1921 f-2

[greg steil]

Does anyone here have a 1921 F-2 with pick guard that I could get a template of and a few pix? Also mine has FON 11395, not in Spann. Anyone seen that number?

[William Smith]

Paul Fox can make you a perfect replica guard! The original side clamp may be hard to find but they are around. I believe the 21's had a clamp not a bracket. Place an add here on the café for a clamp, I think evilbay "ebay" had a clamp a while back that's pry still there but it was like 300 bucks, I picked up one from someone around the café for 100.

[rcc56]

Just about all of the Gibson oval hole mandolins used either the c. 1911 to c. 1916 shape with the curlicue around the bridge, or the later style without the curlicue. Yours would have used the later style with a cam clamp, and a metal connecting rod to join the pickguard to the clamp. The side of the guard that butts into the fingerboard was left straight by 1921, while earlier guards often had a recess cut into them that ends at the foot of the fingerboard extension.

Gruhn has several oval hole Gibsons of varying dates on his website, and you can look at them to see the variations in the way the fingerboard side of the guard was handled over the years.

If you PM me, I will send you a tracing of the later guard. You can lay it off onto a piece of cardboard or a thin piece of wood to make your template. I can also include a drawing of the two blocks for mounting the rod and clamp.

The metal connecting rod can be made from a piece of brass rod available at any decent hardware store. The original rods were threaded 5-40, but finding 5-40 taps, dies, and nuts these days is a problem. I suggest using 4-40 or 6-32.

The retaining block that holds the rod and the clamp at the edge of the mandolin can be made from 3 pieces of your pickguard material laminated together with Duco cement or plastic model cement. The mounting block that holds the rod to the guard will require 4 or 5 pieces laminated together.

You will also want to laminate a 7/16" wide piece of material to the underside of the fingerboard side of the guard.

Celluloid pickguard material is available from Axiom at axinc.net. You have a choice of .100" or .125" thick "autumn sunset" material, or .070" medium dark tortoise. Since celluloid is now classified as a hazardous material by the government [even though it is neither any more nor any less flammable than it was 100 years ago], there is a $33 hazmat shipping surcharge no matter how much or how little material you order. If you don't want to pay the hazmat fee, you'll have to get the acrylic stuff for archtop instruments from Stew-mac.

If you don't have a cam clamp, you can see if Gilchrist will let you order one, or try and find an original one. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for a modified violin chinrest clamp or a modern screw-in clamp similar to what is used on Les Paul guitars.

[slimt]

Nice looking Mandolin..

this might give you some idea.. hopefully...