Official Luthiers Forum!

It's a mandolinetto! I took measurements from one made by Bruno of NY around 1890-1920 (?). The orig. had an oval hole and a much fancier pickguard w/ B&S of BRW.
This one has a Sitka spruce top, B&S of black walnut, maple neck w/ a CF rod.

This is the second one of these that I have seen Wayne. The first was in my shop a couple of years ago for restoration. It was a basket case. The top had really caved in on both sides of the sound hole and from the way it was braced I could find no way to keep it from returning to that condition after I had flattened it. The owner and I agreed on the installation of a sound post to limit the deflection of the top under tension. If you have some pictures of the top I would be very interested in seeing how it was originally handled. Lacking that a copy of your drawings would be very helpful.

I spent a lot of time on the net looking for information on construction but came up empty.Your project is the first I have seen since. Any knowledge you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated.

cecil

Is it tuned like a mandolin? What's the scale length?

Look for it as a taro-patch (eight stringed ukulele).

Bob

Quine, it's tuned and played like a mandolin! The scale length is 335mm with 10 frets to the body....all my other dimensions are in inches, it just worked out that way.

Cecil, The mandolinetto that came into my shop had the neck bowed up from tension, the back joint had separated, the back had pulled loose from the tail block and it needed a new bridge. Everything else was stable. I put three braces on the top, one under the FB, one below the soundhole, and one under the bridge. I made a drawing but it is not detailed enough leaving some items to be worked in the shop.

unkabob, I suspect that in the time period the Bruno mandolinetto was made, Bruno had more uke bodies than they knew what to do with!

Very nice! I made a mandolinetto a while back (by the seat of my pants). I wish I knew how to play the mando. I'd like to make another one but I have no one to use it when it's done.

Do you mind posting body dimensions? I'd like to see how close my made up design is to a proven plan. What kind of case does it go in?

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Bryan,
It's basically a concert ukulele body. The measurements are..LB-7 3/4", UB-5 5/8" Body length-10 5/8" Body depth-2 1/2" Overall length--22"+/- Scale length is 335mm ( w/ 10 frets to the body)

A case for a concert ukulele fits just perfectly.

That is really pretty, Wayne!
I would very much like to hear what it sounds like.
Dan

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Thanks, Dan. If I were more computer savvy, I would provide a sound byte. I'll have to see what I can do.