With spool clamps made the next job was to begin the process of gluing the cracks ready for the reinforcing cleats. First I had to mix up some fresh glue. Elsewhere I noted that I had converted an old coffee drip machine as a double heater for the glue.
coffee pot as glue pot
The glue granules were dissolved in water for about an hour, then heated by immersion in the coffee pot which held plain water on the hotplate. The glue was mixed to the consistency of honey – and that is when it is ready to use.
A further examination of the back revealed a separation between the lower bout and the back. The best tool for this is a thin palette knife.
The knife both found the gap and was used as the means to convey the glue into the gap.
Garini violin repair
The excess was quickly wiped off with a damp rag and the gap was held closed by a few spool clamps. Four hours later and the back-ribs seal is complete.
Garini violin repair
With that job done, I set aside the body on its cushioned surface and set to work on the top.
There were several issues to address which had to be handled quickly, so photos are sparse.
The first one was the F-hole crack that would otherwise prevent proper clamping of the other cracks. I made a temporary cleat from a popsicle stick and glued and clamped this one with a spring clamp.
At that point I went off and had some lunch and a coffee and came back to find it had held well and was nicely aligned.
Using the palette knife for the most open part of the first major plate crack I worked quickly under a warm lamp to get glue into the join as far as possible. But to avoid opening the crack further, I then pained glue on the rest of the crack and tapped it into the crack with my forefinger.
Then I used the edge-closing clamp to hold the edge and applied a full top-plate clamp to close the rest of the crack.
You can see both clamps here – they are specialist luthier clamps bought from Pilgrims Projects online.
Garini violin repair
Having sealed the bass-bar crack I did the same with the upper plate crack and glued that up too.
After several hours the top plate is almost solid again. But the top plate will be weak. And the F-hole repair is only temporary as I really need to do a full ‘eyebrow’ cleat – which entails removing some of the original wood to about half the thickness of the plate, and inserting a spruce cleat to match it and then shape it to fit so that no timber stands proud when it comes to rejoining the top to the ribs.
At this point I will have to put the repair on hold as I need to order some spruce material for the cleats online – it should be about a week or ten days coming from the USA.
In the meantime I hope to make some detailed drawings traced from the violin so that I can use the measurements on a new one.
Cheers
Jerry
January 28, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Greetings from Praveen-India.
I want to do Violin repair course.Kindly give me details, I am very much thankful to you.
In Christ,
Yours Truly,
Praveen
January 28, 2010 at 8:45 pm
There are many violin repair courses, although I don’t know of any in India. That said, there are online violin making and repair courses. You could try here first
http://www.luth.org/links/schools.htm
Cheers
Jerry
June 18, 2011 at 5:16 am
What do you suggest to (forming back – to the body) a violin warped top where the top separated when viewing a crack and the top and body seem to both sprung 3/8” or so toward each other or less like a tree leaf drying up. They both went toward each other as a dry tree leaf does. The body seems to of twisted a bit also at the back. I heard of sand bagging but not clear of that as of yet. Also I think more moisture for a 2 month period might help in a room. I don’t really know of the answer and will need some real help I know. I have tried it and it is a good 3/8″ or so to forming into place, all the sides.
June 18, 2011 at 5:22 am
THE TOP AND BODY I HAVE TO GLUE TOGETHER. THEY ARE SEPARATED. I AM THINKING WET SAND BAGS FOR DAYS SO THE WOOD WILL FORM BETTER AND NOT BREAK, CORRECT? WILL THIS WORK OR ARE THERE A BETTER WAYS?
June 18, 2011 at 10:24 am
Hi Jeff – no need for caps lock!
Obviously, my first suggestion is to take it to a trained luthier and at the very least get their advice.
This certainly looks like a tricky repair – if the wood is warped out of alignment then this will be a very substantial repair. It may be possible to apply a little steam to the wood, then glue and clamp it back into position using luthier clamps. If it is badly warped you may be looking at a more substantial reconstruction – removing the top and using damp sand bags on the top against a known flat surface, then repairing any cracks before re-attaching to the body.
If the body itself is warped, you may need to remount in a violin form and gently use steam or a damp (not wet) cloth and some weights or clamps to bring it back into alignment. It is very hard to say without seeing the instrument.
Bottom line is if you are determined to do your own repair, (i.e. luthier says it can’t be repaired, or is uneconomical to repair) you will want to do everything somewhat gently – damp, not wet sandbagging over several days might help for a warp. Then repair any cracks, clean out residual glue, and reassemble like a normal violin using hide glue.
Hope that helps
Cheers
Jerry
March 18, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Many thanks for providing these details.