Help for Repair of Kay 1960's Mandolin (neck reset and crack)

[Kierogi]

Hello! New member here!

I've had this 1960's Kay mandolin sitting around for a bit over a year now, and just haven't had the time to give it the TLC it needs until now.

It's not too badly damage, but I will do a neck reset and I recently found a crack on the ribs. Very small, but noticeable enough that I'd like to glue and possibly cleat it early on. (can share pictures if needed)

I was wondering if people had tips? Particularly for the crack---Can I repair it without opening the mandolin up? If I had to open it up, how would I best go about it?

I'm currently in school for violin repair, so should have all necessary tools and materials at my disposal, and I know the general procedure for both repair jobs.

Thanks!!!

[Jeff Mando]

Pictures might help......

[rcc56]

Yes, pictures would help . . .

If the crack is short and can be aligned well, a cleat may not be necessary.

It is rare that it is necessary to open a mandolin to repair a rib crack.

The only time I remember opening a mandolin for a rib crack was when the crack went all the way through the end block. That was many years ago. Today, I would probably be able to find a way to do that same repair without opening it.

Bear in mind that it is usually more difficult to open a mandolin without collateral damage than it is to open a violin.

I use hot hide glue for most crack repairs. It wicks in pretty well in most cases. You have to work quickly, though. I keep a hair dryer handy to keep things warm.

If a cleat is necessary, rare earth magnets can be useful for placing cleats. Tape one lightly on the outside of the instrument, tape another to your cleat, and find some way to guide the cleat near its desired position. The magnets will do the rest. If you need more magnetic pull, you can double the magnets. If it's an f-hole instrument, the hardest part might be removing the inside magnet from the cleat. A soundpost setter can sometimes be useful on this sort of repair.

Magnets can be bought at lower prices from craft stores such as Micheal's than from a luthier's supply house.

Or there's the old fashioned method of drilling a small hole in your cleat and pulling it into place with thin wire, heavy thread, or dental floss.

Sometimes, you have to be inventive . . .

There's lots of good repair info on frets.com.

[Kierogi]

Here are the pictures! Sorry for the delay, I've been without a phone/camera until now.

The crack, about 3.5cm. The smaller lower one seems to be just a scratch.

Best shot I could get of a comparison of the crack and it's position compared to the f-hole

The neck, it's a bit wonky but I'm more confident on that job than the unfamiliar mandolin crack.

Here's the whole mandolin

[Kierogi]

Thank you so much for the info! I've posted a picture of the crack and the neck now. The crack is in good condition, where it aligns well.

The opening of a mandolin was definitely a concern for me, so i'm happy to know that I shouldn't need to open it!

Thank you for the magnet tip for cleats, I'll def be writing that down in my luthier notes!

[Jeff Mando]

That looks like a good one to learn repair on. Good luck!

[MikeEdgerton]

The neck joint looks like a typical Kay neck joint. They were awful. You're going to find big gaps filled with glue if you pull the neck.

A past thread on a similar instrument can be found here. There are more.