Part 6 (2/2)
When it so happens that contraction ht back; then one, two or any beam and recourse made to some bent iron wire, which, perhaps, has the preference in use over other material, as it can be shaped or pressed to a curve, one end being inserted in a hole, the other placed outside the offending part and with a soft pad or edge against the old e of iron wire is that it can be gently hah pressure to be exerted at any particular place asthat some iron substance is at hand that will answer the purpose of an anvil The thickness of the iron wire must depend upon the require stouter wire than a violin, a 'cello still hth of an inch dia wire however is not always to hand, time also is occasionally short; when so, woodit with a sharp knife to a form that will clasp or allow of the requisite purchase at any point; more room, however, is taken up with this method, and possibly not so much at a time will be accomplished
A stock of soft wood in the plank should always be at hand on a repairer's premises, soft A very useful for all sorts of purposes in connection with the ” now that a reasonable ti out of all da both the old Italian violins for inspection by his chief The latter gives a look over both in turn, and says, ”I think you nini, itdone, the upper tables of both are fetched and tried on, ”there,” says the chief, ”they fit as near as ant theht al further to be done to it, Ja up
CHAPTER XIII
RE-OPENING THE BACK TO CORRECT THE BADLY REPAIRED JOINT--A FEW WORDS ON STUDS--FILLING UP spacES LEFT BY LOST SPLINTERS--MATCHING WOOD FOR LARGE CRACKS, ETC
Regarding the glueing and closing up process, ill defer the h the necessary routine in connection with thatof a violin, the s that are to be operated upon so to a sort of store cupboard, he fetches froenerally, but with one sad defect, the back has at one time been open, that is, the joint down the lue or from violence, had parted and had been badly repaired; the two surfaces being brought together and glued, but not evenly, one side being a trifle higher than the other ”Ja right; when you have finished what you are about, put the wet rags on this as far along the joint as may be necessary, set them better and closer, it is the fine varnish all over that willup of the Guadagnini and taken the instrument with its array of screw cramps into a place where it could repose uninterfered with until quite dry, returns and looks over the violin just brought forth from its retirement ”It seems to me, sir, this back will have to coether” The other scans the work again, turns it over, tries its strength between his fingers and thuht, it is quite worth the extra labour and had better be done so” Thesettled, Ja on his lap and held by his left hand, the broad bladed knife in his right is inserted with a carefully calculated thrust underneath the border and edging There is not much difficulty; sometimes the violin is turned in a contrary direction when there is a disposition for the grain to tear up here and there
At last the back is free, the corners and blocks have caused a little trouble in the progress of the knife around, the wood being hard and tough on both sides of the knife It would have been sloith a violin of later and more careful construction In the present instance there are no linings to struggle with ”Now,” says the worket to work at this joint ain by both, the rags are again brought into requisition The back is laid varnished side doards and a ”poultice”
applied as far along the joint as appears necessary Meanwhile other work, such as fitting and finishi+ng, is proceeded with
A proper length of tier than that for the purpose of lue The damp has to work its way down at the junction of the two parts, a rather slow process at the best of tie thickness causes some extra time to be taken up
After repeated exaives evidence of the glue having softened ”You must clear out that black stuff,” interposes the chief, when the rag or poultice has been lifted off Ja-haired brush already to hand, proceeds to gently scrub the brush along the course where the ugly black line is seen It is necessary to do this both sides, the varnished one receiving s of the brush in water, gently scrubbing away the glue and wiping the brush on a cloth, working the joint backward and forward between the fingers, are details of the process gone through in a leisurely yet business-like ood and unwetted part of the joint
At last the old glue having by degrees been got rid of, the outerthe course of the joint
The nextthe plate away to dry To atteether of the parts while they are swollen with moisture would be to es are too soft to bear interference, besides which, the sharpness of them is difficult to perceive while wet and semi-transparent
We will now, after the ti under the hands of the work the separated edges together for seeing whether a fresh and clean join can be effected, some soft wood at hand is cut for the combined purposes ofby about one in width and a quarter of an inch thick Marking off on this thickness, and a trifle over the greatest width of the back, the lower part of which is to be inserted, wood is cut away to the depth of about a quarter of an inch; within this again a further cutting isor rise of the curve of the back This will ad it within, the two halves are squeezed together by soft edges of necessary size inserted between the edges of the plate and the wood crae on one side or the other of the joint is placed for bringing both to a proper level After trying this without glue, the pieces are reth is put on the surfaces to be joined and the whole put in position again The lower end of the joint near the purfling will require a little additional craether
This part of the process is one of the very few instances where e, if not of actual necessity, the reason being that the two parts or halves of the back which have to be brought to an exact level must be held in position by two hands very fir and cork between the teeth) is screwed rather tightly by another person It is then as usual laid by to dry
After a satisfactory time has elapsed, the wooden tie, es is removed, the metal screw cramp at the end is unfastened, the paper removed, and the joint is found to be inal state as when new There is of course so oozed out when the glue was first applied, there is also a portion of paper adhering where the screw cra with a da with a dry one
There is yet a littleof a back of the kind just described has been gone through
Backs of violins of a standard of excellence both high and low are not always as robust in their substance as ht be desirable, so when a trifle weak there is more strain on the middle line or joint than when the wood is stout In this case a few studs are advisable On this detail of repairing nearly always resorted to by repairers, a feords will not be out of place For the present ill only treat of the back
The size, disposition and shape of these is by no means an unimportant matter At various times and places different sizes and shapes have been the fashi+on Often apparentlydiscs have been used to such an extent, both in size and number, as to defeat the very object the restorer has had in view No repairer would think it worth while to cramp or keep pressed down by any means the studs that he may think proper to place in position To obviate this he uses very strong glue; if a good work which the studs are to lie is quite clean, a slight washi+ng with a brush or sponge will set this right
Now it follows as ato the , is somewhat concave, and so as the studs are invariably cut frolue in hardening and of course shrinking during the process will leave a hollow space in thehappens to co by the stud, and so an i out the obscure seat of the nuisance when the instruood order
There should be then a distinct lihths of an inch square o
The studs should be cut from fairly stout veneer, and for the present purpose, that of the back, usually of sycamore, the same kind of wood is preferable to any other
They should be tri when attached and dried, as all tried tools afterwards is likely to be attended by occasional slips of the chisel