The Electra Forums

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

Very interesting indeed. Looks like a worthy project for someone with your talent and skills. I never knew that Electra made mandolins but It is cool that they did and an electric one to boot. Got to bring this one back from the scrap pile for certain. Good Luck.

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Always give thanks for everyday, It may be your last so Rock On Semper Fi!!

Mandolins are a blast to play. Good luck.

I didn't really expect it to go this high, but I got it

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

well, this is definitely going to be a PROJECT!
especially as I know nothing about these...

the fretboard appears to have been completely sanded flat with the frets still in it. (they may have a slight raise)
fretboard is pulling away from the neck (almost completely). mahogany.
binding is falling off and needs replaced
glue all over the place from a previous attempt at something... almost looks like someone tried to glue another fingerboard overtop of the old one!!!!

hole is drilled right through the logo, but the log is a MOP/irredecent type, so I'm not sure what I'll do there... I really want to preserve as much of the original logo as I can...

all original electronics are there though!!!!!

there is a "nut" with it, but it really a poor attempt at one as it's hacked up badly....

getting tuners that line up with the holes will be the biggest challenge I think....

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

My mandolin fretboard is flat (no radius). Tuners usually came in one of two sizes. I suspect that yours are standard. Stewmac has dimensions for you to check.

Good luck.

thanks, I was able to find a set of tuners on eBay that are the right dimensions... and a bridge fom the same place...

I'm going to wait on the nut until it's been rebuilt an refretted, as it just has to be tall enough to be used for string placement, as this Mandolin has a Zero-fret.

yeah, after looking at it closer, I could tell the fingerboard was totally flat, but the frets had been filed down all the way (which make n interesting time for removal...). it'll be getting some new frets...

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

First are they standard frets with a tang and barb or are they bar frets? You may be able to push bar frets out from the side.

It would be time consuming but could you drill into each fret and put a small self tapping screw in to give you a grip? Remember to heat the frets when you pull them. They may have been glued in. Even if not, heat helps.

they are standard frets. I removed one of them to check...

at least there's no truss rod to mess with

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

okay, the glue chuck and runs have come off well, and the rest of the binding is removed... I was able to remove the glue chunks under the partially lifted fingerboard, so it sits flat now, so I just need to reglue and don't need to pull completely off...

I used a magic eraser to cleas of the grime from the headstock, and it's still pretty decent shape save for the huge hole thru the logo and the chips in the superthick finish...

all the frets are removed, and I need to sand and run a fret saw thru the slots to make sure its all clean, and the new fretwire will fit...

the logo is the MOP style like this one...
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3848&p=20619&hilit=junior#p20619

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

When you get finished I hope that it plays well - I know it will be in a lot better condition than what you started with;

I keep reading your progress with your updates - keep us posted.

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RCSBlues

I got my tuners in, but apparently 40 years or so ago when they were making this mandolin, consistant spacing was not a priority...

I got some new bushings, and will be trying to do some precise tuning of the holes to get stuff to line up better...

fretboard is glued down now...

my main goal with this one is to just get it working again. the body cleaned up really well, so it should look okay... the buggest thing, was how the neck was attached, was kind of cobbled up, and there was an angles dowel from the heel into the body that was busted off when the neck was ripped off, so I'll have to re-do that piece...

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

uggghhhh. trying to put the frets in, and the slots just aren't wide enough for the low/narrow fretwire used for mandolin's
looks like I need to get a .023 saw... I was able to clean my existing slots with the blade from my scroll saw

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

Fret wire is cheap. You could see if you can find some narrow tang fret wire rather than have to widen the slots.

the stuff I have is the smallest I could find... looking at some of the reviews for this same "size" on stewmac, it looks like it can be really hard to start because the shorter tang has the barbs right to the bottom of the tang... I read something about thinning the bottom of the tang to help get it started. need to investigate that further... maybe hard mount a dremel as a tiny grinding wheel....

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!