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Thread: Another vintage "tater-bug".

  1. #1
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    Default Another vintage "tater-bug".

    I'm new here, and don't spend much time on forums of any sort, but I have a question and was hoping someone out there could help me. A friend of mine has an old "tater bug" that she inherited form her mother and I am cleaning, restoring and restringing for her. I'd like to know exactly what type of mando it is. It's a bit grungy, hasn't been played in probably 30 years, has a small lengthwise crack in the bowl. Tuners are still good (original), the tailpiece is intact (not original, but old).

    Right now I have it stripped of the tuners and tailpiece, which I've cleaned up. The crack I fixed with superglue and will use a bit of epoxy on top of that. I am lightly sanding it with 000 steel wool, then will apply something like MinWax, lightly. I don't want to sand the scratches and "character" out of it!!

    Oh yes, it is missing some mother-of-pearl inlays on the "binding" around the body, which I'm not sure yet how to replace.

    If anyone knows what make it is, I would sure appreciate the info!!

    One more thing: if anyone has an original tailpiece for this, or knows where one may be found, I'd appreciate it! If not, I've cleaned up the Bell Brand and will put it back on.

    (And of course I bought a set of GHS UltraLight strings to put on it when the time comes...)
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  2. #2
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    As I noted on your blog page, this was prob made in Chicago for wholesale distribution. It looks like a decent one and could sound nice if set up right.

    You are prob right that that is not the right tailpiece. t was prob one of those cheapo stamped ones. I would either leave that one if it works all right or else get one of these from Stew-Mac.
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    I thought about that one, but to me it looked more un-original than the one that is on there. My big dilemma now is trying to find the right sized (thickness) of Mother of Pearl purflings. They need to be 1/8" and it seems that what is available are all 1/16".

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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Quote Originally Posted by Tipsam View Post
    I thought about that one, but to me it looked more un-original than the one that is on there. My big dilemma now is trying to find the right sized (thickness) of Mother of Pearl purflings. They need to be 1/8" and it seems that what is available are all 1/16".
    Check Ebay for the tailpiece, I see a few cycle through now and then, also for the missing binding, I searched on ebay till I found raw MoP inlay blanks that were a near match color wise for what I needed then cut the blanks to the size I wanted.
    If you want something that "barks" get a damn dog

  5. #5
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    That scallop tailpiece is a modernized version of the older stamped kind. I was not suggesting that it looked original at all, just functional. Frankly for a no-name bowlback IMHO originality is overrated. I would just want it playable.

    You could also take a look at this site which supplies quite a variety of pearl.
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Hi Jim, thanks for your replies! I think the old one is still quite functional, and looks nice, now that I've gotten it cleaned up. I still have to fill the holes from the original tailpiece, because the size of the Bell (which is also the size of the one from StewMac) is a bit smaller than the original. I've been in contact with Luthier's Supply. They could do a special order on the pearl, but it will take at least 6 weeks. Installing them, however, is another matter, as I have zero experience in that field... Hopefully I can find someone who could do the work, providing the owner of the mando wants to go that route.

    What was the purpose of the bowl-backs, anyway? They are awfully awkward to play!!

  7. #7
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Quote Originally Posted by Tipsam View Post
    What was the purpose of the bowl-backs, anyway? They are awfully awkward to play!!
    For some time and in many countries they were the main design for mandolins. They do take some getting used to but they have a different sound from what we in the US consider standard mandolins.
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Jim, I'd sure like to know a little more about this type of mandolin, even though, as you said, it was probably made for wholesale distribution. I had thought it was from around 1905, but because the tuning keys are Bakelite, I'm now thinking it's from the early '20s. Do you think I'm correct in that assumption?

  9. #9
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Very similar bowl-back with a near-identical pickguard and soundhole rosette. No manufacturer indicated. Note that it has the same type of "scallop" tailpiece that Jim G suggested; don't know if that's original or not. This one has had a new fingerboard installed. Also note that the seller's trying to get about $1K for it (optimistic?). Seller is Lowell "Banana" Levinger of Player's Vintage Instruments.

    Here's a fairly similar one labeled "Midland." That was a brand distributed by Wurlitzer, a major source of all kinds of musical instruments. If you scroll down to page 10 of this Wurlitzer catalog, you'll see Midland mandolins displayed. Yours looks like it could be a "Model 3408." Went for $8.75 new.

    The date? Well, the Wurlitzer catalog isn't dated, but they mention "44 years in business," and the company started in 1856, so that would date the catalog to 1900. Your mandolin could have been manufactured for several years -- and of course, we're assuming that it's either a Midland, or made around the same time as the Midlands in the catalog -- but I'd feel safer putting it in the first or second decade of the 20th century, before 1920.
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  10. #10
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Quote Originally Posted by allenhopkins View Post
    Very similar bowl-back with a near-identical pickguard and soundhole rosette. No manufacturer indicated. Note that it has the same type of "scallop" tailpiece that Jim G suggested; don't know if that's original or not.
    For historical purposes...
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Yes, very similar indeed. I'm still concerned about the Bakelite tuning keys. Bakelite was first made in 1907; the Bakelite Corporation was formed in 1922, but I suppose the keys could have been made prior to 1922. Sure wish I could find that exact tailpiece...

  12. #12
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    There was plastic before 1900 and most tuner buttons made for use on anything but the very higher-end mandolins sued some sort of plastic. I am no expert on plastics, so I could not tell you what the main type used was.

    You can prob find one of those clamshell ones on eBay some time.
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    To all: if it was mine, I might take a little more time and try to find the parts elsewhere, but since it belongs to someone else (and it may seldom get played, if that), I'm just doing the basics---what is needed to get it playable. Speaking of which, I am now finished working on it, strings are on, and truthfully, I don't think I'd want to play it, at least not the way it is. I did lower the bridge, but I think it could come down a little lower, which I may or may not do. If it was mine, I would buy new tuners as these originals don't want to stay in place, and I think it's more than just the fact that I've put on new strings. I would also replace the nut, as the spacings on it make playing a little awkward. One could say that of the bridge, too. But it looks pretty!

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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    In that fourth photo it looks like the bridge is in the wrong place. I assume you know how to place the bridge correctly? Frnakly I wopuld not worry too much about originality on a mandolin like this. It could be made playable with a little work but the value of it would not be degraded much even with new parts.We are not talking seriously collectible mandolin here. Nonetheless, it could be nice playing and sounding one.

    What exactly is wrong with the tuners? It looks like the screws are rusted.
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    I put it back where the old one was. Where should it go?

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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    I used new screws (brass). I guess I'm just used to more modern tuners...

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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Looking at the photo again, I can see that the bridge is sort of skewed. I actually put it a bit closer to the butterfly inlay. Here's the finished product.
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  18. #18
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Quote Originally Posted by Tipsam View Post
    I put it back where the old one was. Where should it go?

    Adjusting intonation on mandolins
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Quote Originally Posted by Tipsam View Post
    I used new screws (brass). I guess I'm just used to more modern tuners...
    You replace the adjusting screws or the mounting screws? If the latter, it is possible that the new screws have different threads which may affect the ability to tune properly.
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    I replaced the mounting screws, but made sure the tuning machines went on exactly as they were before. I found this on FretNot: "Inexpensive tuners with poor gear ratio's do not permit small incremental adjustment and often have us tuning above the note we're aiming for with very little effort." That seems to be one of the problems.

  21. #21
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    Default Re: Another vintage "tater-bug".

    Disagree with FretNot; it's more difficult to adjust tuners with a low gear ratio than "better" ones with a higher ratio, but you can still make "small incremental adjustments." Just requires a more precise manipulation of the tuning button. After all, violinists have been making small incremental adjustments in tuning for centuries, without any gear ratio at all -- just a "1:1" friction peg.

    It is possible that the tuners could be slipping, or that the strings could be binding and not moving smoothly through the nut slots. I've found as a general rule that tuners on older instruments were pretty well-made, even on the "mid-range" mandolins that sold for $10 or so around 1900. A bit of lubrication on the tuners might improve things, or perhaps a bit of graphite in the nut slots.

    Nearly all mandolins have "open" tuners, where the worm and the gear are exposed, and as a result dirt and damage are more common than with tuners that have housings to protect their "works." From the pic, these tuners seem pretty standard for instruments of that vintage, and should be workable if cleaned and lubed. Good luck.
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