FoxMitchell

True! On both accounts! (I don't think I could run a mile without dropping dead either! )

It does look like it's made of various bits and pieces. Any specific reason why you would "run a mile before agreeing to "repair"" it, Jacob? That it is!

Hey folks, this blondie found its way to my workbench! The owner really really loves the violin, but it needs a lot of work, so we were wondering if we could find some background information on it first so, you know, we can have an idea of what we're dealing with, what it might be worth, all that material stuff... (I have a Mirecourt hunch, but I don't know enough to say it's more than just that, a hunch ) (this last photo is a composite, I couldn't get the whole label in one shot) It has had a lot of 'repairs' done to it, I don't think the blocks or linings are original, and I suspect the original varnish was stripped. But interestingly it has a one-piece lower rib. One of its problems that needs addressing is that it seems to have had a thru-neck, that someone grafted an upper block to. The neck came unglued, but seems like the mortise it originally had is keeping it from just coming off. Anyone has any suggestions on how to remove such neck so it can be re-glued without taking the top off? Thank you!

Nice pegs! That's a nice setup you have there also!

No no no no no no no don't touch the varnish!

I'm not a lawyer and my advice is merely conjecture, so take it with a grain of salt: I think you should be able to take the violins in question to some 3rd party violin shop that does appraisals, and get written estimates on the insurance replacement cost of your instruments, which tend to be notoriously higher than actual market value, but if you are a relatively unknown maker whose work can't be found with a simple Google search like say David Burgess' works can, depending on where you live your work might be appraised well under $2k-$5k. Hopefully someone else has more insight on these matters. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Oh this brings me flashbacks from my second attempt at carving a scroll! I wasn't happy with it overall anyway so I made a new one, and that one came out to my liking!

Thanks! And hehe, no, I would rather not try to antique the entire cello just so that one repair will blend in better. It's a student cello, there's only so much time/effort one can dedicate to it. Thanks! I got reasonably good fit and smoothness. It's the retouching magic that I'm low on. The angle and lightning also make it more, or less noticeable. I didn't feel comfortable doing too strong of a retouch because the chatoyancy of the wood on that spot is really intense and the varnish so transparent, I lack the knowledge on how to make that kind of effect blend, but hopefully in time I will learn the secrets!

Holy cello, Batman! I got to repair a hole on some cello's ribs! I wasn't able to make the repair completely disappear (like on that Triangle Strings article). The broken pieces and all fit well and the repair is structurally sound, I just need to learn to make it blend in better on a new instrument; I bet if this were an old cello already full of scuffs and dings and scratches I could have made it more discrete. Anyone got any tips?

lol that's the one!

You nailed it! I'm trowing in the towel on this one. Going over the instrument, I find so much that is 'wrong' as far as this reproduction goes from what I found about the original, and the quality of the parts is so dubious, that I don't think it's worth my time and the risk of breaking something. ...which already happened, I broke 4 of the mysterious strings it had, just trying to tune it! I replaced them with some used cello strings and they're holding but tuning the damned thing is terrifying with improvised strings (I was wearing safety glasses lest the strings snap on my face, after the second one broke). Also I found it impossible to keep the bridge between the F-hole notches, the angle of the strings behind the bridge is such that they push the bridge up once it comes under tension. The bottom of the feet of the bridge are polished smooth as glass and the top of the instrument is just as smooth so it provides some excellent sliding action! But here's a better picture of this monstrosity, for posterity! I will tell the owner that if he wants me to do an overhaul and bring it to spec using gut strings made for it I'll consider, but improvising with cello strings, no, I'm done with it. (I had never broken a string my whole life while tuning anything, so I'm particularly offended by this instrument!)

That's because it was just put together in any and each way, I took the picture before I did anything to it, the bridge is all crooked. Also the angle of the photo is terrible. I'll take better pictures later. Actually that is what I thought for my own self! I wonder if that's not how it came to be in first place... "Uuhm, I have a guitar neck, a cello body, a gamba tailpiece, let's combine them all!" As a violinist, that was my first thought when I saw the frets!

Noob question here: Which in E–A–d–g–b–e' are we talking about? Like, ...Hz, which ones are they? What do I do if the owner wants 'modern' strings on it (ie. not gut)? Do fractional size cello strings fit these things perhaps?

So I got something a bit more exotic to work on this time! It's an Arpeggione! Having never seen one of these before, I have a few question I was hoping someone could help me with! Currently it has mystery strings on, and their thickness doesn't seem to indicate they're in the right places. Wikipedia says it's tuned in E–A–d–g–b–e' . So, what kind of strings does it use? And the setup, there is a soundpost in there but it's like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Do I just set it like a cello soundpost? Thanks!

Don't feel bad, Don. That's just the modern equivalent of having half-a-dozen apprentices living under your roof and doing the grunt work while you the master put in the fine and finishing touches.