Mando Uno: Mandolins by Chuck DeHart

The 1982 World's Fair was still unwinding in Knoxville, Tennessee when I built two of these mandolins in two months. I had seen drop-top, potato bug mandolins and thought, "why not do sides and back in A-style". The Mando Uno's are simply well constructed. Featuring spruce tops and bracing, hard curly maple sides, back and neck, ebony fingerboard, rosewood floating bridge and faceplate, and coco bolo bindings with maple and walnut purfling. A single piece of marquetry with heart design is inlaid just at the end of the fingerboard. The body is a little smaller than the traditional A-model and the string length is 15mm longer than the Kay mandolin from which I took some dimensions. The extra length adds tension, along with the drop-top, to yield a great well presenced tone.

Thanks and Enjoy, Chuck. October 2013.(Email me here)

Mando Uno picture from 2005 (left). Owner tracked me down to get more information about the instrument. Not sure which of the two this is. One had a wider fingerboard and was bartered to a mechanic with big hands. He played it up against a Kay in a music store and mentioned how much louder this one was.

Some other links at the Hollow Road Guitar Shop, Chuck's Instrument Website:

Chuck in the Knoxville shop, 1983 (above).

Another photo from 2005, below. I like the coco bolo bindings. Dense, oily wood that requires extra efforts at just about every step. I also put a little more arc than usual into the back which is thin enough (2mm) to flex.

Some pictures from the Knoxville shop in 1983. At right, interior photos. Note the spruce bracing throughout, reinforcement around the soundhole, tentelones to join the top to sides, angled tone brace across the drop-zone, side braces, Spanish footer built neck/heel. The sides insert into kerfs cut into a solid block made from offcuts of the neck stock. A single piece of epoxy graphite reinforcement rod inlaid into the neck. Cloth tape reinforces the sides, too.

Two more pictures from 2005. below.