CHAPTER VII.
FINISHING THE FINGERBOARD--FIXING THE NUT--SIZE AND POSITION OF GROOVES FOR THE STRINGS--FILING DOWN THE GRAFT--SMOOTHING, COLOURING, AND VARNISHING SAME.
We now turn our attention to the finish of the fingerboard, which must have its sides attended to for appearing in good trim. For making a nicely worked surface each side, some preparations will have to be made.
Firstly, the nut having been cut to the width, or nearly so, of the narrowest end of the fingerboard and glued into position, it will have to be filed down to the height at which it is to remain above the end.
The arching will have to be higher in the centre than at each side, in order that when the strings are drawn over tightly, the thickest, or D string, shall have more room to swing than the thinnest, or E.
The arching will thus be unequal, the lowest part being at E, next a rise sufficiently for the A, then a further rise for the D, and afterwards a drop again to a little higher than the A; this will be enough for the swing of the G. The grooves for each of these strings must follow in the same order. They will not be equi-distant in one sense, as that would cause them to appear unequal when the strain is on them.
Probably the best way of securing a uniform appearance and the easiest, after one good result, is to cut a metal template with a spike at the central point or middle of where the string is to rest. These points will be found unequal when p.r.i.c.ked on to the surface of the nut. A very small, round file should now be used carefully with the run of the fingerboard, or the strings when wound up will look as if pulled aside out of the straight line. The file must be placed exactly on the spot that has been p.r.i.c.ked and worked backward and forward as indicated.
The ruts must be examined frequently for ascertaining whether they are sufficiently deep. The height of each rut above the fingerboard cannot well be given in fractions of an inch, as they must be regulated to the convenience of the performer. A hard, rasping, orchestral player, with a heavy, unsympathetic bow arm, will require the ruts higher above the board than a soloist of refined taste. The relative heights, one with another, must be the same in both cases. When the ruts are finished, recourse must be had to the gla.s.spaper file again to round the top surface of the nut with an inclination downwards toward the peg-box.
This is an arrangement requiring care, as, when the nut is level with the fingerboard, there is danger of the strings jarring. When finished sufficiently even the ruts may require a little further attention, as it is difficult to at once complete them. The two parts are perhaps best worked one with another, neither being finished off in one working and left.
We may now proceed to the further progress of the sides of the fingerboard; this, of course, can only be done when all is settled about the nut, this part requiring to be a continuation, notwithstanding the rise upward of the line from end to end. Preparation must be made for guarding the upper table of the violin from injury, from slips of the gla.s.spaper file during the backward and forward movement. A good way to prevent this is to make a millboard or thick brown paper shield with a part cut away to allow the neck to have a hold. By putting this over the upper table and underneath the fingerboard a part will project forward on each side of the neck; it must be held in position by one hand, while the other holds the paper file, which will be worked along the sides of the fingerboard, at the same time being held nearly vertical. After some little time the part where the ebony joins the graft will appear worked down quite smooth, some finer degrees of the paper will reduce the surface to almost a polish. The nut receiving a part of the working will now present an appearance--as regards form only--of having been left from a reduction of the fingerboard stopping short at a straight line.
This part now, if the fitting of the fingerboard to the graft has been neatly done, will show no line of glue or joint, but simply the difference of material. The upper edges of the ebony may be rounded down along to the end, but less at the lowest.
The whole affair, however, is not yet complete, as the surface to be varnished must be made ready for it. If left in the present condition, players who are very fastidious would be complaining of the work not standing well or deteriorating under use. The cause of this deterioration will be that the moisture from the hand in using this part of the instrument in the raw state makes the grain swell as if wetted; this would occur to some extent even if fully varnished. This must therefore be antic.i.p.ated by pa.s.sing a soft, fully haired and wetted brush, or damp sponge, over the whole of the new work. When dry the whole surface will appear rough, or if of soft texture, somewhat corrugated; this must again be levelled down with some of the finest gla.s.spaper, great care being taken that all the parts, and angles especially, are worked over. If the corners are not equally attended to with the rest--and to do this properly the angle of the steel sc.r.a.per may be used with good effect--there will be a roughness at the part over which the varnish will settle, become rough when dry, and give the appearance of untidy corners. If the sc.r.a.per with right angles is insufficient to clear the corner satisfactorily, one with a rather acute angle will be found to do the work; it must be sharp, and gently used (or ridges small, large, or both, will become evident), working across first one way then the other until the appearance is quite up to the exactions and desire of the eye.
Another wetting will be of some further benefit for a good and lasting surface. When dry the roughness will not be so obtrusive as in the first instance, and the application of the finest grain of gla.s.spaper, or a piece that has been under use for some time and got a little stale will give the desired surface. The action of the gla.s.spaper over the surface should be continued for some time, until there being less and less powder routed up the surface, it a.s.sumes a polished appearance, and if the whole work is well done it will suggest a kind of finish that looks too good to spoil by covering up with varnish. But the latter is a necessity; if not really varnish in the usual sense of the term, a subst.i.tute must be used, and here we touch a little upon the confines of fashion or individual fancy.
It may not be generally known that the old Italian makers--I mention these as they have always been looked up to as guides for almost everything in connection with violin facture--varnished the whole of the neck--which under present circ.u.mstances we call the graft--with the same varnish and thickness of it as the rest of the instrument.
We never see such a thing now, and if a maker were to send forth his new violins in this manner or trim, he would be looked upon as eccentric.
Nevertheless at one time it was universal. Probably the increased number of movements of the hand, and especially the thumb, to meet the requirements of more florid execution and in connection with the growth of the ability among players for performing much music on the higher positions or shifts, showed very soon how the coloured varnish looked patchy under wear. This fashion of covering over the most handled part of the instrument with the coloured varnish then became discarded.
"Appearances must be preserved" was found to be an axiom almost forced upon the makers and repairers, and, as time went on, the subst.i.tution of strongly curled wood for necks or grafts, in place of the plainer material hitherto used, gradually settled down into the present fashion. Now-a-days the skill of the repairer is exercised in the various treatment of this part. Players vary in their tastes or whims, some liking a perfectly smooth or polished surface as more suitable to their handling than what they understand as an unvarnished neck, others like it the other way as not so likely to slip, there being a little more hold or resistance. Anyhow, the raw wood cannot be left simply gla.s.s-papered, this would be speedily followed in use by an acc.u.mulation of dirt and grease unpleasant to the eye, and to the touch, clammy and unwholesome. It will therefore be as well to consider the two modes of treatment. In either case the parts of the graft near the insertion in the socket and at the other end where the peg-box is fitted will require varnishing down.
Before active operations commence a fair examination should be made of the colour or complexion of the body of the violin. Very often this has no attention paid to it, with the result of a hideous contrast between the neck and the ribs adjoining, a sign of bad workmanship and carelessness. The materials at hand for making a good match must then be thought over, the most appropriate selected and the number of coats, if possible, determined upon. This latter will be taken in a general sense, as an exact number will not be possible; appearances are in this process deceptive and must be regulated by the exigencies of the moment, but what can be calculated is the question of one or two applications only (which would result in a cheap and common appearance) or a number with the same materials carefully laid to the satisfaction of the repairer.
Without plunging into the whirlpool of the best or particular gums, resins and their individual mode of application, a matter that will take up hereafter our more undivided attention, it may be taken as a certainty that the varnishing materials used for the parts under consideration must be of an alcoholic solution, no other would "set,"
evaporate or dry with sufficient rapidity to allow of handling: or, as we may put it in another way, that would lose tackiness within a convenient time.
Most people are aware of the nature of an oil varnish during the drying process, there is firstly the "setting," that is, all the volatile particles dispersing; secondly, the real drying or hardening which ensues with sufficient time or age; both accompanied with some degree of contraction, and until the process is complete, handling or friction of any kind has to be carefully avoided. This will at once show its unsuitableness for repairs and restorations, especially of the kind now under consideration. The same process has to be gone through in the drying of a spiritous or alcoholic varnish, but it is so much the more rapid in consequence of there being only the alcohol to disperse, leaving the resin in a comparatively dry state.
Colouring will be the chief consideration after the resin has been selected, and on this the judgment of the operator will have to be centred. For obtaining the effect desired or that is fashionable at the present day, one or two coats or paintings will be commenced at the corners where the graft is inserted in the upper ribs and gradually being thinned off as the curved part rounding upwards from the b.u.t.ton dies away. Sometimes in consequence of the fresh wood appearing very white--it is not always possible to obtain aged wood--some colouring material or stain mixed with the first two wettings will subdue the staring aspect, this may be continued along the graft and bring up the figure or curl more prominently. Often between the curves each end of the graft repairers force very strong stain, this being sometimes common writing ink; when varnished over the effect is violent and common even when nicely done. The best that can be recommended is some sufficiently dark wood stain--sold at most of the oil and colourmen"s shops--and rub it in, allowing it to dry and then finishing off as before described.
If the neck is to be left unvarnished, as it is termed, the colouring and fining off can be followed with a rubbing of good oil, linseed, raw or boiled, it must be really rubbed in and vigorously frictioned up and down with a dry cloth--or after an application of the same kind with some old fine flannel. This will drive in the oil, consolidating the whole, and as it will dry inside after a time, keep a good smooth surface under usage.
Some repairers continue to varnish or polish along the sides of the fingerboard to the extremity. There is no objection to this, and if very neatly done, the general effect is enhanced. The varnishing of the whole of the fingerboard is perhaps not so good in general, too much glare seeming to obtrude itself, but the filling up the pores with the varnish and then working it down to a dull surface has a good effect and helps in the resistance to wear. The polishing of the neck, or fingerboard with it, may be effected by making a small ball or dabber of about half an inch in diameter of fine grained flannel; this should be covered with another surface of closer material such as calico, but large enough to enclose the little bunch and to be tied up with a piece of string. A portion of varnish being placed ready in a smaller saucer or any convenient porcelain article with a shallow even bottom, the ball or dabber will be moistened with some linseed oil and then its rounded face dipped in the varnish and rubbed briskly, but lightly, over the surfaces to be polished. These surfaces rapidly absorb the polish, while the oil in the dabber allows it to pa.s.s over without clinging. The rubbing should be continued until a smooth, gla.s.sy appearance comes and you feel sure that the wood has imbibed enough of the polish; this treatment may be continued over all the parts at which it may be desirable to have an even shining surface. The work may now be put aside for some hours, so that the evaporating and hardening may take place. When this has been ascertained to be satisfactory, the surfaces may be wiped gently with some soft, absorbent material which will take away any superfluous particles of oil that may have been accidentally left in the process of rubbing.
If there should be some uneven, clotted, or rough parts observable, a small ball or dabber made in the same way as the preceding, but used with spirit and oil instead of varnish, will work these down to a proper condition. For the dead surfacing, care must be taken that all is quite hard enough. Taking a small piece of flannel of fine texture doubled up and with its face well oiled, having some rotten-stone powder at hand, dip in the latter and rub as before lightly round and round over the parts to be dead polished; this will give a nice refined, even appearance, with comparatively little glare. A final wipe off with a soft cloth as before, will bring matters to a conclusion.
CHAPTER VIII.
INJURIES THAT CAN BE REPAIRED FROM THE OUTSIDE--INSERTION OF FRESH WOOD IN FRACTURE OF THE RIBS--THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE ON THE GLUE IN VIOLINS.
We may now take this portion of the work as finished and turn to the consideration of repairs of fractures or filling up of parts last. It is early yet to think of opening the instrument for the purpose of rectification of anything that appears to have gone wrong either with the general structure or with small details. A golden rule to be observed by all repairers is that of never opening an instrument--that is removing the upper or lower table--until all other means of correction have proved futile. Extensive repairs to the interior may be accomplished without opening after a very careful look over with proper calculation. There are several reasons for keeping the above rule well in mind, among them, that if the violin is old and has undergone much affliction while under the hands of many doctors, some of these possibly belonging to the "heroic school," it may be found that the last visitant of the interior had straightened, bent, or contracted and held some of the parts together while the glue was in process of drying and that sufficient time had not elapsed since the occurrence for the strained parts to settle down under their new condition. An opening of the violin, removal of upper or lower table or any large portion, must be undertaken after due consideration and every precaution has been taken that nothing shall be disturbed if the reparation can be accomplished without. An opening of the instrument for the purpose of one repair may lead to the necessity of half a dozen before closing up again. Our opening ceremony will therefore be postponed until a future occasion, and we will confine ourselves to the consideration of such external injuries of ancient or recent origin that may be with the least inconvenience restored to ordinary health or even strength. The numbers of such and their varieties are more than can be related, the curious manner of their occurrence, too, would be an addition that would indefinitely prolong the story.
Taking, therefore, small injuries or fractures that can be repaired from the outside, among the first coming to mind and not infrequently seen, is at the corners, a small piece of the projecting part of the rib--one of the upper or lower sets; this may have caught against something and got lifted away from the block, it may be on one side or the other, in size perhaps little more than an eighth of an inch, but all the same requiring immediate attention, or dirt will get in and make an adjourned repair more difficult if not wholly impossible to obscure.
According to the condition, age and date of the injury, so the treatment must be. If the injury is quite recent and the fractures are quite clean, some good thick glue placed on the exposed surface and the lifted piece placed back in position may remain there with no further attention than the wiping off when dry of any superfluous glue that may have exuded when pressing the part on. This has been a simple matter, but if the part knocked away is lost, a different course must be pursued. As it would be impossible to find a piece of fresh wood to fit a ragged or irregular-shaped hollow, there is but one method to proceed upon, that of clearing a regular s.p.a.ce with a sharp pointed knife. The walls of the s.p.a.ce or opening should be as clean in line as possible, also quite vertical. A small keen-edged chisel may be found advantageous, as, by its aid, using it with the angular or sharpened side downwards, the floor of the excavation can be reduced to a fair level. This hollowing-out should not be too deep, leaving as much as possible of the bare wood uncut, only enough being removed for a good holding surface. If this is done neatly, the opening will be like that of a box into which will be fitted the fresh wood. As to this last it should be selected to match both with regard to texture and age whenever possible, also in continuation of the run of the grain, so that when fitted it should look as much like the surrounding wood as possible, that is, when free of varnish. In cutting the wood to the required size it should not, as in the instance of the aperture, be made with perfectly upright sides, but the parts that are to go into the aperture should be a fraction less than the outer, so as to allow of its being pressed in and fitting very closely all round. As the parts under consideration lie in the curved parts on the structure, to fit a piece in with success, it should also be bent with a requisite curve; if this is not attended to, and the clear varnish comes over it when being finished off, there will be a glistening of the grain underneath when shifted about in the light. To avoid this, which is apt to draw attention to the repaired parts, a larger piece of veneer than necessary should be first bent into the proper curve and the part nearly small enough cut from it and then made to fit. The bending of the piece can be effected by steeping it in some hot water, pressing it into form; being but a small portion, it will probably retain its inclination; if large enough and obstinate it must be kept bent by some means until dry, when it will show no disposition to revert back to its old form.
If these particulars are all attended to with care, the piece of wood or veneer will only require a little pressure--the opening being gone over with strong glue--to retain its form in proper position. In case of failure under these conditions and the parts not holding together as they should, another course must be adopted.
It will be most likely that some grease is the cause of the non-adherence of the parts. The remedy will be that of using a little benzine on a brush and wiping or mopping out with a small piece of linen on the end of a pointed stick of soft wood, after which, when quite dry, some fresh glue must be applied, and the parts pressed together and held in position.
Ingenuity and the perception of the adaptation of means to an end will constantly be called into exercise, and at a part of the instrument such as is at present under consideration, will be often severely taxed.
Want of purchase or no direct pressure being possible, or at least perceptible, will be the complaint of the operator, but this can always be overcome with a little patience.
Now supposing that a piece has come off at the upper part of the waist curve, and if narrow or the curve is sudden it will at first sight be a little puzzling as to keeping pressure on the fresh part, even if cut sharply and ready to be deftly inserted. The difficulties will be considerably lessened, if not disposed of, if we take up a portion of soft pine or poplar, cut it in a moment or two to shape, so as to very loosely fit the upper curve or part we are about to glue, and not quite reaching the lower or usually larger curve of the waist; a small piece of cork placed between the wood to be inserted and that which is to press it while in position and another piece of cork of a wedge form can be squeezed in at the other end, so as to prevent the varnish being injured and to tighten the pressure, which will not be necessarily great if the fitting is good.
Another kind of repair not unfrequently necessary, and which should not be delayed, is caused by the parting of the two ribs at the angle, in consequence often of accidental knocks and over weak glue. This is a more difficult part at which to get direct pressure than almost any part of the instrument. Many repairers would lift up the loose part or parts, both being occasionally loose, brush a little glue in, squeeze the parts together and leave them. When dry the ends will under this treatment seldom be found to meet properly as in their original condition. The best mode of repairing will be found that of proceeding by degrees, overcoming the enemy in detail. Thus firstly, we must observe whether the junction or construction of this part has been effected in the old Brescian manner--that is, the two equal parts being brought together, or according to the later method, the end of the middle rib being placed in position first, trimmed to a feather edge and the upper left thick and slightly overlapping it and afterwards trimmed into shape. In both instances the under surfaces must be cleaned and all the hard old glue softened and cleared out, if unfractured the surfaces of both corner block and rib fitting will be as originally left by the maker. In either style of construction it will be best to proceed first with the middle rib and support or prop it against the block in the way before mentioned. When quite dry we can remove the pressure and get to work at the other. After being quite sure that no hard glue or foreign particles remain between the surfaces to prevent a perfect fit as in the original condition, a small mould cut from soft wood again and of a size and shape that will fit loosely the semi-circular part must be cut, and some soft paper got ready to go between as a protection for the varnished part. If the parts are not much worn away, or the front and back plates are in fair condition, the rib may be glued and the screw cramp, cork or paper of course being used as a protector, and the rib will be held in position. If this is not sufficient for getting a close and accurate fit, the soft wood mould mentioned above must be placed, and a slight pressure gained by a wedge of wood gently inserted and pressed home. This mode of repair, it will be borne in mind, is when the upper and lower plates are in fairly good condition. Different treatment would be adopted if both were separated or the upper one taken off.
Sometimes the cramping, although sufficient for getting a good mend where there is a good extent of surface, will not be quite the thing for a small part, perhaps a slight opening at the extreme edge; in this instance a wooden mould, cut in a few minutes from a flat board large enough to allow of an oval aperture being made that will admit of the body of the violin being pa.s.sed through. This being done and a small wedge being here and there judiciously inserted, will enable the operator to get enough purchase, or advantage may be taken of the juxtaposition of the cramp, and using both to gain the requisite pressure against the bend of the rib in the manner before mentioned.
There are as a matter of course extremely numerous kinds of fractures or injuries arising from almost as many different causes. If time and s.p.a.ce permitted, they might be cla.s.sified and each credited to their different agencies. Sufficient for our purpose, however, will be the separation of them into three divisions: firstly, those which may be the outcome or result of ordinary wear and giving way of parts through atmospheric influence, such as damp or excessive dryness, or both at times, in combination with varying temperature. People are apt to debit the climate of Britain with many shortcomings and the cause of much undoing of good work in the fiddle world and the prevention of its being accomplished in the concluding stages of fiddle facture.
Much of the good quality attached to Italian instruments has been attributed to the beautiful and dry air of Italy. Now that Italy has beautiful air no one can deny, that is, while not standing in the streets of some of the most interesting cities therein, but that it is dry generally is perhaps going beyond the mark; remember it is a very mountainous place with some exceptional portions, this may be easily verified by a glance over a good map of the place, or better, a tour by railway from the northern provinces down as far as Naples.
Knowledge is fairly general as to mountainous districts, much more than plains, being the localities where rain is most frequent, the more or less saturation of the atmosphere following as a matter of course.
But let Italian fiddles speak for themselves, otherwise than through the medium of gut strings. The first makers of violins in Brescia used no side linings, but trusted to the most excellent quality of their glue for holding back and front to the ribs. That their trust was not misplaced in many instances is proved by the work in its primitive condition remaining intact to the present day. With the rise of the Cremonese school, delicacy in treatment of detail became fashionable; makers found that in order to give expression to their ideas in as many particulars as possible over the work, especially in respect of refinement in the curving of the ribs, less thickness of wood in these parts would have to be used, especially when of very decided curl; but this would not hold well except in the driest districts. The system was then introduced of using the thin slips of wood running from block to block; the thickness of these, although slight, added to the thin substance of the rib, allowed a better holding power to back and front.
The fact is here evident that the glue, of exceeding good quality--and that it was so will be corroborated by all repairers who have had to do with the old Italian instruments--was too easily affected by the damp of the atmosphere.
Further evidence frequently turns up among the great numbers of old Italian instruments gathered from all sorts of places, of the efforts at combating the effects of damp. Some of the means adopted by various repairers, apparently in the smaller towns--judging by the bad, even extraordinary woods used--have been very curious, many interesting, others primitive, even stupid. At about the same time the Amatis were introducing the use of side-linings, Giov. Maggini was trying other means of preventing the parting of the upper and lower tables from the ribs by damp. A method he adopted, and which many later makers imitated--if it did not occur to them spontaneously--was by cutting a groove all round and inserting the ribs. It will be obvious from this that no linings were used in these instances. That his efforts were not followed by success may be concluded from the fact that he did not persevere with the system. The simple method of his master was fallen back upon and thicker ribs placed in position. When we come across one of those grooved tables it will probably be found--as might have been antic.i.p.ated by Maggini had he known beforehand of the course to be taken by his art, which was at the time almost a local one--that a repairer has at one time thought it necessary to lift the ribs from one or the other plate, and almost, of course, bungled over it. This will be seen in the irregularity of the fitting of the ribs, which have been ruthlessly cut or torn out of the groove, some portions being left in.
Taking them out was found to be unprofitable work, with a general result of a wretched wreck remaining, instead of the whole original being there but shifted a little, from the glue losing its hold while perishing from the action of moisture.
CHAPTER IX.
THE GLUE USED BY THE EARLY ITALIAN MAKERS--INSERTION OF PIECES OF WOOD FOR REPAIRING LOST PARTS--REPLACING LOST RIB AND REPAIRING INTERIOR WITHOUT OPENING WHEN POSSIBLE--SECURING LOOSE LOWER RIB TO END BLOCK--DIFFERENT METHODS--TREATMENT OF WORM-HOLES--FIXING ON GRAFT ON NECK.
Here, before proceeding further, it may be as well to call attention to the kind of damage done by the atmosphere. We speak of the glue perishing. Under most circ.u.mstances this will not occur, but under exceptional ones it will. If good in the first instance, it will be perfectly sound and strong as ever at the end of three hundred years.
I have found this to be so in the work of Gasparo da Salo and his pupil, Giovanni Paolo Maggini, besides other makers nearly contemporary. What particular kind of glue they used I am unable to say, possibly they did not know very much more themselves beyond what they believed was the best obtainable in their day and city. When the perishing has occurred there must have been very much moisture in the atmosphere of the locality in which the violin rested for some time, as the best glue will absorb the most moisture before losing its firmness, or power of adherence. Prolonged exposure to damp allows chemical change to take place and then all adhesive quality is lost; when dry air afterwards attacks it, the parts of the instrument that should have been held firmly together are released, with results that may be serious in degree according to the position of the part affected.
To continue the consideration of the repair of a violin that has been constructed with grooves for holding the ribs. A long and troublesome piece of work would be the loosening and taking away of the fragments of rib inserted in the groove and cut away by some repairer from the rest or standing rib; it is therefore preferable in ordinary and neat repairing to clear the parts that may be ragged or begrimed, firstly, by washing with a stiff brush of appropriate size and wiping with a clean cotton rag repeatedly; when the rag ceases to be soiled or discoloured after wiping, the parts may be taken as fairly clean. A sharp knife will take off any projections that may be prominent and prevent the proper placing of the rib in position; if the irregularities give indication of fitting well, the parts may have at their approaching edges a touching with strong, hot glue, and the cramps with protection applied as before for other joinings.
The probabilities, however, are, that through bad treatment, added to wear and tear, the parts will not fit under any circ.u.mstances, then the only course will be to make an even surface at the part broken away, and then fit a piece of fresh wood therein. If the aperture made is not of large extent and not wide, or more than the thickness of an average piece of veneer is required, then the fresh wood need not be bent, but cut neatly for fitting, and after glueing, as usual, slipped in with a part projecting beyond the surrounding surface. When quite dry it may be pared down carefully with a sharp knife, or if not manageable on the curve of the rib, a chisel of size according to the amount of room; being a narrow slip, after the colouring down and varnishing has taken place, it will be but slightly noticeable. The same treatment can, of course, be adopted for either upper or lower part of the rib; the middle rib position will give the most trouble, owing to its concavity, but care and patience will overcome the difficulties of the situation. Should there have happened an accident by which a hole of some extent is rent in the ribs--either upper, lower, or middle--it is not absolutely necessary that the instrument be opened to accomplish the repair; bear in mind the advice given before, not to open a violin which has been in good going order if the repair can be effected without.
As we are presumably working on disabled violins that are valuable, perhaps old friends, or interesting specimens of a particular school, to select the best mode of restoration is our aim. For this purpose we will call to our aid some low cla.s.s violin, new or old, that is of no value except for our purpose. If several are within reach we can select one with wood that matches as near as possible the one under process of restoration. Being already bent to shape, a portion may be found somewhere about it, that with a little exercise of judgment can be cut out to shape, and as in manner pointed out before, be placed over the aperture of the fracture. Care must be taken that it quite covers the part, while being likely to fit sufficiently well as regards figure or curl and direction of grain. The sides cleanly cut should not be quite vertical with the general plane, the inner surface being a shade smaller than the outer, thus enabling the operator, with a little pressure, to insert it, when glued, quite neatly. No instructions or suggestions with regard to fitting will counterbalance clumsiness of handling. In operations of this kind, delicacy of handling equal to anything required in watch repairing will be obligatory, that is if restoration of a high cla.s.s is intended.
It would be impossible to deal with, touch upon, or even to recount every possible injury to a violin that might be repaired without the removal of the upper table, but there are still some remaining that will be worth considering, if only for the purpose of restraining the tendency to open the instrument upon too trivial a pretext. One instance occurs to memory at the present moment, in which a violin, the constant companion and closest friend of its owner, met with an accident that seemed to him well-nigh total destruction, at any rate, necessitating much renewal with undoing and plastering up of fractures.
To the fiddle physician it was promptly taken, carefully scanned, and the owner told that it would be all right in a few days. Will it have to be taken all to pieces? asked the anxious owner. Not if it can be possibly helped, was the reply. The violin was called for in due time, and in answer to inquiries it was fetched and seen to be in as good going order as before the time of the accident. There was no apparent evidence of damage, no sign of fracture or any neatly-laid patches, there were the ribs as sound as when new, no cracks to be seen. How did you manage that? said the owner, and you say there was no necessity to take the front off? Easier far, replied the repairer, the more there is left undisturbed the more a.s.sistance will these parts give you during the progress of restoration, and as you seem curious and desirous of solving the mystery of this renovation I will relate how it was accomplished. You are no doubt fully aware that your violin is of a size and shape well-known in the trade as a "Strad pattern;" well, there are thousands of violins in any number of degrees of quality similar in form and size, in fact, for us modern makers there are too many about. Catching the peculiarities of pattern with my eye at a glance, the difficulties to be overcome were not very numerous or great.
I saw there was no reunion of parts of the ribs to be thought of, as they had gone, and your violin being a modern copy of ordinary pretensions, it would not serve our purpose to join four-fifths of new rib to the remainder, and so to make a clean and satisfactory renovation a fresh rib would best answer. Taking down from a shelf a number of loose parts of violins put aside for such occasions as the present, I soon found a middle rib that matched in most particulars those of your violin. It had the additional advantage of being better for the keeping, as regards colour or looking less new.