So, what would you do?

[Andrew_Easterling]

I've got another violin I'm practicing my repair skills on. This one is gnarly, a nasty crack along the center seam that eventually crosses some grain lines. My biggest problem is that I can't get the wood to touch at all spots along the crack. I've considered a spline or a patch but because it's along the center seam I don't know if that's kosher. I've also considered cutting away wood to make the crack fully rejoin but I don't like the idea of removing original wood since I want to learn techniques that could be used on really nice instruments. Let's pretend this is a fine old Italian and I can spend as much time as needed to do a proper job. What would you do? 

 

*Edit* Pictures!

http://imgur.com/a/WgoXX

Edited December 1, 2015 by Andrew_Easterling

[DGerald StephenR]

Hi Andrew,

You could read through the following topic post and try to "swell" the wood to a better fitting.

http://www.maestronet.com/forum/index.php?/topic/321389-how-do-you-glue-this-type-of-crack/

DGSR☺

[Brad Dorsey]

I was just about to reference the same thread, but DGSR beat me to it.

[jezzupe]

Beyond using water to swell the crack shut, proper " super cleaning" of the crack prior is generally needed. This involves microscope like magnification along with the proper implements for picking out and removing dirt, varnish and errant wood fibers that prevent the closing up of the crack. The cleaner you can get the crack without disturbing the actual wood itself the better and more invisible the repair can appear.

[Christopher Jacoby]

Search Tower cleats, and remember that closing a crack in pieces is always better than fumbling with the whole thing at once

[Andrew_Easterling]

Thanks for the responses guys! I meant to add a picture gallery but couldn't edit the post until a moderator approved the post. Anyhow, here is the gallery. http://imgur.com/a/WgoXX

[Brad Dorsey]

... " super cleaning" of the crack prior is generally needed. This involves microscope like magnification...

 

What sort of equipment is used to get this level of magnification with violins?

[MaestronetLurker]

What sort of equipment is used to get this level of magnification with violins?

There was a good demonstration on this at a VSA convention a couple years back. If you have access to the archives I think they have transcripts. They recorded it, but I don't know what they do with that. I recall that they were using an electronic microscope hooked to a computer to display the image on a larger screen, but I'd have to dig for the notes.

[Christopher Jacoby]

a single light source and a pair of strong magnifying glasses will do most of it. If you can get an electron microscope on a repairperson's budget, excellent!

[Carl Stross]

a single light source and a pair of strong magnifying glasses will do most of it. If you can get an electron microscope on a repairperson's budget, excellent!

 

You can get the microscope, the vacuum diffusion pump oil will brake the bank.

[jezzupe]

What sort of equipment is used to get this level of magnification with violins?

Generally a nice 8x lupe is good enough, but there really are some reasonable priced handheld microscopes out there now, just google "handheld microscope".Heck I even saw one that hooks up to your Iphone for like 25$

[Peter K-G]

I would go for something like this (there are probably better ways of doing it)

http://www.thestradsound.com/ongoing/gluingthetophalvesbacktogether

[~ Ben Conover]

haha, those small metal clamps are a devil for leaving marks in the wood. 

The small handmade brass screw clamps are worth buying.
 

[uncle duke]

I would go for something like this (there are probably better ways of doing it)

http://www.thestradsound.com/ongoing/gluingthetophalvesbacktogether

I was impressed wth that.  It's tough enough just taking one of your own apart, let alone having to do that.