A few years back the bridge on my favorite mando split down the middle, right at the beginning of a week-long campout festival. I whittled a new bridge out of a piece of a clothespin to last me until I could get back to town; but when I found out the price of a new "real bridge" I used the clothespin for another two years - until it split in about the same place as the original.

Surprisingly, with my talent for playing the mando, hardly anyone ever complains about it being out of tune.

John