I just found a crack down the center of my Big Muddy m-4. I don't see a post image option here otherwise I'd show an exact pic. Does anyone know how to post a pic?
I just found a crack down the center of my Big Muddy m-4. I don't see a post image option here otherwise I'd show an exact pic. Does anyone know how to post a pic?
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
I've known Mike Dulak for about 30 years. He'll say "Dude, you have dried out your mandolin. Go have it fixed. And get a humidifier."
Shade Tree Fretted Instrument Repair, retired
Nevada City, California
I have a Parsons flat top, which is not dissimilar to a Big Muddy, that I bought used. It came with a crack in the top that ran right down the middle from the end of the fretboard to the soundhole. It was not actually a crack in the wood itself, but the two pieces that formed the top pulling apart. But it still sounded and played really well, so I decided to keep it. My luthier mitigated it with a thin piece of wood vernier glued under the crack with superglue. It has held up for about 15 years with no problems.
A flat top mandolin is one of the easier things to fix. If the crack is fresh, you can often over humidify it to close the crack back up, inject glue (preferable hot hide glue) and clamp. The trick is, having claps that will reach inside.
Robert Fear
http://www.folkmusician.com
"Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
" - Pete Seeger
Bookmarks