buying stolen goods, this was an eBay item and I didn't know about the defaced label until I received it.

Does anyone know if the serial number is witten in pencil on the wood under the label, like the old Gibsons?

[pickinNgrinnin]

Don't know about that. You may want to contact Paula Jean at Weber as she will likely know. It may not be a stolen Mando - maybe some fool got ahold of it.

[fatt-dad]

my serial number is typed on the label.

f-d

[fatt-dad]

(not to unneccarily streach out this thread, but here goes. . . .)

What would be a good bridge replacement for my 1N? Also, not having nut files, what would be the best choice for getting a replacement nut? Has anybody used a non-wood bridge on their pancake?

I feel like prior setups on my 1N have come at a compromize to the nut and bridge slots. I am in the midst of getting all my keeper mandolins right - so this one will need to go somewhere for some fret replacements, etc. Figuring it will get shipped, I may also send along a new bridge and maybe a nut blank (unless the luthier has what I need).

f-d

[JiminRussia]

I'm a little gunshy about putting anything really fancy on my mandoilins after spending a bunch for a fossilized brigde saddle and wedges for my Brekke brigge on my F-5. It made it sound too bright and kind of tinny and thin. I'd try to keep the Flatiron pretty much as close to original as possible, if I were you. I just love the sound of my 1N now that it's all original again after I had the original bridge put back on it. It came with both the original in the case and a replacement that was just too high for it. I am realy glad that the original was there! It's already very bright and LOUD, as are all that I have ever tried, and I wouldn't want to make the same mistake with it as I did my Newson F-5.

[Dan Adams]

My 83 2M has the 'Made in Bozeman, Montana by Backporch Productions' label. It is an early 83, made in January. Killer tone, and huge volume! It would be nice to get the final clrifications about when and where they were produced in the early stages of the company.

All that Glitters is not Scrolled! Dan

[fatt-dad]

Yeah, I'm glad that my bridge and nut are original, but they have been gacked up none-the-less. I have a hard time with string slots larger than the string (i.e., at the bridge) and I also have a hard time with the strings sitting too far into the nut. These are the faults with my setup. (Note to anybody that wants some advice - don't deepen the slots to improve action.)

Further comment?

f-d

[Jim M.]

How about one of the Red Henry maple bridges?

[fatt-dad]

Jim M. Any information on where to purchase? I just also posted at the builders forum to see if there is a wood putty product that would enable me to infill the slots well enough to have them reslotted. Comments?

f-d

[Jim M.]

Red is now selling them at: http://www.murphymethod.com/maplebridge.html

There is also a lot of information at his site about his experiments with them. Someone else was selling them too, but I can't find that link right now. On filling the nut, I've always heard that super glue does the job, either by itself or mixed with sawdust.

[PaulD]

I've filled the nut on my fiddle with Superglue and small ebony splinters, then refiled the groove. The G and D strings used to buzz a little on some notes, but I was able to cure it this way.

On another note: I posted on the Build/Repair topic that I finished filing the frets on my Flatiron. Thanks to this thread, I was able to dig through my string stash and find a set of the appropriate gauge strings that I must have bought for the Flatiron years ago. It's SO SWEET to be able to play that instrument again... I've been trading back and forth between that and the Gibson "A" having fun with the different tone and texture. The Flatiron is really bright and punchy compared to the Gibson, which seems to be more refined, and it has more bass response than I remember. The Gibson seems to be more balanced across its range.

I was thinking about lowering the action on the Flatiron, but I think I'm okay on the nut end and need to lower the bridge. In my Builders/Repair topic post, I expressed concern about changing the volume and punch by lowering the bridge, but someone said he did the same thing and it sounds fine. I will probably make a new bridge so I can go back to the original if I don't like it.

I also mentioned previously in this thread that the finish has chips and is peeling in some places. I had e-mailed SoundToEarth a year or so ago and was told the Flatiron was originally finished with Fullerplast, but I wasn't able to find any reference to that finish at the time. A few days ago I was able to find the manufacturer on the Web, so now I know that it's a catalyzed varnish.

I e-mailed the mfg'r for recommendations on touching it up with brush-on varnish. The feedback sounded more like a sales pitch for Fullerplast, but I was told that if the finish was peeling and chipping it was probably not Fullerplast. He said that touching up Fullerplast with a lesser varnish would probably not work because of Fullerplast's superior flexibility, and that I should strip the mandolin and respray it with Fullerplast. I'm sure their product is good, but I doubt it's much different than other quality varnishes/lacquers that I could use.

I'm hesitant to strip it because I don't want to lose the "The Flatiron" decal/silk screen (whatever it is) logo on the headstock. I'm leaning toward scraping the loose finish, sanding and feathering the areas to be touched up, and using a good quality brush-on varnish to fix the areas where the finish is gone. Does that seem like a reasonable approach? I'm open to suggestions.

[Moose]

This is great; all these CAFE "pages" about "the pancake"!!! - But, yes, that mandolin IS worthy of the attention!! - AS I mentioned earlier, I had(!?###) one - AND wish I still had it. carry on.

[Nathan Sanders]

Wow! I'm glad to see this thread is still alive. Great information. Keep it up!