Great rescue. Although instrument brands like Silvertone and Harmony were nowhere near the quality of the prestige makers, they brought music to the masses. Many country, bluegrass and blues artists made some of their best music with these affordable instruments.
I inherited a 1940 Silvertone Mandolin from my Aunt who inherited it from my Great Grandfather who had play the thing so much the paint was worn off the neck and the frets were worn down to a nub. The finish was damaged all over. The neck was not set and was victim of a sloppy butchered set job by the factory making it guaranteed to fail. I was lucky nobody tried to fix the neck. I used the same approach you did. I wanted to really honor my Aunt and Great Grandfather and give this mandolin the royal refinishing treatment with a 100% shellac refinish job. The neck was painted and the wind chime emblem was stencil sprayed on. It looked very dime store and there was no way to make the neck repair blend because matching the paint was just not going to look good. I stripped it completely down and started over. I bought some maple and was able to make solid maple shims and lined it up, glued it all together for a nice solid fit and it worked great. The nice thing about this Silvertone mandolin. It has mahogany back and and sides with a solid spruce top and solid maple neck with a beautiful rosewood finger board. So I said to myself, hey it had all the right tone woods to make a very nice sound. I bought shellac flakes made my own shellac and finished the whole mandolin with shellac. I also found an exact windchime decal that I buried in numerous shellac coats. It all came out gorgeous. I left the cheapo plastic type pickguard off because I really dislike covering beautiful spruce tops with ugly pre-plastic type pickguards. Hit the strings when I play any how not the top. I polishing it all up tomorrow with museum approved polish safe for shellac. I’m putting on new historical matching Kluson tuners. I did put on stainless steel frets though to enhance the sound and leveled them all up real nice. So hopefully no buzzing. My Aunt will see it on Saturday and play it for the first time since the late the 1960’s. She’s going to really love seeing it look brand new yet vintage. I will always think of her and about my great grandfather who died before I was born. Your mandolin repair sounded really nice BTW and thank you for making this video. I was reassuring to watch you to fix an old instrument and make it sing once again.
BTW, Emeri, I think you're doing a great job on the editing. Just saying, and Jerry's monologues while working remind me of Will Roger's clever talk while twirling his lariat,.
You also saved time by gluing all the little pieces together because, individually, they each require curing time. This way you combine all the curing time, iMO.
Dang! I'll bet that it sounds better now than it ever did in its life. Stronger, too, and more stable it couldn't be. Well done, Jerry! Another bostin job.
You’re better off taking it apart at the neck joint because Silvertone is known for neck joint failures anyhow. That was a good move and you probably have saved a future repair
22nd LIKE, view 196 - I had one of those Silvertone guitars that had an amp & speaker in the case - got it at a pawn shop for a hundred bux. Wish I still had it - it had a great sound, and was easy and fun to play. I think they were made in/by the Harmony factory... maybe even some relationship with Epiphone - but I'm not sure about that. Their twin-speaker amp with reverb was very popular, and also had a great Rock-n-Roll sound. This is the first time seeing a mandolin bearing the Silvertone badge. IF that were mine - I'd remove/leave off the white pick-guard.
Nice save!! There is probably a majority of people who would've simply thrown that raggedy old thing away. But I might've chosen to dye the fretboard black to match the headstock, and i would've painted the bridge black also. That's if i wasn't doing a higher quality restoration. But I don't guess the fretboard is a nice natural wood like rosewood. The bridge might actually be rosewood. But this is not a sentiment keepsake instrument. Still, if i had the extra money like i used to, i would've had Jerry touch up that finish while it was there. Just an hour or 90 minutes spent on the finish would've made a huge difference! Only a few musicians would've thought anything about it being a case of trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Who cares what snobs think?! We loved watching you save this garbage dump destined instrument into a nice, playable mandolin!! Kudos, and God bless you and your loved ones, Jerry.
W~T~G, "Doc"! I have a KAY that is Identical in Every Way~With Painted On "Binding" on the Body, but with the Kay Head Stock, and a Kay Logo on the Pick~Guard which I Restored, as it was Faded Out. But the Hole End of the F~Hole, doesn't have that Decorative "Split" in the Rounded End. I Managed to Procure a Nice L'il Ebony Armrest from Amazon for it, and Trimmed a Bolt S.A.E. 18 for a Nut, to make it sound Sharper, spacing the Strings Appropriately. The Nut Width was Only 1~3/32" by the time U factored in the Roll Off of the Fret Board Binding. It was a Lot of Work, but I guess it would Sound Similar to a Zero Fret, if that would've been Possible.
Awesome video. My first guitar was a used Silvertone. It belonged to my older brother. My older sister got it after I got a better guitar. What she did with it I don't know, lol. My father bought it at the B & L Maytag Future Store in Grundy, VA back in the late 50s or early 60s.
Hi Jerry; At minute 29:30 in the video, your scraping off the finish to make a good glue joint. I wouldn't even consider that optional. The glue below the dovetail pocket is like the tab on the bottom of a violin neck. It holds more than you can imagine as it's fartherest from the fulcrum point on the lever that makes up the heal of the neck. Don't question your gut, it's ablolutely correct. Love watching you do these repairs. Thanks for making these videos. 10 thumbs up on your neck joint work.
Another great video, Jerry. Love watching you resurrect these old instruments. Also, considering how bad your arthritis is, you can still make those strings sing.
Darn right its worth scraping the varish and paint off the body so glue will stick to it. It will make 100% better. It will hold strong now. Im sure it will hold better. you know how you make a big void on the rosa and gibsons madalins you should make a big void on the upper part on that one too no one plays up there anyway. And keeps the strings from hitting. I actually sometimes complely file down the 23rd fret on guitars because sometimes they hit and it drive me nuts. Probaly my neck angle is off. I bet he likes that the action is better than it was brand new.
Jerry, even though I am confident that neck will not move until the entire mandolin turns to dust, did you consider putting a short wedge in the neck joint gap? Just curious. 😁
I really enjoy watching you work. This repair baffles me. Why would anyone invest in repairing that Silvertone, which is not a great instrument, when they could easily buy an inexpensive replacement that would be a much better mandolin? Is this an issue of sentimental value?
8:40 -ish Would it be a good or bad idea to put a piece of Saran-Wrap type film over the wood piece and under the yellow plastic piece before clamping? My probably unfounded worry is the glue would hold the yellow plastic to the wood chip and removing the yellow plastic would take the chip, too?
The action on that mandolin is almost as bad as the guitar I learned to play on. Saving another "classic" instrument from the ravages of time, yet again, Jerrty?
Great rescue. Although instrument brands like Silvertone and Harmony were nowhere near the quality of the prestige makers, they brought music to the masses. Many country, bluegrass and blues artists made some of their best music with these affordable instruments.
Sears Roebuck sold pianos too, though it didn't use the Silvertone brand.
Great job Jerry bringing this mandolin back to life.
I inherited a 1940 Silvertone Mandolin from my Aunt who inherited it from my Great Grandfather who had play the thing so much the paint was worn off the neck and the frets were worn down to a nub. The finish was damaged all over. The neck was not set and was victim of a sloppy butchered set job by the factory making it guaranteed to fail. I was lucky nobody tried to fix the neck. I used the same approach you did. I wanted to really honor my Aunt and Great Grandfather and give this mandolin the royal refinishing treatment with a 100% shellac refinish job. The neck was painted and the wind chime emblem was stencil sprayed on. It looked very dime store and there was no way to make the neck repair blend because matching the paint was just not going to look good. I stripped it completely down and started over. I bought some maple and was able to make solid maple shims and lined it up, glued it all together for a nice solid fit and it worked great. The nice thing about this Silvertone mandolin. It has mahogany back and and sides with a solid spruce top and solid maple neck with a beautiful rosewood finger board. So I said to myself, hey it had all the right tone woods to make a very nice sound. I bought shellac flakes made my own shellac and finished the whole mandolin with shellac. I also found an exact windchime decal that I buried in numerous shellac coats. It all came out gorgeous. I left the cheapo plastic type pickguard off because I really dislike covering beautiful spruce tops with ugly pre-plastic type pickguards. Hit the strings when I play any how not the top. I polishing it all up tomorrow with museum approved polish safe for shellac. I’m putting on new historical matching Kluson tuners. I did put on stainless steel frets though to enhance the sound and leveled them all up real nice. So hopefully no buzzing. My Aunt will see it on Saturday and play it for the first time since the late the 1960’s. She’s going to really love seeing it look brand new yet vintage. I will always think of her and about my great grandfather who died before I was born. Your mandolin repair sounded really nice BTW and thank you for making this video. I was reassuring to watch you to fix an old instrument and make it sing once again.
there's just something so therapeutic about watching Jerry bring one of these instruments that i'd probably give up on, back to life.
That might be the fastest neck removal I've seen yet
Jerry has the ability to bring old dead instruments back to life. I'll bet this mandolin sounds better than when it was new.
Great jobb !! Jerry you are the wizzard of mandolins 👍👍👍👍
Really enjoyed watching this! You are doing great repair job as always! Thank You for sharing these videos! Greetings from Latvia, Europe! Marko
Thanks Jerry and Emeri great mandolin and video 🇬🇧
I am SO glad I found this video. I just picked up one of these at an estate auction with the same issues.
Good Job Jerry, always enjoy your ability to to repair different instruments, Thanks for sharing.😎
Very nice. I love that you give these off brands some respect. That was some good pickin at the end. Thanks
You rock, Jerry. Greetings from a young brazilian luthier
You are such a natural on video. Thank you so much!
You are the Mandolin Master.
BTW, Emeri, I think you're doing a great job on the editing. Just saying, and Jerry's monologues while working remind me of Will Roger's clever talk while twirling his lariat,.
You also saved time by gluing all the little pieces together because, individually, they each require curing time. This way you combine all the curing time, iMO.
Wonderful video as usual. Thank you for being so generous with your time!
Excellent video, enjoyed your progress on this instrument and the care you give even a 'less' expensive instrument.
ah yes! I believe it is called red wing! :D one of the first tunes I learned too on banjo. great work on this little mando!
Thank you my friend. BTW I watched the video on your daughter. Could not hold back the tears.
Dang! I'll bet that it sounds better now than it ever did in its life. Stronger, too, and more stable it couldn't be. Well done, Jerry! Another bostin job.
Redwing always gets me singing the words to I know who I've believed on the chorus. I don't know why, I just do.
I'd bet the best 'setup' in the instruments history; better than new. Sounds good!
You’re better off taking it apart at the neck joint because Silvertone is known for neck joint failures anyhow. That was a good move and you probably have saved a future repair
Thanks!
Love what doing we need more guys like you would love to spend a day in shop🎃
22nd LIKE, view 196 - I had one of those Silvertone guitars that had an amp & speaker in the case - got it at a pawn shop for a hundred bux. Wish I still had it - it had a great sound, and was easy and fun to play. I think they were made in/by the Harmony factory... maybe even some relationship with Epiphone - but I'm not sure about that.
Their twin-speaker amp with reverb was very popular, and also had a great Rock-n-Roll sound. This is the first time seeing a mandolin bearing the Silvertone badge.
IF that were mine - I'd remove/leave off the white pick-guard.
I had a Silvertone Mandolin in the 1950s, also had a Silvertone Guitar.
AHH the Doctor at work handy neck came out fast this time for you a joy to watch you work your magic Jerry
Wonderful job, Jerry!
Bravo! Amazing restoration!
Nice save!! There is probably a majority of people who would've simply thrown that raggedy old thing away. But I might've chosen to dye the fretboard black to match the headstock, and i would've painted the bridge black also. That's if i wasn't doing a higher quality restoration. But I don't guess the fretboard is a nice natural wood like rosewood. The bridge might actually be rosewood. But this is not a sentiment keepsake instrument. Still, if i had the extra money like i used to, i would've had Jerry touch up that finish while it was there. Just an hour or 90 minutes spent on the finish would've made a huge difference! Only a few musicians would've thought anything about it being a case of trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Who cares what snobs think?!
We loved watching you save this garbage dump destined instrument into a nice, playable mandolin!! Kudos, and God bless you and your loved ones, Jerry.
Thanks
so many good knowledge !! keep on !! greetings from Greece !!
Great video! Thanks.
Great work Jerry, it probably didn't play that good when it was new!
my first was an A style Harmony. First tune was Wildwood Flower.
Great video, Jerry. Really enjoyed that and a great job on the mandolin. A real feel good episode this one.
W~T~G, "Doc"!
I have a KAY that is Identical in Every Way~With Painted On "Binding" on the Body, but with the Kay Head Stock, and a Kay Logo on the Pick~Guard which I Restored, as it was Faded Out.
But the Hole End of the F~Hole, doesn't have that Decorative "Split" in the Rounded End.
I Managed to Procure a Nice L'il Ebony Armrest from Amazon for it, and Trimmed a Bolt S.A.E. 18 for a Nut, to make it sound Sharper, spacing the Strings Appropriately.
The Nut Width was Only 1~3/32" by the time U factored in the Roll Off of the Fret Board Binding.
It was a Lot of Work, but I guess it would Sound Similar to a Zero Fret, if that would've been Possible.
Nice job with this! That was a neat trick removing the neck.
thanks Jerry and Emeri for the content. I love watching old instruments brought back to life.
Awesome video. My first guitar was a used Silvertone. It belonged to my older brother. My older sister got it after I got a better guitar. What she did with it I don't know, lol. My father bought it at the B & L Maytag Future Store in Grundy, VA back in the late 50s or early 60s.
Really enjoyed this video, awesome job.
you are amazing most days, sir! lubbitt! :)
Yeaaa!
Looking good
Hi Jerry;
At minute 29:30 in the video, your scraping off the finish to make a good glue joint. I wouldn't even consider that optional. The glue below the dovetail pocket is like the tab on the bottom of a violin neck. It holds more than you can imagine as it's fartherest from the fulcrum point on the lever that makes up the heal of the neck. Don't question your gut, it's ablolutely correct. Love watching you do these repairs. Thanks for making these videos. 10 thumbs up on your neck joint work.
Another great video, Jerry. Love watching you resurrect these old instruments. Also, considering how bad your arthritis is, you can still make those strings sing.
Well done!
Not sure why, but when you were talking about your lip at around 31:00 I busted out laughing... Great video!
"The dog ate my peghead..."
Darn right its worth scraping the varish and paint off the body so glue will stick to it. It will make 100% better. It will hold strong now. Im sure it will hold better. you know how you make a big void on the rosa and gibsons madalins you should make a big void on the upper part on that one too no one plays up there anyway. And keeps the strings from hitting. I actually sometimes complely file down the 23rd fret on guitars because sometimes they hit and it drive me nuts. Probaly my neck angle is off. I bet he likes that the action is better than it was brand new.
🌞
😊
Jerry, even though I am confident that neck will not move until the entire mandolin
turns to dust, did you consider putting a short wedge in the neck joint gap? Just curious. 😁
I really enjoy watching you work. This repair baffles me. Why would anyone invest in repairing that Silvertone, which is not a great instrument, when they could easily buy an inexpensive replacement that would be a much better mandolin? Is this an issue of sentimental value?
definitely sentimental
Jerry do you ever get tempted to just do way to much to an inexpensive instrument like a kid making his 92 Honda Civic go 170 mph
8:40 -ish Would it be a good or bad idea to put a piece of Saran-Wrap type film over the wood piece and under the yellow plastic piece before clamping? My probably unfounded worry is the glue would hold the yellow plastic to the wood chip and removing the yellow plastic would take the chip, too?
glue does not stick to the yellow plastic. That is why I used it.
@@RosaStringWorks Okay. Thank you!
Ever heard of a Wilson mandolin
Jerry, what glue should I use on the pick guard of my vintage Goya? it is starting to come unglued. It is the old nitro finish. Thanks in advance.
Did you say millions.... or *billions?* 😀
The action on that mandolin is almost as bad as the guitar I learned to play on. Saving another "classic" instrument from the ravages of time, yet again, Jerrty?
Throw that chisel away and use a sanding block.
* Millions and millions of crappy instruments
Another in the record books ! Nice job Gerry !
Excellent work 👏🏽👏🏽
Loved this ! I got a mandolin just like it!