I just played in the best jam I have ever participated in. Got home, took my mandolin out of the gig bag and the large scroll had broken off the headstock just like in Pete Martin’s avatar. Do I glue it back on or just live with it?
I just played in the best jam I have ever participated in. Got home, took my mandolin out of the gig bag and the large scroll had broken off the headstock just like in Pete Martin’s avatar. Do I glue it back on or just live with it?
You should get it repaired. Then, you should invest in a proper case!
Bummer. My sympathies. My .02 - have a pro reattach it, or leave it off - I hate the way a bad scroll repair looks.
That is a bummer. But remember, that best jam you participated in is the reason for playing an instrument. If it's a really valuable instrument, then it's worth having it repaired properly. If not, just roll with it, you'll probably be planning for an upgrade in the next few years anyway and the $100 to fix the instrument may set you back a month or two of savings!
Been there; not fun. I agree w/ Alfons.
I'm sort of handy and figured to do it myself. But after several weeks of planning, I had to admit that the break was too clean for me to ensure that the glue-up wouldn't wander, so I took it to a pro. If the break is very clean, the angles of an F headstock really need specialized jigs to hold pressure while the glues sets. In my case at least, clamps and rubber bands were not going to do it. Yes, the money hurt 7 or 8 years ago, but I hardly feel it now!
Last edited by EdHanrahan; Sep-08-2019 at 9:02pm.
- Ed
"Then one day we weren't as young as before
Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
- Ian Tyson
If it’s a nice mandolin then you have to get it repaired professionally, if not then do it yourself and look at the fine repair line as a reminder of a great session, like a diary with notes of good times!
It isn't to hard to make a couple of alignment jigs from scrap wood. Anyone with an F style mandolin should have a hard case IMHO. That little bit is just to easy to break.
My avatar is of my OldWave Oval A
Creativity is just doing something wierd and finding out others like it.
I watched that show at the Ryman on PBS the other night and noticed that Ricky Skaggs was playing a mandolin with the scroll broken off. He didn't seem to mind.
It ain't gotta be perfect, as long as it's perfect enough!
So often, when the scroll breaks, it becomes susceptible to "re-injury". I always thought the idea illustrated here was a good one.
The Forum>Builders and Repair>Thread: The case against scroll "strengtheners", Reply: #66.
Good luck!
Rush Burkhardt
Towson, MD
Free opinions are worth exactly what you pay for them!
Being that it was in gig bag, Im assuming it was not an expensive one and the cost of fixing it may be the same as buying a new one. Or you may be ready for an upgrade in near future. if thats the case, Id leave it
1917 Gibson A-3, '64 Martin A, 2016 Rhodes F5R.
I would opt for hide glue rather than CA. If it's a clean break you can use masking tape to hold it in place while the glue dries, and hide glue will shrink and pull it tight. Hide glue is probably stronger, and much easier to clean up if there's any squeezeout.
Andrew Mowry
Mowry Stringed Instruments
http://mowrystrings.com
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You would think some enterprising luthier would start laminating carbon fiber on those head stocks with fancy scrolls that keep breaking.
I would just use strong HHG and hold it tightly in alignment till I can count to 50. Then let it rest overnight with the mandolin oriented so that the scroll is above the break (no side leverage by gravity). You don't need clamps for this. THis is what some TOP violin restorers do for regluing of broken off violin scroll. I did it last time I repaired broken scroll and it works great.
Adrian
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