USA mandolin, sinked top repair

[kkmm]

Bought an USA made mandolin (label says: Columbia mandolin), do some TLC to put it in good shape (cosmetics), then strings it with new strings. The top sinks down on the bass side !!! (I kind of suspect this just by looking at the mandolin). So I go on fixing this (done this on half dozen mandolins)
1) cut off the back plate with a japanese flush saw blade. The challenge will be alignment when gluing it back on the body
2) the brace where the top sinks, indeed lost the glue and got separated from the top. So I remove this brace, sand off old glue on this brace and where it is glued to.
3) glue and clamp
The back plate also have a few braces that are partially detached from the plate. I will rework them as well.



The bracing pattern is quite interesting to see.

[kkmm]

After gluing the back plate to the body (alignment is not perfect but close), I wait for 4 days to tune it up and it holds pretty well.