Are there any violin knowers here willing to help out letting me know if repairing a violin is worth it?
I found a violin I apparently had inherited from an estate we helped cleaning out some years ago. It is missing a tailpiece and tuners are pretty rough condish, fretboard needs leveling, it is cracked down the middle. I have the bow but I think the hairs are not tense enough (I am not a strings knower). I assume from my research it is a german production instrument from like the 19th century, stradivari copy with a fake label yada yada. I assume the timber is pretty decent compared to anything cheap you can get today but I have the feeling getting a playable equivalent instrument may as well be as pricey as having it repaired or getting the tools for repairing it
Mostly asking to know if it is a worthwhile project to distract from not being able to afford a nyckelharpa.
Well.. pretty much the answer is take it to a violin shop…
The good news about violin family instruments are the origin of the Leo Fender design concept, they are designed to be taken apart and fixed, things like fingerboards, tailpieces, tuning pegs and bridges are made to be replace and are why they are just referred to as fittings.. I’ve replace fingerboards on both my cello and double bass, I would not say it is the hardest Luther type thing to do.. but you do have to be a skilled woodworker.. I think the hardest repair I’ve done was fixed a neck that had split in half from the nut to the middle of the neck on a 1/8 sized double bass..
Top crack/plate separation, this is something that might take special clamps, they are pretty cool looking, they are made to keep the shape intact, you can get them on eBay if you want to go diy… if you do.. get ready to start buying expensive books…. chances are it might need the top popped off before fixing… which takes more cool clamps to put back on…But a good shop should know how to do that easily.
The thing is and why I say take it to someone for a quote is it could be a can of worms.. there could be issues with the bass bar, blocks, missing it’s sound post, other glue joint that might need to be redone… it could be quick and easy.. it could be cheaper to just buy a new instrument..
taking it to a shop probably is a good idea. hope i can find one i know the one that existed in my home time closed cause the luthier became a train driver instead...
i looked into the repairs and it looked shockingly simple compared to what i expected but man are there a lot of specialized tools and the damn fine tuning of everything..
imagine finding out your son is your daughter & she's into noise music
i did get another violin. havent arrived yet i hope it doesnt get wrecked.
not past the idea of building though. i have found some hobbyist literature on the subject at my university's library. while setting up shop right now sadly isnt ideal the thought enthralls me still. if anything it may be applied to harp building
imagine finding out your son is your daughter & she's into noise music
The strangest part was the box it was shipped to me in (ebay buy).. they mustn’t have had one big enough so they duck taped a small box on a bigger box giving it a strange homemade cardboard robot project made by either a 10 year old or a redneck or the two teamed up like look…the bass (a 1/8 size bass is just a little bigger than a cello or about the same size as a guitarrone) was packed in balls of newspaper, straw and shedded cardboard with the tailpiece and broken neck floating around.. I don’t know how the bass was broken, it is a child’s bass so I always imagined it was broken in a rage over having to practice I already had all the tools to do a repair like that as I have made necks for guitars, basses and electric double basses… it turned out to be a nice playing and sounding bass. But it was not the right size for what I was trying to do.. I traded it last year along with my guitarrone for a half finished 3/4 double bass project from a friend ( sides are assembled, back is carved, I just have to make a top and neck…. Same day….
I already had all the tools to do a repair like that as I have made necks for guitars, basses and electric double basses… it turned out to be a nice playing and sounding bass. But it was not the right size for what I was trying to do.. I traded it last year along with my guitarrone for a half finished 3/4 double bass project from a friend ( sides are assembled, back is carved, I just have to make a top and neck…. Same day….