The suspense is going to kill me!

[Michael Thompson]

Weber F-style mandocello delivered this morning. It's taking all my will-power not to disobey the "wait 24 hours before opening" label on the box.

[Beanzy]

So dead jealous even if you are bustin to open it. I'd love to be tortured with a box like that.

[jmp]

"wait 24 hours before opening" -- does that have to do with humidity or something?!?

[Astro]

Superstition mostly. It dates from when packages were warehoused in unclimatized frigid conditions. Suddenly opening in a heated house could then cause checking of the finish or even wood cracking.

Rarely a problem today. Feel the box. If its cold, leave it be. If its the same temp as the house temp, open the box and feel the instrument case. If its same temp, open it. Feel the mando. If its same temp, play it. If its real cold, rebox it back up and let it sit a few hours and try again.

[MikeEdgerton]

Just a little hint. Trucks that deliver freight aren't heated, neither are airplane cargo holds, and rail cars aren't either. Beyond that, I've never been on a trucking company dock that was heated. I don't think it has anything to do with superstition and everything to do with where it was shipped from, how it was routed, where you live, and the time of year. I spent over 20 years in warehousing and transportation and never saw anyone heat a general warehouse higher than they had to to keep the sprinklers from freezing and every one knows that heat rises. Nobody heated the actual storage floor. In my case I had a dry sprinkler system and didn't have any heaters in an 80,000 square foot warehouse. If it was me I'd wait. I have too many instruments that checked sitting in trunks of cars in the winter.

[Mandobart]

I'd sure love that suspense, too.

[sgarrity]

24 hours......craziness! If it's that cold, let the box warm up for a few hours. Take the case out. If it's still that cold, let it warm up for a few hours.

[Astro]

Thats why you step wise feel the box. The case. The mando. If the temp is the same, what are you waiting for (other than superstition). There is nothing magical about 24 hours.

Then again, it is such sweet suspense to savor.

[MikeEdgerton]

Guys, I know you've all been doing this for years but trust me, the box gets cold from the outside in, it gets warm from the outside in. The outside can be warm and the inside can still be cold. You don't want to wait 24 hours just to be safe, have at it but don't think that just because it's warm to the touch on the outside that it isn't still cold inside.

[MikeEdgerton]

Then again, if I lived in a warm climate where it wasn't 15 degrees half the winter I'd be reckless too.

[sgarrity]

He lives in San Antonio......I think he'll be fine.

[Bertram Henze]

Look closely - there must be a THAW button in the control panel on the lower right of the box...

[MikeEdgerton]

He lives in San Antonio......I think he'll be fine.

The question would be where did it ship from?

[Jim Garber]

I never heard of waiting a full 24 hours and I have never waited that long. I think 6-8 hours would be more than enough sitting in a heated room even if it was in a cold truck.

[Michael Thompson]

I'm sure waiting the whole time wasn't completely necessary, but after spending all that money to get this thing built, I wasn't taking any chances. I took it out of the box after 12 hours, but didn't open the case until this morning. It was well worth the wait.

[Perry]

I'm sure waiting the whole time wasn't completely necessary, but after spending all that money to get this thing built, I wasn't taking any chances. I took it out of the box after 12 hours, but didn't open the case until this morning. It was well worth the wait.

Looks nice...I agree that a 24 hour wait is way overblown.....though if you got the patience. In a real world environment they are usually subjected to much worse...I know mine are

[Astro]

Beautiful !

I'd be willing to wait years for something like that !!!!!

[TheArimathean]

Doubly agree with Astro! Hope you enjoy it!

[Bill Baldridge]

Enjoy!

[Bertram Henze]

There's not words enough.

[Charlieshafer]

Sweeet! Like the finish, too. I did the traditional burst but I'm, thinking yours is a little more interesting. Is your case heavier than your house, too?

[Michael Thompson]

Sweeet! Like the finish, too. I did the traditional burst but I'm, thinking yours is a little more interesting. Is your case heavier than your house, too?

It's pretty heavy, but I have an Epiphone Les Paul and Dean Razorback electric guitar that vastly out-weigh this thing. Especially since my dean has a rectangle case that's almost as big as a bed.