Brian Dean (http://labraid.ca/) cast these custom tailpieces for me; he was in the middle of moving from Ontario, all the way to Nova Scotia, so he sent 'em to me in the rough. I used to do some metal polishing, even a bit of jewelry making, something like 25 years ago, so this wasn't a problem. I dug out the old buffs and compounds, and fixed up a few. Above are some rough ones along with one that's been polished and is ready!

I like these Gotoh machines, but I dislike the large bushings they supply with them, so I can the stock bushings and use the "vintage" style ones from StewMac.

I built this little pressing device; I chuck it into the drill press, and press the bushings home (without turning on the drill press, of course!)

To fit the bridge on a new mandolin, I tape one leg exactly where it will live the rest of its life, and slide some cloth backed sandpaper under the free leg.

Applying light, yet firm(if that makes sense?) pressure on the bridge, I'll pull the paper, but never completely out. The bridge's feet were already a decent fit, and this method finishes off the fit. I'll do both sides, chck the fit, and refine if necessary. After I'm done, there will be a few light scratches in this area, but a quick trip to the buffer takes care of them. This is why I only use this method on new mandolins! Others get a manual chalk fit.

The second half of the tailpiece is made here; it's a nice little cover, made of matching wood, in this case, cocobolo to match the fretboard and headstock. The cover is cut such that it holds to the two out strings via a dovetail, and to the two center strings via a stud and o-ring. More on this later!

The bridge is also of my own making and design. I'll make a dedicated page regarding these in the next few days.

Now, to the next page, for some photos of the completed mandolin! A true sweetheart! The shorter scale works wonderfully; she's wonderfully light playing, yet does not lack for volume and tone at all. I notice the shorter scale most when playing full 4 finger chords, especially the bluegrass G chord, which always stretches my pinky to the point of hurting at times; with this one, it's a cinch! I'l be making myself one of these, for sure! Or maybe I'll yank the fretboard off my personal A-5, and replace it with this shorter scale one, with a zero fret. Yes, I like both of these "features" that much.

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