Repaired Headstock - Should I Buy?

[Tom Haywood]

On Craig's list. $55.00 with a case. Here's what the seller says: "Awesome starter Mandolin for anyone wanting to learn. I don't play it much anymore. Wood damage around the neck but doesn't affect the sound or anything like that. The wood cracked when I was tuning it, I guess a little too tightly. Haha."

[Nevin]

That looks like a terrrible repair. I would skip.

[Fretbear]

That's Gorilla Glue;
Fugettaboutit

[Willie Poole]

To me it would depend on what make mandolin it is, even if it can`t be fixed by a good repairman the parts should be worth $55..I have seen and played some mandolins that have had a new headstock completely installed by splicing together new wood etc...BUT if you can`t get to see it up close you may be chasing a bad offer....

Willie

[Denny Gies]

Keep looking, that is a bummer.

[Tom Haywood]

It's a Bean Blossom.

[mandobassman]

It's a Bean Blossom.

Another good reason to keep looking.

[William Smith]

To me it would depend on what make mandolin it is, even if it can`t be fixed by a good repairman the parts should be worth $55..I have seen and played some mandolins that have had a new headstock completely installed by splicing together new wood etc...BUT if you can`t get to see it up close you may be chasing a bad offer....

Willie

Willie is right but if its a bean blossom-I'd skip unless its a solid wood body that can be re-graduated and a new neck put on! Frankensteins are some of the best mandolins out there in my opinion, whats 55 bucks nowadays anyway-if solid wood body!!!

[Paul Statman]

Head for ze hills..you'll likely find a mando there!

[CES]

Agree, pass on it! You can get an unbroken Rogue for that, get Rob Meldrum's set up book, and you're good to go!!

[Marty Jacobson]

Is that gorilla glue and Scotch tape? Basically, the two things at the top of the Do Not Use For Instrument Repair List, right after wood screws.

[Tom Haywood]

I thought it looks like Elmers school glue and scotch tape. Plenty strong, right? What really interests me, though, is that if you enlarge the photo you can see that it really has a cool pick.

[Paul Busman]

Looks like Gorilla Glue, and the tape was just put there to keep the excess from exuding when the glue expanded. Gorilla Glue is terrifically strong and if the head was aligned properly, I'd say it's worth $55, with an eye towards at least refinishing it. With a setup it could be a good beater.

[Nevin]

Looks like Gorilla Glue, and the tape was just put there to keep the excess from exuding when the glue expanded. Gorilla Glue is terrifically strong and if the head was aligned properly, I'd say it's worth $55, with an eye towards at least refinishing it. With a setup it could be a good beater.

I would disagree that Gorilla Glue is strong. I repaired a shattered upright bass scroll that had been "repaired with Gorilla Glue. It didn't beguin to hold and took many hours to remove. You can get a good beater for less than the cost of the mandolin in question and refinishing without the terrible repair.

[allenhopkins]

Lined chipboard case might be worth $25. Mandolin? $0 in my book.

[Jeff Mando]

Not the prettiest repair, but he's not asking much for it, if indeed a working mandolin. Like, I've said many times on this forum, that repair could be camouflaged with a long colorful flowing scarf or feather boa (or both!) tied haphazardly around the peghead to throw caution to and blow in the wind -- thus creating a WHOLE NEW identity for yourself, namely the gypsy glam-rock mandolinist! Another tied as a headband would complete the look giving the "theme" some real substance, IMHO. Sort of a subtitle I've done well with --always try to turn a negative into a positive..........

[MikeZito]

. . . and I thought some of my repairs were blatantly amateurish - next to that repair, I'm a freaking genius!

[hank]

Is that a broken piece of pick jammed in below the gorilla mung runout blob or bare wood? Either way I don't think that dog ever did much hunting.

[Willie Poole]

Tuners, tailpiece, bridge, pick and case must be worth at least $55...even if the mandolin can`t be fixed and it is something that he can learn to make repairs on or at least learn a little bit about making repairs....Some people spend nearly that much on a BC pick and then find that they don`t like them, some do but not all....I don`t imagine the parts on an el cheapo mandolin are worth a whole lot but $55, surely...

[Bill Snyder]

Just so everyone knows it, Tom (the man that started this thread) builds mandolins.

[Tom Haywood]

Thank you, Bill. This a serious but sort of tongue-in-cheek thread. I'll explain later, and I do appreciate all these responses. They are part of why I like the cafe so much.

[hank]

Ah ha, a decoy post of slippery deception and intrigue.

[Tom Haywood]

I do appreciate all the posts here. I was looking for a $40 or less mandolin to tear up for a project and saw this ad on Craig's List. I get requests occasionally to look at instruments that folks find on CL and are thinking about buying. It seems like a good number of them have been broken in some way. So I wanted to see what the Cafe members would advise a potential purchaser about a broken mandolin with an obvious amateur attempt at repair. As usual, the advice covers the entire spectrum – everything from “run” to “it's probably worth buying at that price,” with the majority consensus being not to buy it. And that's something I really like about the Cafe. I feel like every one of these opinions is valid, even if none of them quite represent my opinion. There is plenty of information here that a purchaser (and I) should consider, including the obvious fact that there is no clear cut, right or wrong answer. Equally important, all replies are framed in very positive and friendly terms, even the ones that say to run or that trash the guy's repair.

I posted this in the builders forum figuring that the most considered advice would be given here.

FWIW, my advice would be to not even consider this one if you are a beginner player. May be different if you need these particular parts and case for some reason or you want to learn something about repairing broken head stocks. Maybe for less than half the asking price. The tuners look like the ones on my Rogue – they don't fit anything else I have and I don't know where to buy them, so they might be worth a few dollars as spares. The time required to undo this kind of repair effort just to see if it can be repaired properly is not worth it IMO. Also, if the seller is correct that the head stock broke from being tuned too high (apparently the strings didn't break), then there may be something wrong with the wood or the construction and it's not worth fooling with. I have a feeling that this mandolin is owned by someone who doesn't know how to take care of one, so there may be some other cause for the break and there may be other issues. But I could be wrong about all of that. This might be the perfect mandolin for somebody.

And that's why I appreciate all these different opinions.

I should admit that the ad brought out some snarkiness in me and I felt a need to rant. Red flags: “I don't play it much anymore.” - Probably not, since it broke. "Awesome starter Mandolin...”. - Probably not, since it broke. “...doesn't affect the sound or anything like that.” - What else is like the sound? “...I guess a little too tightly. Haha." - Really? Oh, and the pick has Cool printed right on it. A great salesman in the making.

[Timbofood]

(In ones best Elmer Fudd voice)
"You wascawwey wabbit!