Separation of Neck From Body… What a Bummer

[poiboy1964]

I just purchased my first mandolin, a Harmony Monterey from ETSY. I tuned it up (I’m a beginner so it took forever). I strummed through a couple of lessons of David Benedict on YouTube and was happily beginning my journey on the Mandolin (have played the violin for a year)

A couple of hours later, I noticed the neck looked badly bent and discovered the neck had started separating from the body. I messaged the ETSY seller but he’s on vacation until the end of April I looked at some string repair shops and it appears a repair would be hundreds of dollars which would be more than I paid for the instrument. I know Harmony is a cheapo brand (own an old Harmony guitar also) but I really like the look of the mandolin.

Should I even attempt to repair the damage myself (I’ve looked at some YouTube videos but have no experience repairing instruments but I’m willing to try) or should I just ask for a refund and look for another mando or violin? …and yes, I’ve loosened the strings so there’s no tension.

[sunburst]

Time to move on.
If you can get a refund, great, but that would be a challenging repair for someone with little experience and not really worth your time. A pro could fix it, but as you say, the repair cost would exceed the value of the instrument.
Go ahead and start shopping for a better instrument. You can get advice on this site for what is available in the lower price ranges.

[pops1]

It's hard to tell without the instrument in hand, but I would say the neck joint was not fit correctly from the factory. In order to make this work it will have to be fit better before it is glued. It's not a beginners job, but might not cost as much as you have read since the neck is off and doesn't have the angle changed. I would ask for an appraisal before trying anything yourself. If you mess it up there is a chance no one will want to work on it.

[Cheryl Watson]

That is truly a bummer! I do hope you can get a return going when the seller is back in communication. Either it was not packed correctly and/or it was ready to let loose anyway. My students have had GREAT dealings with The Mandolin Store. Mandolins arrive with a great setup and they stand by their customers.

[poiboy1964]

I’ll probably move on depending whether the seller will refund or not. On first inspection, I noticed a crack, at the dove joint, but thought it was a finishing crack. The mandolin is from the 60’s so I didn’t think anything of it Thank you for your replies! It cant hurt to take it to a repair shop for an appraisal so I try that in the meantime.

[brunello97]

Here's a good tune to play on it once repaired (or replaced.)



Mick

[Jeff Mando]

If you can't get a refund, before I threw it in the trash I would squirt some wood glue in there and clamp it with a C clamp. Cost is zero, worth a try. I wouldn't worry about the fingerboard extension, just leave it off -- if you are a beginner you won't need those notes anyway.

Sorry it happened.

Good luck.

no offense to luthiers offerring great advice. obviously, I'm talking about making a functional, but less than beautiful repair -- not a perfect, invisible restoration.

[Jim Hilburn]

I'm with Jeff. Get the strings off, see if it comes out of the mortise. Then you could clean up the old glue and try again. If it goes back together close to original you could add a couple of screws through the back into the neck.Then see how close you could get the fingerboard to fit back where it was.
You might get hooked and end up building mandolins.

[Bob Buckingham]

If you want to limit your expense on a new instrument, the Recording Dirty 30's mandolin is similar to the Harmony at $199 it is a reasonable replacement although not all solid wood. You can expect a jump to the next level of Eastman and Kentucky. See if you get a refund and use that toward the new one. I've had students using the RK mandolin and it is stable and sounds good.

[jim simpson]

Sadly the joints on the Monterey model are not very deep (mortis and tenon type, straight sides, no dovetail). They didn't always make the tightest fit so again, not the best construction to work with. One that I had as a project suffered the same loose neck joint. I refit it as well as I could then after drilling, inserted partial tight fitting dowel rods into the rear button area and well as on the sides of the mandolin into the small tenon. It has held up well and doesn't look too bad as a distress instrument.

[PT66]

From the pictures you have shown us it doesn’t look like a dove tail. It looks more like a mortise and tenon joint. Probably let go due to wood shrinkage. If you want to try it yourself I would first scrape out as much of the old glue as possible from both the pocket and the neck. Then see how much space between the two pieces. Glue thin pieces on each side of the pocket so it fits tight again. Then glue in place. Once the neck is back in place you can deal with the broken fingerboard. Did a fret come out at the break? If so hang onto it.

[poiboy1964]

Yes, there was indeed a separation🤣

[poiboy1964]

I tried to delete this post

[poiboy1964]

Good idea! I have a RK guitar and it sounds good even though it’s all laminate.

[poiboy1964]

Living in Hawaii, the choices are limited because of shipping costs. This mandolin was $54 for shipping. I bought an old Harmony guitar on Reverb and it cost $126 shipping… more than I paid for the guitar

[poiboy1964]

Yes, sounds good as a last resort

[poiboy1964]

Sounds good… just waiting to see if the seller will give me a refund. After I loosened the strings to release any tension, I tugged on the neck a couple of times and it still seems tightly inserted into the body. I’ll wait before removing the stings and trying to yank the neck out. Yes, a fret did fall out

[Tavy]

If you can't return it - or it is too costly to do so, then that looks a candidate for a "strap button repair": basically reglue the neck as best you can, then fit a strap button on the heal with a really good long screw that will pull the heel tight into the neck block. It's not pretty or ideal, but works a treat for non-valuable instruments that aren't worth repairing "properly".

[MikeEdgerton]

Yup, a big old wood screw with a strap button on it can be used.

[poiboy1964]

Looks good!

[poiboy1964]

Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking spending $250 on a Harmony mandolin. I was enamored on how clean it looked for 50+ year old instrument. At least I was able to play it for 30 minutes Before it broke I was wondering how to add a strap as there were no strap pegs. Well, now I can add one as long as I don’t mess up the glue job.

[poiboy1964]

It looks like I will have to screw straight from the body into the neck. Still waiting to see if I can get a refund but I’m already prepared for a “no”

[PT66]

It’s best to go from the outside of the neck , through the neck into the neck block. The direction of the arrow in the thumbnail sketch by Mike.

[MikeEdgerton]

No strap button, no problem.

[poiboy1964]

The area the screw would penetrate is only 3/8” high so my non woodworking self is a little nervous about causing a split in the wood