Repair Series #20 - Violin in many parts - 1

[@rachaelphelps4962]

Absolutely love watching your videos. Thanks so much!

[@maestrokimon]

Good to hear Rachael, thank you!

[@rossthefiddler5890]

Czechoslovakia was where the budget violins were made in the early 1900's & some of them were quite rough, like some really cheap Chinese violins were later. I did however restore a similar violin where the back was quite thick on one side so I corrected the thickness in both plates & added the bass bar. I also added corner blocks (& repaired one of the damaged corners) & I also had to replace both end blocks too. The varnish had that fake crazed effect on it as well as being naturally worn, but by the time I had finished it, it sounded really nice with a beautiful rich sound & looked good too (after retouching the varnish). Other violin makers would just glue it up for a wall hanging only, saying it isn't worth it, but if the wood is nice & the scroll nicely carved (poorly carved scrolls shows how cheap the violin is) then if the owner is willing to pay for the cost to work on it that much then it may be worth it if it is a family heirloom.

[@ardathbelzer9891]

Ingenious counter block for clamping! Thank you!

[@maestrokimon]

We have to be inventive haven't we!!

[@vishnukumar-xv7bp]

Great vedio sir i am learning a lot from your work Thanks

[@maestrokimon]

Thank you so much! good to hear!

[@michaelwhisman]

Most of my violins look similar when I receive them. But I like them that way because if I mess up, no harm done.

[@dancastiglione3213]

I like how you redid bottom. I feel to many makers over look the sensitive of back. I have written a complete paper how light spectrum and sound are are the sound. When I make my violins, I use the two of the same theory's I used when I was in Laser/ RF technology. 1: I use old violin maker's choice for thickness of top "LIGHT" 2: For the lower plate, I go back to the sound spectrum, we know the vibration from the sound post. These are high and low frequencies and separated to lower / upper bouts. Using reverb baffles you increase the speed and tone. I know this works and the sound is great,

[@maestrokimon]

This is an interesting theory. Would you like to send me your paper? My e-mail is [e-mail]

[@rossthefiddler5890]

I guess the density variation that shows with light should be considered when tap tuning the plates too. Another aspect that some have overlooked is checking the tap tone of the belly (that was established before the sound holes were cut) when shaping the bass bar as the tone becomes clearer as the shape approaches the final shape & if taking off more wood the clarity diminishes again, so one needs to know when to stop before that point. A higher & thinner bass bar is better than a lower squat one as it is better at maintaining stiffness of the belly etc. & yet light enough to allow for clarity & power.

[@cristrigotti9933]

Again, nice work. You are doing this violin right. Your attention to detail is amazing.

[@maestrokimon]

Thank a lot Crist!

[@loganangus3138]

I'd love to see a video explaining how to make a violin holder like the one you have the back clamped into at 8:19

[@maestrokimon]

Ok I will see if I can do that.

[@loganangus3138]

@@maestrokimon that would be absolutely fantastic!

[@dalemorgan378]

Yes, I would also like to see that

[@ed801975]

This is so fascinating. I can watch this all day! Thanks for your content! 😃

[@maestrokimon]

Thank you so much for your kind words!

[@jamesbarros950]

This is beautiful work. What does a violin need to be worth this level of restoration? Thank you

[@russcorbett3923]

Awesome video and great work !!!! Thank You so.much for all that you do and for all the great information that you share !!!!

[@maestrokimon]

Thanks again for your kind comment Russ!

[@stratocactus]

Your hot hide glue (HHG) seems very liquid, what ratio do you use ? Is it for repairs only ? Or do you always work with that ratio ? I use HHG for guitars and mandolins making (I'm pretty new to HHG) and my glue is much thicker (that makes it a bit of a pain ti use).

[@maestrokimon]

I don't use a standard ration. I like my glue to be pretty liquid, if I have the feeling that it is too much I test is between my fingers to see if it is sticky enough. I don't like too thick glue as it can make space between the parts.

[@stratocactus]

@@maestrokimon Thanks !

[@rossthefiddler5890]

@@maestrokimon Too thick a glue can make components slide during clamping too. :)

[@petermacoviolin]

Hallo van Belgie Gent. Ik heb het zelfste gedaan (proberen) en met zelfste problemen en ook doe viool is van Cz-Sk. Ik leer van u Maestro veel. Dank U

[@maestrokimon]

Hallo Peter! Dank je wel voor je comment! Succes met jou viool!!

[@scratchcrafter]

Great video, out of curiosity, any reason why you didn't just make new rib linings to interlock with the corner blocks?

[@maestrokimon]

At a certain point I have to stop renewing the parts that are good enough. Otherwise it will become a new violin!

[@martindignam9238]

Hi, great video I lived it, it a good repair job, I was wondering when part 2 and 3 is going to be uploaded.

[@maestrokimon]

Thank you for your kind words Martin. The 2nd part will be online the 11 of december and the last one in Februari.

[@tpistor]

I'm very interested in seeing the f-hole repair.

[@maestrokimon]

Tomorrow it will be online, Tom!

[@Pracownia_Lutnicza_Warszawa]

Hi, i have an idea for next video: repairing an deformed ribs, repairing ribs whose are escaping outside a top/down plate and checking symmetry of center line and correcting it. It happens, hole for button is not exactly in extension of fingerboard center line. Thank you !

[@maestrokimon]

Thank you for the suggestion! As soon as I have an instrument with that kind of problem I will make a video about it.

[@OleNavy]

I don't believe most luthiers would have bothered to take the back off and recarve the thickness, much less, carve corner blocks and install them; "Too much work!" This is going to be an interesting repair and rebuild!!!

[@ChrisWaigl]

I guess it depends what the situation here is. I don't think he said whether this is a repair for a customer or, as I could well imagine, he bought this instrument to rebuild and sell on. In the first case, if he's busy, convincing the customer that all this stuff should be done may not be worth his time. (Or it may be!) In the second I expect having a much improved and fully up-to-standards instrument later could pay off very nicely. In any event, I was already wondering when there might be another video. Much enjoyed.

[@maestrokimon]

I bought this violin to make the videos. I think that if a client would come to the shop with this kind of damage I would advice to buy another instrument for the same money. Reselling the violin will payback some of the hours, KZbin and Patreon have to do the rest!!!

[@rossthefiddler5890]

The one I did (similar, belly not cracked like that though) was an unwanted instrument that I did for a family member but the result I got from it was totally worth it for us, but that is true that doing it for a client it would cost a lot & may not be within their budget in doing it to that level.

[@kajetkawa6024]

Amazing video thx!

[@maestrokimon]

Thank you!!!

[@michaelwhisman]

Why do corner blocks have to be made of spruce??

[@trovatoreviolinos2028]

A técnica pra retirar a etiqueta sem estragar o papel é muito especial. O senhor utiliza água quente com algum produto,ou apenas água?

[@maestrokimon]

It is just water. But you have to be carefull with the ink on tha label.

[@trovatoreviolinos2028]

@@maestrokimon muito obrigado mestre.

[@mgbrv8]

How do you determine the thickness of the sides are their standards or is it purely experience

[@maestrokimon]

I always make the sides 1,2mm. Thick enough to support the instruments but not too stiff.

[@jaiprakashsinha8585]

I have a violine in a broken form,I.e.two holes on the upper portion, no strings

[@digdoon]

Does the back not need to be retuned once you have taken it down to your preferred thickness?

[@maestrokimon]

You could do that indeed and also tune it together with the top but I didn't because of the filming proces.

[@Pracownia_Lutnicza_Warszawa]

Do you always make new hide glue or you heat and use one part of glue many times ?

[@maestrokimon]

I make glue once and the reheat it every time I need it. I don;t make too much so it doesn't become to old or reheated to often.

[@georgesjunk]

Why regrad the back if you don't know what it sounds like? There are plenty of amazing sounding violins with extremely thick backs- exceptions but still not knowing what you have before doing something that drastic seems odd?

[@Majoofi]

Also after the regrading, how accurate is it to leave the label. Perhaps he'll add a label of his own.

[@maestrokimon]

I understand what you mean. But it also feels odd to rebuilt the instrument, play on it and then repoen it again to work on the thickness. But to be honest this is an experiment also for me, as I'm not very keen on altering instruments on this level. My theory is more "if you don't like it buy another one"! The label states that it is a copy of Stradivarius (and it still is) and that it is made in Czechoslovakia that is still 90% true! I wont put a label of my own, I only repaired it.

[@נועםאלון-מ8כ]

Excellent job!! How much does this repair can cost?

[@maestrokimon]

Thank you! It would be a pretty expensieve repair. The instrument is mine and I bought it to make the videos so I don;t know if I would advise a client to pay for it.

[@maxlever9196]

@@maestrokimon Thank you for explaining this. I was wondering if the owners sentimental value outweighed economic sense. This is a legitimate reason for many repairs on many items passed down in a family. What I spent on my Grandfathers watch was foolish to some but well worth it to me.

[@maestrokimon]

Sentimental value is very important. I have repaired instruments in the past because of the sentimental value.

[@Adrian_AdamViolonDiGerma-tm3nq]

Best thickness for violin plate?

[@maestrokimon]

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that!

[@MyViolinJourney]

Amazing!! ♡

[@maestrokimon]

Thank you! 😄

[@poitevienphilip]

HELLO FRIEND I SEE YOU USE A GLUE SOLVENT ON THE VIOLIN, TELL ME WHAT CAN I USE?

[@maestrokimon]

Hello Philip. Sorry but I don't understand your questuion.

[@poitevienphilip]

@@maestrokimon In the video I see that you use a product that dissolves the glue, I want to know which one you use?

[@maestrokimon]

@@poitevienphilip Just plain old water!

[@Majoofi]

From 8:30 on, I can see what looks like a piece of lining sticking up from the back. What's up with that?

[@maestrokimon]

I just glued it in place again whit the ribs.

[@mgbrv8]

What kind of glues are you using Sir?

[@maestrokimon]

Worm hide glue.

[@ryanmurtagh4065]

What tool was being used at 5:53?

[@maestrokimon]

It's a gouge, I think a 5/12

[@ryanmurtagh4065]

@@maestrokimon thank you so much!

[@boyminecraft63]

Do you think it's a copy ?

[@maestrokimon]

Haha! According to the label, yes!