I repair a 1934 A.E. Smith Violin - part 1

[@fnersch3367]

A. Smith was 54 years old when he made this violin. In 1919 he became an importer and manufacturer of stringed instruments. He lived to the age of 98. His violas are the most prized by musicians. Thank you for restoring this violin. May it play again!

[@fiddlefolk]

Very cool!

[@fiddlefolk]

My mother was born in 1934 which makes the violin 90 yrs old. Very cool video!!! When I was a teenager, my mother would have me play my fiddle while she cooked dinner on our West Texas farm. Danny Boy was her favorite song she always requested! My current main violin was made in 1858, the year my great grandfather was born. It has been worked on by Fred Carpenter's fiddle shop in Nashville but the old girl is in need of some TLC. My fiddle spent time in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass band.

[@benjaminboyle7329]

Filming myself doing something like this would make me so self conscious. It say a lot about the confidence you have in your work that you are comfortable showing all the details like this to the world. Its beautiful to watch.

[@rossthefiddler5890]

I've been filming myself & I'm reserving it for family members only. 😅

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Hi Guys, I'm going to be a bit busy tonight, but I will try and join the chat for a bit towards the end of the video. Hope you like it :) Part 2 coming within a week!

[@Gusielog]

Thanks Olaf :) I love your content, and I am SUPER excited for this video. It looks epic!

[@bobbiecat7139]

Can't wait for part 2!

[@ethanhe8608]

You should pin this comment

[@gnm109]

It is fascinating to watch you when you do repairs on these instruments. I can see the joy that you experience when you do a sucessaful repair. Keep up the good work! I really enjoy these videos!

[@tonimcguire8588]

Thank you, Olaf. I’ve been able to better help my students on how to care for their instruments!

[@bradykelso8682]

I’m completely hooked. Going to brew a cup of coffee before watching part two! Cheers, Olaf!

[@spshc]

Happy Birthday Olaf, great video. 🎂🍨🍦🍰🧁

[@mellissadalby1402]

I like to watch you, Olaf at your bench in the workshop. I have seen you do many amazing repairs that I would have thought were not possible. I find it greatly inspiring and it makes me feel happy that you have rescued so many otherwise potentially lost instruments. They went from very sad to glad, thanks to your skillset and ability.

[@surlyogre1476]

Happy Birthday, Olaf. Many happy returns of the day.

[@lorainialindberry3013]

Good morning, Olaf. Beautiful violin. I really love watching you work.

[@TheKat430]

Happy Birthday Olaf!! Wishing you a great day! Love all your wonderful videos.

[@Allen-b2p]

Hello . I'm very pleased with your work and that video you made it? about how to restoration a beautiful 1943 vilolin , I'm from uk , and I have very old turkish BAGLAMA(SAZ) ITS BROKEN . I love the way how you work with this instrument, please i need a some advice how to fix my one , with regard allen

[@ald00I]

i really appreciate these videos because im always a bit scared to bring my viola to a luthier for fear that itll get ruined (its not even worth super much, it just means a lot to me) but getting a peak behind the scenes really helped! im currently researching luthiers around my area :)

[@Mission_Harmony]

I am a retired MD & woodworker. Building & repairing a bunch of chunks of wood that are not only aesthetic visually but come to life to sing as well is the final frontier of the art. I want to build one. Impressive surgery Olaf.

[@thecaptainsunchained]

Absolute pleasure to watch. Can't stop picturing how TwoSet would mess up if they were tasked with this.

[@IgarashiDai]

Happy belated birthday Olaf! 🥳 Here’s to another 30+ years of you being awesome 💪

[@MichaelM69]

Thank you for all you do and Happy Birthday Olaf!! Will be upgrading my violin in a few months and I know exactly what to look for thanks to your valuable information! You're the best :)

[@thierrylemoult3695]

Thank you Olaf for this video. I really like see how you done the repair. Very nice Violon. A French amator violinmaker.

[@wakingtheworld]

You've had weeks of rain, Olaf. Meanwhile we've got an ongoing, now serious, drought situation (southern U.K.); weeks and weeks without rain and food shortages on the horizon... Fascinating vid as always. Lovely to watch a master craftsman at work and yes, if you truly love the work you do, it's hardly classed as 'work' and that's the way it should be! There are sadly far too many unhappy, unfulfilled and frustrated peeps out there...

[@antopac4067]

The amount of rain is feels pretty normal as August is technically winter in Australia

[@rossthefiddler5890]

Happy birthday & thanks Olaf. My BD was enjoying food the next day after a colonoscopy. 😉 It was interesting seeing the inside of this A E Smith violin. I am finishing a violin I had started (I won't say how long ago) for my son's birthday & I had the belly ready for purfling with the channels cut & now I'm close to marking & cutting the back for purfling too. I had the peg box & scroll completed too, however it is always nice to see little ideas used by other makers as I progress & can take on some of those ideas. I'm refreshing my memory for the small details as I pick it up again (I've been repairing & setting up instruments since I started though). I'm using the 'Betts' Strad pattern as a guide although making it to a longer model (4-5mm longer). With this A E Smith violin the middle section inside the back looks like it has been brushed with something. I wonder if that was from later repairers brushing through the sound holes? Also, with the varnish chipping off, I've found that with some varnishes of early 1900's factory instruments if spilled glue is left it just takes the varnish off, but I wonder, could A E Smith have used water glass treatment (ref: Sacconi) on the outside? I tried it on my first violin I made, just because I could. 😊

[@RobertFay]

*- I missed **15:27** when you first wet your knife and then dipped it into the glue to use it as your gluing brush, and then again at **15:48**.* *- I guess you have shown and taught your viewers this before, but I am a newbie.* *- I am surprised that the knife delivers enough glue for your satisfaction.* *- I imagined torch heating a used blade and forging mini-peening golf-ball dimpling into the surface to carry a slicking of glue into the crack like grooving a Babbitt bearing surface to travel grease onto an axle.*

[@yoonjiswag1967]

Happy Birthday Olaf 🥰🎂🎉

[@michelevolz7769]

Happy birthday!! Beautiful fiddle, glad you are working on it!

[@kyproset]

Thank you Olaf for the video. Smith was a British-trained luthier who emigrated to Australia. I've never played on one, but I suspect he was the first good luthier to be in Australia at the right time. Undoubtedly he was a good maker like other British contemporaries and I wonder whether his instruments would have been as valuable had he stayed in England. Please educate me.

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Absolutely not. He was training as an engineer but loved violins. He started making in his mid teens. He was at the right place at the right time and became Australia's best known maker. That's why they're so valuable

[@kyproset]

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Thank you for the answer, I cannot wait to hear it after it's finished. One more question, The bass bar as you said is the original, signed by Smith. Is a bass bar good for the life of the instrument if carved correctly, or does it need replacing after some years? Thank you for your insight.

[@keithcitizen4855]

According to Kitty Smith his daughter , Arthur had a shop in Hunter St Sydney and top artists would not want anyone else working on their instruments when they were in town - you had to be Smith trained to be any good?

[@marknichols7861]

I modified my perspective on violin making and the handling of the wood, varnish, etc. watching your videos. I am becoming “less afraid” of the wood and the structure of the violin - hard to describe, but your method, from years of experience, instills a confidence I was reluctant to embrace. Thanks for that “gift”.

[@nedheadwyoming]

Happy Birthday Olaf!! This is a very interesting video, thanks!

[@edmiller4149]

Expert repair and restoration from the “Master” ! Thanks Olaf.

[@albertsystem1]

Always amazing that you're able chat while working, but also very cool seeing you concentrate while setting those clamps.

[@razvanbutiac7684]

Well Olaf... happy birthday!!! Grate video, really enjoy your work.

[@edwardpetersen4309]

Happy Birthday, Olaf.

[@desandbonville9254]

Really interesting video. I may have to buy a violin from you. Thank you for making such interesting content.

[@mikegreen8517]

Happy birthday Olaf!

[@today.2759]

Waiting for the next part😊😊happy birthday Olaf🎉🎉

[@ALAPINO]

Perhaps the rosin build up caused a higher adhesion to the collapsed finger board to the varnish and the now moistened spruce released the varnish from beneath. Just a wild guess. At any rate, always fun to watch your process.

[@persistentcat]

Drinking coffee over the violin is the last thing I expect a professional violin maker to do😆

[@PMFan0]

Happy Bday Mr Olaf!

[@nathangill]

I'd love a closer look at those clamps! Looks way more today than individual spool clamps!

[@zzp1]

I made an intensive study of the practice of Guarneri. Just Joseph. I had a couple of them in my hands heard the playing by a top musician. So I do know a tiny bit. There are a couple of hundreds Stradivari left, most of them just being beautiful chamber instruments, a very few able to used as a concert solo instrument. Maybe between 10-25b pcs according to Würlitzer standards. Basically Guarneri was a poor craftsman in Cremona, sometimes making parts for better situated violin builders in his street. His buyers were mostly carnival musicians, but even Viotti had a Guarneri, just for the sound of the instrument. Guarneri sold even blanks, i.e. unfinished and unvarnished instruments. He used to buy wood from old farms, cheap and weathered to the core. So, people trying to copy a Guarnerii is an hopless affair alltogether. A Guarneri del Jesù is a Guarneri del Jèsu. Just that. The very best instrument never reach the open market. They go from musician to musician. You could write a book about it.

[@jamesluff8415]

Always great to see your process, Olaf. And also great to see that you take exactly the same level of care for a student violin as you do a $100,000 one. Not sure about that coffee recipe though!

[@yngveskarphedinssons]

My Father has an Australian Made Violin ( Buck 1937 ) who was an english immigrant and had his workshop in Collins street Melbourne in the day!

[@bldallas]

$100,000 Australian is roughly (edited to correct) $64,000 US. Holy cow, you not only are a master violin maker, but you’ve got balls of steel!!! I can’t imagine having the knowledge and confidence to crack open an instrument of that value. Bravo!

[@freefall8243]

I think you have the conversion backwards. 100,000 Aus would equal about 64,000 US.

[@bldallas]

@@freefall8243 you’re right; I went back and corrected it, thanks! Still a damn expensive fiddle.

[@michaelwhisman]

The same thing happened to my Great-grandfather's violin. He was born in 1856 and got his violin when he was about 18. In about 1918 it came apart. He lived in the Rocky Mountains and nobody knew anything about repairing violins. Sadly, he threw it away and bought a 1913 Lowendall from Sears. No telling what his original violin was. He died in 1932, so I was not able to ask.

[@teodelfuego]

Interesting to see that the violin maker relic-ed the instrument

[@jerrycratsenberg989]

Lovely, thanks for sharing

[@EssEss77]

Happy birthday Olaf

[@grandmestredespoulpes2435]

00:01 Well, here in France/Germany/england we have our worst drought ever registered. We'd take a few bottles of water with pleasure, do not hesitate to send us a few clouds ! edit after I saw the video : of course, great video :)

[@wakingtheworld]

I mentioned our drought too (UK based).... For the first time ever I'm craving rain on my skin and will probably stand in it and get soaked when it does happen. Everything is so dry with temperatures well in the 30's and even in the 40's... 'Yellow, children, is now for grass'

[@grandmestredespoulpes2435]

@@wakingtheworld Less than 24 hours after the post we finally get our first rain in 2-3 months where I live, obviously Olaf have been very prompt to access my request. The rain isn't nation wide and I really hope our burning forest will receive a few drops soon but it's still very good. I really wish you'll have some rain soon !

[@wakingtheworld]

@@grandmestredespoulpes2435 Wow! He's far more than just a violin-maker and restorer then! Gosh that's good but sadly, it'll take more than one bit o'rain to solve the situation. We continue to burn here... 31 degrees out here today though a chance of 'light rain' on Tuesday and thunderstorms on Wed. The ground needs the gentle stuff not the lashing rain though any rain will help fill our river(s)...

[@publicclammer]

Fascinating!!

[@ghlscitel6714]

Learning again from you, thanks, Sir! Did you know the type of varnish by experience or did you analyse it's nature prior to retouching? Is it a Schellack varnish or an oil based varnish?

[@thomapple]

13:08 waiving around the coffee mug on top of the violin had me very anxious, if it was me I could not have a single liquid container in the same room :P

[@jedgurley]

In a way it's like a patina .. it's very pretty,

[@TNungesser]

Happy birthday Olaf! 5 months ago

[@ahh1180]

Another great Australian luthier of our time is Harry Vatiliotis an incredible violin maker

[@PidokJacob]

Queensland?...LOVE THE BUTTER!

[@lotsabirds]

Fabulous work, as always!

[@tanjasofieschndorff193]

Thanks for another great video!!

[@nickyork8901]

Fascinating video on a beautiful instrument. It's so interesting to see how a properly trained restorer goes about a job like this. Would love to see more like this one.

[@LC-th1hy]

Amazing how the author of the violin would stamp his name all over inside the violin! How you take apart the violin is not scary since you do it with so much security and care.

[@randolphfriend8260]

Oh, yeah! Much Happy "too late to mention in now" Birthday!!!! 🎉

[@terry1965]

I've been building for some time now Olaf and I've never seen varnish do that

[@mccypr]

Good stuff! I’m slowly getting ready to do Violin regraduation/refurbishment as a (player’s) hobby. I ordered a separation knife and got the wrong one for Violin. It has an eight inch blade versus being eight inches long. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I can simply hold it just past the hilt. Thanks! 😎

[@CalixtoPrimeiro]

When I saw the two halves of the violin coming out of the case I probably should have worrying whether they could ever be transformed into one playable instrument again, but actually I was only wondering whether the insurance company will consider this a case of water damage, since it isn't caused by liquid water but by humidity 🙃

[@DrJunge]

I am curious as to the glue you are using? I could not find any reference to it. You seem to use an old jam jar to heat the glue?

[@mercoid]

I believe it is hide glue which is often too syrupy to work with unless heated.

[@DrJunge]

@@mercoid Thank you very much. That helped me finding the information I was looking for: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_glue#Hide%20glue I found the German language version a bit more enlightening: de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinleim (use Google Translate or equivalent to convert to English)

[@PidokJacob]

FIRE SPRUCE PATTERN IS SO COOL...

[@joshward7896]

It's my Birthday too, Yeah!

[@stevev5510]

just wondering if you know where the wood for a 1934 Australian violin came from. I have heard some guitar makers are using Australian timber these days. non traditional, but very beautiful and suitable.

[@drandrewtan]

Happy Birthday Olaf! It's always interesting to see an AE Smith violin, especially on the inside! Question: what did you add into your coffee after the extraction, but before mixing it up? It's a liquid and some blocks of butter?

[@zapa1pnt]

Wow. The backside of that instrument is some Really beautiful maple. 🤩🤩😘

[@MarioGuillermoOrdunaRobles]

Hi olaf, i just have a question. For re varnishing a violin do you have to get rid of the previous varnish? or only make the cleaning and put a new layer over the old one? Thank you i like your videos!

[@Double-Yew-Bee]

New camera? Super crisp resolution on this video.

[@Gusielog]

Yooo! Looks like an amazing vid

[@liamnevilleviolist1809]

34:50 -just wondering why the varnish is SO dark under the fingerboard.... I know the old masters varnished the whole top and the placed the fingerboard on.... but then wouldn't;t the whole violin be slightly darker? Certainly not blonde... curious.

[@notepadpowersnail1860]

It’s probably just antiquing. Painted to look older than it is.

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

Olaf said that the ebony fingerboard had rested on the top for a while, when it was damp.

[@DapperDebonair9820]

Hi Olaf! What violin in your workshop would you recommend for a person who wants a loud sound. This video was very informative and interesting, I absolutely cannot wait for part 2!

[@Misrabelle]

As the owner of a 1937 A.E. Smith violin, just watching that top plate coming off was making me queasy.

[@chipcurry]

Good effort, but you need to use close-up shots. Many of the things you described, for instance the Stradivarius symbol and the supports along the edge were not Visible. If you shoot in 4K, you will have enough resolution to magnify part of the screen in post. But the best thing to do is to go back and re-shoot the close-ups As B roll.

[@ronwehnau5317]

In gluing the side to the top block, I was curious why you didn't put a clamp on both sides of the block? Am I just overthinking the process here?

[@Crenom]

When cleaning the inside the violin, is that just water you are brushing? I was going to use naptha just trying to adopt a do-no-harm method.

[@BI-11y_TheStormTrooper]

Why don't you use a blow dryer to heat up the resin/glue ?

[@voxer3688]

Hi Olaf, very interesting! Could you explain why an instrument’s varnish is sacred? I’d love to know more. Thanks.

[@jazzouchejazzouche5827]

A few years ago a was doing a String Quartet gig at Double Bay Sydney. My Violin was stolen. It was a beautiful A E Smith,an early one,1906 made in Malden but it played beautifully and looked great If anyone knows anything about it,leave something in the comments .

[@SnapCracklePapa]

Is there a way to figuratively have rain?

[@jedgurley]

I would say someone was polishing it over the years and that darker varnish could be. The original color..

[@liamnevilleviolist1809]

Why did Smith's neck break out though? Original neck... or did someone *else* glue it "back in" badly. If so: why did they need to glue it back in? The answer had better be: the owner flew from Australia to Singapore, to Antarctica, then to Malaysia, then to the Arctic, then back to Australia ... where it currently is...! ;)

[@Creationhorse]

I'm wondering what had been applied to the inside center area of the back plate?

[@battistazani8202]

27:00 now we know from where the "relic" started. 😅

[@SteenWinther]

I never knew that violins need service 🤔 'We have been trying to call you regarding your violin's extended warrenty' 😄

[@francoisvillon1300]

Дерево для дек ввозите из Европы или из местных эвкалиптов делаете?

[@danday457]

oooh what’s that bass in the background?

[@bertfabillo]

Man I appreciate your videos. I suggest that you use a microphone so that you are more audible

[@johnsanabria3279]

I really like your t-shirt with your logo on it. Is it possible to get one,and do they come in different colors?

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

I'm not really huge on Merch, but I'll see if we can put it on tspring or similar... That way you could choose colour

[@johnsanabria3279]

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Thanks.....that's very nice of you.

[@ClyWhite-l1g]

I have worked by birthday since 1986. So the last 38 years.

[@EmilianoGirina]

Am I wrong or do you have some music in background, don't you? minute 09:10

[@Mark-lf9cn]

When does "Olaf the Barista" channel start?

[@khajiitkitten5679]

WHERE CAN I GET ONE OF THOSE AWESOME SHIRTS YOU'RE WEARING?

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

With my Logo? Looking at doing small amount of merch soon. I also have violin cleaning cloths with my logo.

[@conradgittins4476]

I was confronted with a violin that had come apart in a similar way and then re assembled with hot glue from a glue gun! It came apart again. Luckily it wasn't a valuable violin. I turned down the repair because I wasn't certain that I could remove all traces of hot glue and be confident that hide glue would work.

[@chrispbacon3042]

Interesting listening to a Queenslander commenting on the cold...😂😅😊

[@robertnicholson7733]

Hi, If it is not a secret where do you get your pearl glue, and what was the varnish you used? My usual supplier has let me down recently with dry shellac that was pretty much past its use-by date when sent to me, so I view all products as suspect now, pretty hard to get that trust back. These days, there appears to be pearl glue, and then there is Pearl Glue! Raspberry jam jar in, what, a stainless steel mixing bowl for the glue heater - a classic. But what were you using in the bowl to transfer the heat, was it wax? I almost dropped my hot chocky when I saw you using red handled, two dollar shop, Chinese F clamps. They seem to work okay, but don't you find the thread a bit too coarse? Brissy when it is wet, yuk. There was one year, in the early 90s, when it just rained all winter, what a misery, I could not get dry. I live down the GC now, humidity has been through the roof lately.

[@WJSpies]

Some turpentine to clean it.. Teitbond and crazy glue, a bit of epoxy, with a heavy coat of marine grade spar varnish, and waxy polish; it'll be just like new.

[@BeckVMH]

That seems quite a bit of trauma suffered by a valuable violin along with various repairs, apparently some not up to standard for such a quality instrument. How does this occur?

[@simongough-brown9439]

Zoom out so we can see you AND the workpiece.

[@umuttosun4879]

I wonder if Olaf ever spilled his coffee on expensive violins before :)

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Actually no! It's a disaster when my coffee spills 😂