FoxMitchell

Good point! The more I look at it the more I think this is a job one should walk away from.

...I guess they never fix broken buttons and other back issues? The back was 70% unglued, the button was broken and poorly repaired and broke again, the top is glued with mysterious non-hide glue, and there's a small crack. The back was the place to start. Yeah I thought that too. I don't know if the varnish was completely re-done, but it surely got a 'fresh coat' of something on the body that the scroll didn't get.

Thanks!

Violin Varnish Italy (is that the same as Nunzio?) is really good stuff! https://www.etsy.com/shop/ViolinVarnish

Hey! It's been a while since I posted anything! I missed you folks! I got a bit of a horror show violin to work on, and something about it just doesn't feel like the 'usual stuff', so I was hoping if it has identifiable features that our resident experts could chime in about the origins of this one... It has a beautiful one-piece back, blocks and linings (the linings are let-into the blocks), a neck graft, and some of the most horrible repairs I've seen so far! (and mysterious glue holding the top)

They do blend in really well! Andrea Guarneri, Cremona, 1697, the 'Primrose, Lord Harrington'

Who told you about the dinosaurs?! You must go into hiding, you know too much!

Can't go wrong with ebony, but my favorite is pernambuco.

That was a saddle crack that was already present. It just became really evident and it waved and smiled for the camera when poked.

No offense taken! I'm open to criticism, it's one way of learning things. Leonhard also has years of experience over me, if my work seems sloppy it's in part because I haven't reached the level of refinement he has yet. How would you open one of your violins, though? Maybe make a video on it? Your scroll carving videos were tremendously helpful and inspirational when I was carving scrolls! They were there already. After I published the video I got thinking I should have made mention of that, but YouTube doesn't let you put annotations anymore and I didn't feel like deleting the video to upload a new one, so I hoped it would be assumed they were there already since at some point I mention open cracks. I'll do better next time!

Yep! I figured since I had to open it and I've been meaning to make that video....

Yes it is!

I'm no Leonhard, but I coincidentally just got done making a video about this subject...

This is what works for me!

A friend gave it to me. I have no idea where he got it from. ...and it does still! That seam is open; whatever they were trying to do either didn't get done or didn't work.