This Oscar Schmidt mandolin, built in the late 19th or early 20th century, came to me several months ago in virtually unplayable condition. Years of string tension had pulled the neck forward to the point where the strings were too high off the fretboard, and a well-intentioned owner coated the original French polish with “modern” polyurethane which had since yellowed and obscured the beautiful Brazilian rosewood back strips. The mother of pearl fingerboard had weathered a century in relatively good shape, but the frets were worn, and the combination of high string action and poor fret placement caused the instrument to play sharp up the neck.
Tragically, mandolins of this vintage are only worth a few hundred dollars! However, this instrument had family value well beyond what it might bring on Ebay, so the owners asked me to restore it to its full sonic and visual beauty.
The first task was to remove the fingerboard and replace it with a wedge-shaped board to compensate for the neck angle. In the process, I had to remove the mother of pearl pieces, many of which were inlaid with geometric and planetary designs. Each piece needed to be lined with wood to keep the fret barbs from fracturing its brittle edges. I also filed most of the pieces shorter to reduce the scale length and correct the intonation.
I feared that removing the ugly polyurethane would damage the fragile finish beneath, but to my delight, it came off relatively easily. Stain made the new mahogany fingerboard match the aged neck, and a few French polish sessions using centuries-old methods, brought new luster to the original wood surfaces.
A new wooden bridge and nut completed the restoration. Stringing the instrument and hearing its new voice brought a thrill unique to those who appreciate historical value more than monetary valuation. The owners were equally thrilled!
