REPAIRING LOST PORTIONS--MARGINS OF SOUND HOLES--MATCHING THE
GRAIN--FIXING AND FINISHING OFF--REPLACING WITH FRESH WOOD LARGE
PORTIONS OF UPPER TABLE--LOST PARTS OF PURFLING--RESTORING IT WITH OLD
STUFF.
As the repairing now under consideration is of a kind requiring not
only skill, but experience in the handling of the tools and necessary
appliances connected therewith, we will still suppose ourselves in the
trained repairer's rooms at the rear of his premises, and that
professors and amateurs frequently call at the shop in front with
violins of various kinds with all sorts of injuries that they are
desirous of having put right.
Just at this moment a lady of highly fashionable appearance glides in,
followed by her footman carrying a violin case. She has brought a violin
that has been laid aside and forgotten for a long time at a friend's
house, for generations in fact, it used to be in repute as a violin
by Cremona. It has been given to her daughter, who is making great
progress under the guidance of one of the most eminent performers of
the day, and she wishes to have it put in good playing order if it is
worth the expense.
The footman obediently brings forward the case, unfastens the string
that holds the lid down, the hinges being out of working condition,
and places it on the counter; the lid being raised, a strong mousy odour
comes forth.
Our chief takes the violin from the hands of the man and turns it over,
raises his eyebrows and remarks, "Yes, madam, the violin has been sadly
neglected, the case having been left open mice have been residing in
the snug retreat afforded them." "Yes," is the lady's rejoinder, "I
believe the case was found a little way open, my friends have not been
musical at any time and took no interest in the matter. Is it a good
violin, Mr. ----?"
"Good, madam? it is very fine, one of the masterpieces of Cremona. The
mice have turned the sound-holes into doorways, the nibblings have gone
nearly half through one of the wings."
"Wings!" says the lady. "I was not aware of there being any wings to
a violin." "No, ma'am," is the answer; "wings is a technical term we
use to express that slender part with the straight cut line at the lower
end of the sound hole. We shall have to open the violin to repair that
part properly."
"I hope that will not ruin the instrument," observes the lady. "Can
you not do the repair without?" "We could, ma'am, if we wished to save
time and run a risk." "Oh, please don't run any risk with it, now that
I know that it is a valuable instrument I must ask you to take extra
pains and do it in your best manner."
"If you would like to see the violin open, I will get my assistant to
do it now, it will take but a minute or so. Here, James, open this fiddle
and bring it here again."
There is not much waiting, the upper table has not been very obstinate,
and James soon reappears with the loose parts, which he hands to his
chief. The lady, rather eager at first to see if there is anything
curious about the inside of a violin, rather shrinks away when it is
brought near. "It is in a very dirty condition," the chief observes,
"but we shall soon get that all right," he adds, "by giving it a wash."
"But will not wetting it spoil the tone?" the lady asks. "Not in the
least, ma'am," is the reply. "In fact, it will be improved, as at
present there is so much grease and filth that the vibration would be
seriously interfered with. When it is quite clean there will be more
freedom, and the true character of the tone declared."
The lady having departed, the chief takes the violin parts to the
workroom. "This is a fine thing," he says to James.
"I thought so too, sir," he replies, "got some fine stuff on it, fiery
like, nothing the matter with it but those mouse nibblings."
"That will require careful work, James, think you can do it
sufficiently neat and make the new wood match well?"
"I think so, sir. Some of that old pine that we had sent us last week
will match thread for thread."
"Well, give it a clean out first, James." This is at once commenced,
and with the aid of some clean water, a sponge and stubby brush,
followed by the application of a clean dry rag or duster, the interior
presents a fairly clean appearance.
"I see you have been careful about the label, James. It was not possible
to decipher it when smothered with dirt, but we can read it now. Yes,
what I thought, original ticket without a doubt. Joseph filius. Bring
me that bottle of benzine and the hog-hair brush." This being done,
the chief takes the brush wetted with the benzine and carefully brushes
about the corners and other parts where the grease has refused to come
away under the ordinary treatment. Each application is followed by a
wiping of the cloth held in readiness.
"There," he says at last, "it is quite fresh and wholesome. Don't
suppose Mr. Mouse will go in again."
"Now, James, what do you propose doing? making a clean sweep of the
ragged parts with the knife or letting in angular portions in the German
manner?"
"Well, sir, on looking close at it perhaps the best way will be to act
both ways, cut that part straight through and fit the splinters along
there."
"Yes," says the chief, "I think that way will save as much of the old
material, if not more, than any other. Take pains with it and mind the
small joinings are clean and sharp."
James retires with the upper table to his bench, where the different
necessary excisions are proceeded with.
The next stage is that of glueing pieces of wood at the back of and
across the sound holes. The object of this is to get more strength and
leverage for pressing home the fresh wood to be inserted. From the
neglect of this precaution many instruments have had cracks and other
damages caused, making matters worse than before and necessitating
much more work in rectifying it. After the necessary time, the glue
being hard and dry enough, James begins the matching of the parts with
pieces of old wood from the carefully hoarded pile in a box kept for
the purpose; first one piece, then another is tried, until the right
one is obtained for each requirement, both in respect of colour and
matching of the thread or grain. The surfaces to come in contact and
be fixed are minutely fitted, the larger ones only at present, the
smaller gaps are left.
All being ready, strong glue is applied to the parts which are to be
united and they are pressed together, help toward adjustment being
obtained from the wood glued across.
Being left to dry, and this being complete, the cramps or wedges, as
may have seemed appropriate, are removed, the cross pieces cut away
and the glue washed off.
The paring down of the fresh wood to the level of the surrounding parts
has now to be very carefully done. The adjacent curves must be studied
and the surfaces of the fresh parts worked until by testing, not only
by the sight, but passing the finger across, the surface feels as one
piece.
For the small parts that require levelling, small pieces of glasspaper
attached to a stick of pine shaped according to requirement will be
found useful.
The fresh wood will of course be projecting some way beyond the edges
or course of the line of the sound holes, the exact outline of which
it is most desirous to continue.
This is about to be attended to by James, who thinks it a small matter
to continue the line with his sharp knife, but his master happened to
catch sight of his first strokes and sees his intention in time. "Stop!"
he calls out, "not another stroke; just take a tracing of the opposite
or corresponding part of the other sound hole and trace it down, don't
trust to your eye unless you consider yourself an artist of experience
and able to actually draw with your knife.
"You must attend to another thing besides the tracing of the contour.
When you cut up to the line that you take as a guide, you must see that
you make the walls of the opening at the same angle downwards, and your
fresh wood in every respect of form an exact continuation of the old
work."
The repair so far as the wood work is concerned is finished. It has
now to receive the varnishing and touching up in detail for matching
so as to arrest as little attention as possible as a repair.
"There are two fiddles, sir, that a party brought here yesterday. They
seem very far gone; one of them has lost quite a quarter of the upper
table, it has had a bad smash and the pieces have not been saved."
"Well, James," is the reply, "there is only one course to pursue, that
is, to put a fresh piece of wood, join it as neatly as possible and
match the varnish. I think we have a piece of old stuff sent us by an
Italian dealer that will suit that exactly." The store of odds and ends
of pine is rummaged over and the piece, with some pencil notes on it
of date, etc., brought out and compared with the fractured fiddle.
"Could not be better, James," says the chief. "Now take off that table,
or what remains of it, and pare the ragged edges at the part near the
sound hole.
"At that part you had better shave it at an angle from the upper surface
and make a corresponding start on the fresh wood; they must both fit
to a nicety, and when so the old wood will overlap the fresh stuff.
You will take care to have the upper surface of the fresh wood a little
above the level of the old, to allow of finishing down to a good level
when the time comes for the final touches."
This is all seen to, the large slice of wood is for the present left
square at the top, it is thick enough to represent the appearance of
the slab of wood used by the original maker before the table was cut
into form. There is some gouging to be done and shaping of the parts
adjoining the old wood.
It has, of course, been necessary to provide a sort of mould for fitting
and pressing from above the thin shaved edge of the old material on
to the new. Precaution, however, is taken to firstly glue the parts
that are to be brought together at the joint. This will prevent the
shaved surfaces from slipping when pressure is applied.
These parts of the process having been done and the glue dried
sufficiently, the under surface is levelled all round as a continuation
of the under part of the old border.
The table, therefore, can now be laid flat, and should fit well on to
the ribs and linings as it did before the fracture. James now has
recourse to the advice of his chief as to the best course to pursue.
"Shall I trace the other side, sir, and mark it down on the fresh wood
so as to make it balance?"
"Certainly not," answers his chief, "this is what you must do. Lay the
table on the ribs as if you were about to glue it down, you can let
it be held in position by a couple of screw-cramps, then, with a lead
pencil, take as a guide the ribs, holding it so that a mark can be made
all round representing the projection of the new edging. A short piece
of a pencil laid flat against the ribs and moved round, would perhaps
be the most convenient."
James proceeds dutifully to work, marks the edging, and then, after
removing the screw-cramps, roughly hews away the wood to near the line.
Much care and more delicate manipulation has to be exercised now, or
the precaution of the pencil line will prove to be next to useless.
Files of different degrees of tooth are employed until quite an even
contour is obtained and a precise line, the continuation of the pattern,
is seen.
The next proceeding will be to mark the thickness of the edging all
round. For this purpose a cut line is better than a mere mark, as the
cutting up to it is easier and safer. The purfling tool may be regulated
and adapted in this case, after which the table will be laid flat,
carefully considered, and the more detailed gouging commenced. A small
pair of calipers will prove handy for measuring the depth of the
channelling of the original parts and gouging down carefully until a
corresponding modelling has been effected.
If the original work is sharply defined and a distinctly shaped border
is present, then the work must be proceeded with as in the instance
of making a new copy of a violin.
Some little difficulty may appear when the question of matching the
purfling arises. The assistant opens a drawer close by, selects a
likely piece, compares it with that on the violin, and then shows it
to his chief, who examines it in a similar manner. "Yes," he says, "I
think that is sufficiently like, in fact, it will not be possible to
get nearer, it is a bit of that old stuff, is it not, that we have kept
by for an emergency? Have you got the groove cleanly cut and routed
out?"
"Yes, sir," is the answer; "I noticed about the depth that would be
wanted at that little part where the old stuff had been snapped short
at the fracture."
"Well, that will do, James. Be careful to cut the ragged end with a
clean angle, doing the same with the fresh stuff--fit the parts
accurately, and when you insert the purfling see that the end is pushed
home so that as little as possible is seen of the junction of the two
ends."
With these injunctions borne in mind, James proceeds to the work.
Having had some experience in this branch of the repairing art, and,
further, this being to him a more interesting part than others of the
proceedings, he at once sets to work.
Having roughly measured the length of the piece of purfling to be
inserted, he finds that it will be necessary to bend it to the curves
of the groove made for it. To force it in while in its present condition
would not do, as it is nearly straight; for, although it has served
to go round a violin in years gone by, it has almost resumed its old
condition through the action of the natural damp in the atmosphere.