DIY Network

1923 Gibson Snakehead Mandolin: Basic Set-Up and Wood-Replacement Repair Bill Baldock, repair technician Nashville's Gruhn Guitars, performs restoration work on a vintage Gibson mandolin. From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-304

Guitars aren't the only stars under the Gruhn Guitar roof. All stringed instruments, including mandolins, are bought and sold at the Nashville showroom. And with the best in the repair business under that same roof, the duties and the projects get divided up. That's how a 1923 Gibson Snakehead mandolin ends up on Bill Baldock's workbench.

Gruhn Guitars was established in 1970, but instruments found there may date back a century or more.

This Gibson mandolin was built in 1923.

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One of the perks that Bill Baldock enjoys as one of Gruhn's repair techs is that gets to play the instruments he works on.

In this project he takes the instrument through a standard set up and fret job, but really demonstrates his talent when he seamlessly removes a hole in the mandolin's maple back.

Materials:

filing block
crowning file
carbon paper
sandpaper
ball cutter
chisel
maple stock

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

• Mandolin specialist Bill Baldock assesses the damage on this vintage instrument. His checklist includes damage from a poorly placed strap button, and frets (figure A) in need of dressing.

• He begins by filing the frets back and forth with a block until they are all level with the lowest "wear" spot detected (figure B).

• Next Bill rounds over the sharp edges with a crowning file.

• The contour on the base of the bridge (figure C) doesn't match the top's contour. Bill fixes that by marking the bridge with carbon paper.

• By laying the paper on the top and then laying the bridge on the paper he will see the carbon spots on all the high spots. Those are the spots he needs to sand to make the contours match.

The evidence of a poorly placed strap button is addressed next. At some point in this Snakehead's life, someone decided to screw a strap button into the instruments back. The mistake left a hole in the maple, and Bill deftly eliminates both the hole and the mistake.

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