Fellow Report post Posted February 1, 2009 Hi all, I would like to try to repair a crack in this way. Is it okay? (see pic.) By cutting out a wedge from the crack and glue a new piece to cover the void. Sand it down and touch up. Thank you any advice. (eager to try) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oded Kishony Report post Posted February 1, 2009 Each piece of wood reflects light in a unique way. If the piece of wood you intend to insert does not match properly then it will 'shine' and stand out (not good). In order to match this reflective property the best thing is to use the same wood that the instrument is made of. If this is not available then you must match the reflective quality from every viewing angle not just from straight above etc. It is good if you have a very big pile of wood scraps to work from. If the violin has a dark (black) opaque finish your chances of matching are improved. Use a scraper not sandpaper! Oded Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FiddleDoug Report post Posted February 1, 2009 I would also think that you would have trouble getting it to fit exactly, and would therefore not get a really strong joint. Even if you were to get a good fit, it would still have to be cleated. As Oded said, matching the repair could be difficult. An advanced method shown in the Weisshaar & Shipman book, is resawing a crack. I've never done it, but it might be an option for a dirty, nasty crack. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arglebargle Report post Posted February 2, 2009 Bluntly? No. It is not an o.k. way to repair a crack. What you seem to be trying to do is some sort of lazy, half-assed through patch. If you try to remove and replace wood only from the outside of the instrument, you will screw it up. If you are removing wood and replacing wood, you need to be approaching it from the other side, i.e. the inside. But f--k it. What harm could you do? Have fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Janito Report post Posted February 2, 2009 But f--k it. That's not 'cricket'. Actually, for all you know Fellow may have been showing a diagram of the plate resting on a cradle... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arglebargle Report post Posted February 2, 2009 That's not 'cricket'.Actually, for all you know Fellow may have been showing a diagram of the plate resting on a cradle... No, it's not. My spelling is bad, but not that bad. Fair enough. Fellow also may have been talking about repairing a sidewalk or fixing the crust on a pie. We may never know. But Godspeed! dear Fellow. Whatever "crack" you are trying to fill, then by God, fill the hell out of it! For it is crack fillers like you, NO! Like ALL of us that keep the world turning. Does it matter if it is a crack in a violin or a crack in the Earth's crust? Well... Yes. Yes it does... a little. But not so much that we should not ALL strive to fill any and all cracks we see promptly and in the most slipshod and hasty manner immediatly available to us! Fill! In the name of all that you hold dear, FILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh god.......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oded Kishony Report post Posted February 2, 2009 The diagram doesn't seem to represent anything in particular, there is no grain orientation, there is no representation of location, no clue if it's inside or outside the plate, just a simple question about inserting a piece of wood to repair a crack. Someone has yet discover the "ignore poster" feature of this board. Try it, it works ~OK Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fellow Report post Posted February 2, 2009 " Does it matter if it is a crack in a violin or a crack in the Earth's crust?" (quoted) I know either one is jsut as difficult. (to me) It is a crack of my experimental violin, so I asked luthiers in this forum. The idea was from " a Guitar top cracked repair short cut" Stewart-MacDonald catalog. 1. Trim the crack to a uniform width and dept. 2. Prepare a splint into the widened crack 3. trim the splint flush. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Yacey Report post Posted February 2, 2009 Oded is giving you the most relevant answer here, and as mentioned, if you are going to make a wedge shaped splinter patch, make the wide end of the wedge on the inside so the narrow end is what's visible from the outside. Of course the requires removing the top to do so. Be careful about questions regarding filling cracks, you never know what kind of wisecracks you'll get from crackpots for replies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iburkard Report post Posted February 2, 2009 ... It is a crack of my experimental violin, so I asked luthiers in this forum. Can I adopt this violin yet? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fellow Report post Posted February 2, 2009 (deleted for better idea) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
