Violin Forum/Message Board

[BobW]

This is my first post. I have a good amount of repair experience on guitars, but need some advice here on a violin top crack issue.

Here is some odd history on the violin:
The violin in question is a turn of the century Guarnerius copy, where the previous owner attempted to repair then restore it by removing the finish before repairing the top crack! He stated a previous owner to him had painted a thick coat of shellac onto violin, and wanted to work with a clean surface for the "repair/restoration". As a result remains of the finish absorbed into the crack, and he gave up. I bought it for almost nothing, and want to repair the top crack, then prep and finish using spirit varnish.

Work performed so far:
Removing the top was pretty easy, and no damage resulted. Using a little heat and a thin spatula dipped in warm water did the trick. After a few hours of carefully cleaning the partially sealed crack using heat, H2O2, bleach/water, water the stubborn crack is now clean, dry and ready for repair.
The crack runs from the purfling to the f hole on the bass bar side. Although about 2/3s of the crack is a clean break, and should repair well, the bottom 1/3 is jagged and has a few missing spruce slivers on the top side. I plan to use studs temporarily glued on the bottom to repair the crack using this method linked below: then will add cleats on the bottom.

My question is, Since the bottom 1/3 of the crack will only partially seal, due to the missing slivers, should I splint the entire crack (from purfling to f hole) or just the bottom 1/3?

My thoughts are, if I splint only the bottom 1/3, there will be a very visible horizontal seam, and won't look nice after refinishing, although the other 2/3's of the crack should be almost invisible. However if I carefully splint the entire crack, by using a matching grain, it may hide the repair better? I already have a matching spruce sample that should work for the splint and the cleats.

Also the bottom 1/3 of the crack is jagged and would require cutting to make a clean line for the splint.

Thanks for any advice. I know I could buy a new top but prefer to use the original and repair it using the best method.


http://hudelmayer.com/about-me/articles/hold-on-tight-the-strad-nov-2001-article-on-crack-repair/

[Ken Pollard]

Hi Bob,

It sounds to me that you have already decided what you want to do, that is, make it an invisible repair. So, ok, piece it in.

'Invisible' repairs are the goal these days, but weren't always so. I've seen plenty of old factory fiddles repaired in all sorts of ways. For example, here's one that seems to be quite a complicated repair method (not my work) --



But it's been holding for some time prior to coming into my shop for a different repair.

I had another one where the top looked like a ship deck -- all sorts of inlaid pieces, about 1/4-inch wide, maybe 2 or 3 inches long, random colors, and so on. But the repairs looked to be several decades old, and the instrument had decent tone. I sold it to a customer who was delighted to have it.

The question I'd pose is: what do you expect to get out of the repair? Experience? A playable instrument? A reasonable return on your time? Bragging rights? Possibly some combination.

In my experience, a non-invisible repair competently done is far better than an attempt at an invisible repair that continues to be a problem later on.

Others will have different opinions. Pictures would help.

[Michael Darnton]

It sounds like you're missing just slivers of wood, not slabs, so I wouldn't remove more wood to make a clean place to insert a slab (spline) that' going to definitely be visible. In this case, I've had really good results taking thin shreds of plane shavings of spruce, soaking them in hide glue, and jamming them in the crack with a needle.

Get it all lined up and studded first, so that the two sides stay level. Glue what you can in advance, but don't get any glue in where you intend to put shavings--you want to make sure you fill the spaces with shavings not glue. Stuff in too much, and leave it high, so that it can shrink down a bit and still be above level.

After it's dried a day or two, cut, scrape, or sand it level, seal, and retouch. The good thing about this strategy is that unlike other types of fill, if you're random enough the new stuff won't shine in any particular way, won't reflect either a bright or dark stripe, and can be very easy to retouch over, if you have the right retouching skills.
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[BobW]

Ken and Michael, thanks for your replies. I appreciate both of your valuable inputs.

What I expect to get out of this repair (no matter how long it takes), is a playable secondary instrument while gaining repair experience. A bonus would be an invisible repair, but that may not happen.

I should have backlit the top, while compressing the sides before posting. Unfortunately over 1/2 of the entire crack allows light through, and will require splints in at least 3 areas. Also the purfling is missing a small area. The attached pic shows shows the missing areas.
Bob

https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/p480x480/1470363_664019286953293_903750075_n.jpg

[Mat Roop]

Was that crack glued previously? seems by the whitish color in areas that there is some glue residue that might be white glue?... hope not!
From what I can see, assuming the joint is clean of all dirt and synthetic glue, a good zipper cleat should pull the seam together nicely as is. and then apply MD's advice for the splinters.
Keep in mind that spruce is quite soft and giving, and hide glue will pull things together as it dries. apply cleats inside.
Good luck... Mat

[BobW]

Matt, Yes it was glued previously but with some dark colored glue, and a mixture of the original dissolved finish. There is no glue in the crack anymore, but used a mixture of water and bleach to remove the stubborn glue, since H2O2 wasn't enough. It may have bleached the wood a bit but the whole violin needs a refinish anyway, since all it has now is a light coat of tung oil. I plan to remove the tung oil on the remainder and believe (hoping), the hide glue, splinters, and first sealer coat of rabbit hide should help disguise the lighter wood, before applying the colored spirit varnish. thanks Bob