Workshop: 1900s Gibson Mandolin Tailpiece Repair

This is a type of repair I use for many old mandolin tailpieces when the string-mount tabs or hooks are broken. It's really common on the old stamped-brass and steel tailpieces to have missing mounts. I should have taken an "as-is" pic to begin-with, but you can see here that I've drilled 8 holes and then filled them with tiny, vintage screws. They're down snug-enough with the plate that the sliding Gibson tailpiece cover will ride over them nicely.

Before I installed these, however, you can see that I sanded the nickel plating down to the brass off the bottom of the plate where I (then) installed the screws.

That's because the next job is to nip them a little above the surface...

...and then solder the heck out of them so they'll remain nice and stable. The threads into the plate on each screw hold them fine but this makes sure they don't "back out."

The end result is a happy mandolin. This is that 1906 Gibson A-3 that I recently put out on the floor.