Hello,
New here and new to mandolins. My experience is as a novice clawhammer banjo player. Novice is probably being generous. I need some advice and/or referral regarding seam separation repair.
My issue: I got a Weymann Mandolute style 40 (1921?) from an online auction. Per description, was supposed to have minor dings/scratches, stuck tuner. I paid what I think was an OK price (~$260 with tax) given I would have to clean it, probably naptha the tuners, get new strings, maybe find a tailpiece cover, etc. Elbow grease stuff, nothing technical.
I am an income-limited student who doesn't *need* a mandolin--but I am a romantic for rescuing older instruments from Throw-Away-Society and I really wanted to play old-time mandolin music. I like tinkering, so I was also planning to see if I could set it up decent with help from Rob Meldrum's e-book. Which, BTW, is very thoughtful of him to create and share with people for free. My goal here is to save money with elbow grease but still have a playable instrument for old-timey music that years from now I could still appreciate.
I received the mandolute today, and see there at least 3-4" separation in the seam between the pieces that make up the back of the instrument. Also maybe evidence of repair of side seam separation too. The separation/crack in the back seam runs behind the label, but if I hold the mandolin up to light I can see light through portion of the crack not covered by the label.
Is it a lost cause? Should I return it to the seller and hope it finds a home that can handle that kind of repair? I mean I just met this instrument, so if I broke up with it now before things get real messy, I can move on and probably won't rebound with another bad instrument match.
I have no idea what the cost of repair might be locally, or what cost would make my total out of pocket exceed the value of the instrument. I assume this isn't a repair I could do without making things worse with ignorance and inexperience.
Is there a Seattle luthier you would recommend for this kind of vintage instrument? One I could go to for opinion and hopefully free estimate for repair? I had thought there was a Seattle luthier in walking distance from me (Cat Fox) but it turns out she has a newer website that says she is in Vermont.
I might sound unrealistically frugal, but I have a little while longer to go before I graduate. I could wait until I have more disposable income to cover repairs, if I it isn't a bad investment. Probably won't be able to get another mandolin to play in the meantime. I have 7 days to attempt return for refund.
Pretty sure this is the best place to get help to figure this out.
thanks,
hattie
p.s. I apologize in advance if this should have been posted in another forum section, or if I have written anything that goes against mandolin cafe social norms/mores. If anyone reading this participated in the online auction where I acquired this mandolute, LOL, hi!
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