I watched several videos of Jerry leveling the frets on mandolins. A friend had an old mandolin that belonged to her father originally. However, it was unplayable. There was buzzing everywhere and the fret board was in deplorable condition. More than anything, she wanted to her it being played again. I thought there was nothing that could be done until I saw these videos. I offered to work on it for her. I replaced the nut, the saddle, and then leveled the frets, just like Jerry does. I even applied some Lindseed oil as a finishing touch! The results were wonderful and she was so grateful. The fret board looks beautiful, and there is no buzzing. I played "Redwing" which she remembers her playing for heryears ago when she was a child. " My thanks to Jerry for being such a great teacher and helping all of us, who own acoustic, fretted instruments, how to make simple repairs!
Thanks so much for rescuing this old Gibson. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the work that you have put into it. Although I never knew Mr. Rice personally, I think he would be pleased that his old mandolin is being cared for and enjoyed. Next step is to find and replace the old DeArmond pickup. Thanks again!
Jerry I think you have been kidding us with your repairs all along. I am convinced after watching this video that you must have a Magic Wand in your toolbox. That repair was fantastic. It looks and sounds Magic. Full respect my friend.
Jerry, I’m so addicted to your channel it’s crazy. I’ve been binge watching your projects over the last 2 weeks it’s unreal. I learn numerous things every single time, every episode. You are truly a master at what you do. Then I realized I had a 1937 epiphone in my closet from my great-great-great grandfather. I’m so glad I found you. It’s on it’s way sir. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, experience and wisdom sir.
I thought those old photos of the original owner were a lovely piece of Americana. Very well done for restoring that well worn and loved old instrument back to auseful and playable condition. Great work again Jerry, thanks for posting.
Hi Jerry. Greetings from a cold damp Dublin, Ireland. I just want to say that I'm really enjoying your videos. Your patience and attention to detail is enlightening. I was so inspired that I started flatpicking yesterday!
What I like about Jerry’s approach to repair is that he doesn’t use all the contraptions I see with other luthiers. No stumac total guitar vice or the solder monster ! Lol It makes me feel more comfortable about trying to repair my own instruments. Again thanks Jerry !
When you've been in business nearly 40 years and you can still be amazed by an instrument's condition, that's really saying something! The pictures of it in use were nice to see.
Hi Jerry...what an Amazing Job!! That old mando looks and sounds great!!! Every time I watch one of your videos I am reminded if the Francis of Assisi quote "He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist." YOU, sir, are an Artist!! You always put so much Love into each repair!! BTW, it was really great to see the pics of the guy who played this "way back when!!" Added a lot of the "human element" to the restoration! Thanx, as always, for such a great vid!!
The thing that impresses me the most is not only is he a great Luther but he has the knowledge to make any tool (ie chisels etc) and jigs but he has the machine shop to do it in. Outstanding man.
. . . . . just found a 1914 Gibson A3 mandolin with cracked heel, and slightly bowed side. Thanks so much for your work on this Gibson mandolin. . . . . and your intuitive process of restoration and repairs! Watching your techniques and inner decisions on what to restore, and what to leave alone was helpful . . . . . . . especially the final sound of the instrument! -JG
just want to say thanks for sharing.. makes me want to fix 2 instruments that were given to me. i took it to a shop and they told me it wasnt worth fixing, just trash them and buy new.. but now i see though you and others i can fix it and who knows it may actually play good. :) thanks again
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with oll of us newbees out here in mandolin land, and those of us hungry for your skill. We're watching from Canyon Lake Texas. A hidden gem in the Texas hill country. (But please don't tell anyone!)
Yea! I got all caught up, I've watched all the past videos & now I'm watching all the current ones as they are posted! Keep up the good work Jerry & we're enjoying your CD's a lot, Thanks again!
I'm glad I stumbled upon your very well put together luthier video here instead of haphazardly selecting something from Amazon prime in hope it might enlighten me in ways that I need to be enlightened, this was well worth waiting to skip the commercials and glad I stayed to the end. Awesome work bringing this old A style Gibson back to life, loved it!
I love the played workhorse look of this mandolin. Too bad it wasn’t better cared for originally but it did provides us w a real nice repair tutorial. Turned out great.
Wonderful job Sir. You are a true craftsman. Such a pleasure to see an instrument like that be given new life. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world.
As you well know, back in the 40s-50s, electrifying instruments, although in their infant stages, were the new fad. Not only DeArmond, but many others, produced add-on pickups to get you in the game of amplifying to be heard over excited drummers and horn players. In Bluegrass and C&W bands the fiddle was usually the loudest, although a hot banjo player could mute a mandolin player. It is no wonder the add-ons, because they were ill fitting, moved around a lot and caused damage to the surfaces where they resided, caused scaring and finish problems.Bringing this beauty back from the brink was just another example of your talent for not giving up! Great job! Thanxz
I am really happy a resource like this is available. Thank you for making these videos and sharing your knowledge and experience. I have watched several and although I work mostly on electric guitars, I have learned an enormous amount from you. The fact that most videos go to the conclusion of the job with a demo of the the instrument, turns the video from a bit of a dry educational thing into a very enjoyable, entertaining and satisfying thing! Seeing those old instruments coming to life again is very fun. Thanks for doing this.
Great job! That neck looks amazing and, even though the owner said he wasn’t concerned about the asthetics, the entire instrument looks so much better than when it arrived. Very cool!
That's great that photos were sent with it of the original owner so it does date the mandolin somewhat and how it was used. Definitely a lot of issues to take care of on that one for sure. Those frets were really well used had no idea anyone could file them down that far.Cutting those fret board slots is a lot of hand fitting my hands would cramp up so bad doing that lolI think the customer will be very happy playing that mandolin now. Thanks for Sharing Jerry a really great video
Wow, You did an awesome amazing job on this repair. I love to watch you repair an old instrument like that. I think you went above and beyond as for repairing this instrument while saving the customer money. Most people would just pulled that finger board off and replaced it with a new one. Not many people would wanted to deal with all the DNA. It's a great thing to see an instrument that old up and playing again. That was a top instrument back when it was new. Most likely one of the most expensive of its time. I truly hope the that guy in the pic. Gets to see and play this instrument again. Any way I have went on & on to much. Many many thumbs up to you my friend. I hope you have a blessed week.
This video is the 1st I have watched of yours, I don't know why I haven't come across the channel before but I haven't. You did a great job and it was fun to watch. I was really surprised to see the old Gibson come back as nice as it did.. I'm trying to figure out why someone would thumbs down?/? Maybe some builders who thought it needed a new fret board? Old enemy's from high school? Great video, Tom
Such marvelous work! You make me want to run out somewhere and learn these skills. My sense, however, is that no one can teach what you've learned over the course of your career.
Thanks for the extra long video, Jerry (THE Master!) I really like your approach..."not perfect, good enough..like a well cared for old instrument ". I approach my bicycle work the same way unless I'm doing a restoration. Great job, my friend.
GREAT JOB, JERRY; SIR!!! Discovered your videos just a few weeks ago, and have watched a WHOLE LOT of them, since then, and have enjoyed them VERY much!! Still, I must say, I was very skeptical at first, and wondered if you shouldn't have decided to replace that fret board! 🙂 I should've known though, that you'd end up making it look really nice, and restore it to excellent playability, and it appears you surely DID THAT!!! 😊 Love the tone that Mandolin has!! Makes me wish I could get it into my hands, & play "Leather Breetches" on it!! (In the key of "G") 😊 Keep up the great work, and you can be sure, I'll continue watching!! Yours Truly, Ron Baird, TX.
You mentioned the criticism you have gotten for the lack of neck bracing and I have seen the threads on a forum that you are likely referring to. My point is that you clearly know what you are doing. This old Gibson came out sounding and looking pretty damn good. Yes, it may appear that you are rough with them, but I believe it is experience and confidence. I wouldn't hesitate to let you work on my mandolins...
Thank you very much. I don't get on those forms because most of them are know-it-all type guys who are incredibly stuck on themselves. Thanks for watching.
I think my old Kalamazoo finger board is worse but strangely it plays with no buzz anywhere. This vid has inspired me to have a go at fixing it. Trouble is the fingerboard has binding and no truss rod in the neck, but a nice little Mandolin that has seen some use. Thanks again always informative always entertaining.
Once again I have to struggle to find words to describe my utter amazement at your skill, Mr. Rosa. At the start of the video, I thought sure you were going to have to put a new fret board on that ol' gal; but you kept it and made that old fret board look fine and beautiful. The neck too I thought would need some sort of wood grafted on to its bottom, where the wedding ring had rubbed, but you worked deftly and skillfully and brought that and so many other parts back to life; and in the end it sounded like a very good instrument. (I suspect it never sounded as good even when it was new as you've made it sound today. And I'd bet real money, if I had any, that that mandolin hasn't looked that good since the Eisenhower administration!) Thank you for another spell-binding video. It was quite a journey. I hung on every word.
I know I commented on this yesterday but it's not here. Just wanted to say nice job again you saved a dead instrument. Plus, that's a great sounding mandolin. I really like the stripped down look of the A style.
What a difference visually when only the fretboard is fixed and oiled though you made the whole thing look much better and I like the sound of it really.
Just repaired frets on our Studio's BRAND NEW Epiphone Masterbilt MM40L F Style. I have nightmares of doing fret work, we should have sent this thing to RSW, however now the mandolin sings like an angel. Watching RSW videos makes it look easy - believe me, it isn't!
Jerry - I love your videos. About your carpet - don't you worry that all the crud that gets stuck in it will damage the finish of the instruments you put on it? I cringe every time you move a shiny guitar back on the carpet and see bits of plastic and metal in there! I love the quality of your videos, and the fact you number them is very useful! Keep up the great work, and hi from the UK :)
I actually clean the carpet very often. Almost between every instrument. And I vacuumed it frequently. I rub my hand through it all the time and if I feel anything at all I either get rid of it or cut it out or whatever it takes. Thanks for watching.
If anybody in Europe is interested in 'Simichrome', but doesn't want to buy wholesale Harley Davidson cartons on eBay, 'Autosol' is pretty much the same stuff. I have used it on classic motorbikes for years.
Another vintage instrument lovingly restored to playability. I have a Gibson A-1 from 1915-oval hole. That one is an A model with f-holes. I found a photo of a 1937 Gibson A-00 that looks like that one, and the pickguard mounting would match the holes you showed. Beautiful sound, with a little more “punch” than an oval hole would give. But I love mine! Had it 33 years
aint it funny how you have been doing your work for decades to your customers satisfaction.. yet smart alec viewers come along and want to give advise.. usually well meant but ignorant just the same...Jerry i am amazed by your work..i especially liked what you did with that crushed violin.. just ignore those negative imputs..this "if i were you" stuff, ignore it. you do great work.. i'll bet ya none of those smart viewers who love doling out wisdom have never even changed the strings on an instrument..keep up the good work..
Judging by the head stock logo and what we know about the original owner, that looks like a Gibson A-40 which came out in 1950. The A-40 was Gibson's best selling mandolin in the 50s. It only sold for about $50 in those days and was very affordable. That would be about $1,000 in today's money. The A-40 would have had a pick guard originally. You did a beautiful job on the fret board! The fret-board looks practically new but the rest of the body looks terrible by contrast. If it were mine, I would be tempted to sand and refinish the top and back and reinstall the pickguard. The customer may not want to do that, but I would!
You're not the only one who calls them Klein's by the way. There are a ton of people who have worked in the electrical field who refer to them the same way. It was confusing as heck when I got into the field as a summer job in highschool, they would say pass the Klein's and all of my tools were Klein's so I had no idea what they meant. Now here I am doing the same thing to my kids lol.
I've always thought of the square nosed pliers with Cutters as Klein's. The other ones I normally refer to them as wire cutters I just had a slip of the tongue. Thanks for watching.
Rosa String Works the square ones, we called those linesman pliers over here. The ones you were talking about have more names than I can count, I've heard everything from cutters, side cutters, diagonal cutters, dykes, etc etc. In the end it doesn't matter what you call if you ask me. Love the videos by the way.
One of the cool things about superglue is that you can put the really thin stuff on a crack and and it will run down into it. I have tested it and found it can travel 6 inches or even more, with the grain. The tighter the crack the farther it will run. If you get lucky you can glue the finish back together and get a perfect repair that requires no touch up on the finish. (really lucky) Also not all accelerators are equal. some will turn things white others will not. You are right about leaving it sit a bit. It will help, but some brands will give you that white haze no matter what you do.
Applause applause, indeed. Great job, and Sir, I sure hope you charge the customer what your expertise is worth. You do great work considering the customer just wants to get it back in operation. I liken this job to a customer that brings his VW that has been hit by a train and totaled . He wants you to get it back together, working but don't scratch the paint doing so, but can't afford to have it repaired and wants you to do the work. I just wonder how much time you spent off camera, getting this instrument back to life on your dime. Remember nice guys come in last. Years ago, I remember working on "friends cars" and got that, I really don't have the money, can I pay you on the first. The first never comes along and he avoids you like the plague. Got wise to those guys and moved on. I really enjoy watching you work your magic, but please get paid for what you do. I know it's none of my business, I am 80 years old and been there done that. Thanks for sharing Ken...Marina CA
I'm guessing, but I think most of that "goop" on the top is where someone glued a pickup in place. probably more than one, by the look of it. And I wondered if that headstock crack had actually been repaired before and was starting to open up again. Nice to see that the concern was to get it back into playable condition, rather than keeping it to its original state. Not going to happen, and it's not as if it's a collectors piece. Nice work.
Whenever I have neck damage and there's chunks missing from the fretboard I mix a good amount of Rosewood Pixi dust in the Evercoat spot putty and continue to stir, the color of the rosewood seems to almost dissolve into the putty and sand that area with ultrafine making it look as flat matt as the rest and works excellent before adding the hardener. Not the typical spot putty, this stuff hardens like a rock and doesn't shrink and I never had to stain it. I add the similar grain with a needle, then I use some oil on the neck maybe. The person playing will rub that stain right off of the plain white filler, but when I do stain, I do the area's that really need it until it looks good then I go over the whole are of work.
My dad had a old band member from way back in the 50s had a gretch 6120 that had wires for frets just before he traded it in.i sure wish I knew what it's worth now back in the early 70s when he traded it.
Another wonderful video! I was wondering what kind of beige looking wood filler you used on the fretboard between 19:32 -- 20:00 minutes in? If you don't mind me asking?
