Lecture Presentation "The History of Repairs and New Methods of Restoration"

LECTURE PRESENTATION "THE HISTORY OF REPAIRS AND NEW METHODS OF RESTORATION"

MR. RENE A. MOREL

On The Occasion Of The Fifth Annual General Meeting Newport Beach, California Saturday 26 April, 1986

I N T R O D U C T I O N

The Publications Committee is pleased to present this edited transcription of Mr. Morel's lecture to the membership, delivered at the Fifth Annual General Meeting in Newport Beach, California, on Saturday, 26 April, 1986. As Chairman of the Methods and Workmanship Committee, Mr. Morel was asked by the Board of Governors to present these materials in the form of an illustrated lecture. Rene A. Morel, a violin maker with a distinguished reputation as a restorer among artists in the United States and Europe was born in Saint Remy-Aux-Boix, France in 1932. At the age of 12 he studied violin making with Marius Didier in Mirecourt. His training continued under Amedee Dieudonne in Mirecourt and Marius Bossard in Rennes. At the age of 20 Mr. Morel joined the French Air Force where he became a pilot and built two small 2-passenger airplanes. In 1955 he moved to New York City to study with Simone F. Sacconi at the firm of Rembert Wurlitzer for 9 years. In August, 1964, Mr. Morel established a restoration facility at Jacques Francais Rare Violins, Inc., and since that time has worked in directing restoration as well as teaching. He also serves the .firm as Vice-President. Mr. Morel is a member of the International Society of Violin and Bow Makers and a founding member of the American Federation of Violin & Bow Makers. Of himself, Mr. Morel writes: "My work is very French, but now has a strong Italian influence. I care a great deal for sound and varnish. My stay with Maestro Sacconi made me love restoration of the famous instruments, the field which I am known today by the famous string artists of the world." We would like to express the thanks of the Federation to Mr. Morel for his lecture and the illustrated materials that are presented in the body of this publication. The Publications Committee William L. Monical, Chairman Robert Ames David Gusset

THE HISTORY OF REPAIRS AND NEW METHODS OF RESTORATION

By Rene A. Morel

Well, ladies, gentlemen, dear colleagues, it is easier for me to make an appraisal on a restoration or sit at the bench with a knife and a gouge than to make a speech. But I think that the experience that I gained in this country makes it only fair to every one of you, that I share it with you. I was asked to talk to you about the history of repair and how we came to new methods of restoration. I find it very hard to talk about repair history, because you all know that shops were very secretive while I was in my youth, and it was difficult to get information from craftsmen who had a certain way of doing their own repairs. It was also very hard for me to find two books that would agree on the same dates, or the same ideas, and therefore I will not be too specific about anything as far as we talk about the history of repair.

Now I will start my lecture, and what I am going to say to you is not to criticize or praise one or another person, or even a country. But it is simply to talk to you about my experience in the field of repair with different ateliers in Europe and the United States. By letting you know what I am doing, I think that we can exchange some of our new approaches in methods to improve restoration.

About the history of repair, we know various articles in different books that will give some ideas, but none that give an accurate date for the beginning of methods of repair. Stradivari himself did not do repairs; if an instrument got accidented, he replaced the part that was damaged. We know of a few instruments of Stradivari that were made in the late 17th century and later the top was replaced by him in the 18th century.

We witness sometimes repairs done to lute, gambe, or guitar, where cracks were glued and reinforced with paper, linen, or parchment, all of which are soft materials. The 18th century probably saw the very first repair but it is quite difficult to know what was done to the instrument. However, as the neck of the instrument needed to be changed for longer string length to accommodate playing, therefore, the luthier had to learn how to insert the foot of the neck into the upper block. And for this change in the neck, it had to happen probably at the beginning of the 18th century. I will not be able to give you a specific date on this.

It is my opinion that the 19th century saw the start of more complicated repair and probably also more radical re-graduation which caused bad damage to instruments. Re-graduation was done in search of more response and volume to the sound. Wood was removed from top and back plates, making the instrument easier to vibrate, but of course as we know today, losing the core and the very essential fundamental of sound. Later, the creation of a harder string plus a larger audience proved that the thinned instrument didn’t have the same power and projection and therefore there was a need to add new wood.

If the lute and guitar could be reinforced with paper and linen, the violin family needs studs for more strength, especially when the soundpost cracks happened. I will quote to you some reading of 1

books and give you information on where I was able to learn by then how to repair in more advanced techniques. Everyone had to know how to remove the top of the instrument, how to make a different bass-bar, and how to give more support to the top by raising the neck to a higher "pitch", or neck angle. This in turn required a new top block in order to reset the neck. The opening and closing process was already going strong in the last quarter of the 18th century. By taking the top off maybe a little carelessly, wood chips would be missing. With the wear and tear of the edge at the shoulder area, eventually new underlay edges were necessary to reinforce those areas.

Now we are faced with the underlay, and the need of a counterpart to apply pressure for the gluing of this underlay. The first material used for this counterpart, I suppose, was some sort of a cardboard or some kind of a soft material. Later, some more industrious luthiers backed the counterpart up with wood. It was then that the arching and groove of instruments were greatly damaged. We will see further on how we can remedy this and restore it. In the first re-cutting of instruments, the groove disappeared because repairmen did not know of materials to produce an accurate counterpart. I'm sure many of you have seen cut-down instruments with no groove.

A book from l'Abbe Sibire is very interesting. Some of you may have heard of this man. He was a Priest who was in love with instruments. His book, Le Parfait Luthier, published first in 1806, said, and I quote, "Violin making is the only craft in the world where the old is better than the new and the upkeep more difficult than building." Then he mentions a great maker-restorer named Namy. Jean Theodore Namy was famous throughout the world for 25 years for his ability to replace a damaged top with a copy, or to cut down and enlarge instruments. The book is printed in 1806. He doesn't give you any further explanation, but just mentions 25 years of experience. This shows that there was a man able to cut and enlarge instruments. I went to the Vannes book that you all know, and it says Namy, Jean Theodore worked in the shop of Salomon's widow in 1772. Died, Place de Louvre in Paris in 1808. The l'Abbe Sibire mentioned that Namy cut and enlarged instruments for 25 years. Now, was that man so ahead of everybody else? If this is true, it does mean that by 1775, there was already a man able to cut and enlarge instruments.

And the l'Abbe Sibire praised Lupot as the new Stradivari, probably because Nicolas Lupot, born in 1758, was the source of information for l'Abbe Sibire’s book. In his book he is convinced that Lupot has found the secret of the varnish. Sibire mentions Lupot as a great restorer and gave his method of raising archings and reshaping tops. Hold on now! It consists of using the soft part of bread. "Break it in small pieces, dip it in water and milk, (I don’t know why the milk), lay it on the inside of the plate for about l cm thick. Keep it moist, and the moisture gradually will give back the wood its natural shape." I must admit to you, I haven't tried this method yet.

Sibire continues: "The first soundpost patch, if at best, a counterpart was made; it was certainly fitted by eye. The fitting of the patch leaving l mm of the original wood and crossing two or three grains with the new wood was done in order to make sure the repair was stronger. The glue was plentiful because the fitting of the patch was not very precise." I believe the soundpost patch is probably the very first inlayed and fitted new wood in the history of repair. I must thank our colleague Etienne Vatelot, who reinforced my opinion and confirmed my research that many great French makers were

known for their repairs in Paris in the early 19th century, and that the tradition soon left for England. Especially to London where, under French influence, another school of repair was started. Let me try to give you a few names because I cannot give you all of them.

First, it's known that George Chanot was a famous Luthier in Paris, but also very famous for his repair. In 1825, his son studied with him, learned some repair, and went to London to start to work for John Lott, and introduced the beginnings of repair in the shop of Lott, doing doublings, etc. Chanot established himself in London around 1855, and after winning many gold medals became one of the prominent Luthiers in London. In 1850, Charles Boulanger worked in different shops in London: with Hall, Hart and then Edward Withers. We should note that John Lott, who was very patient for varnishes, was also the translator for Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in England. All of this is to try to give you an idea that some of these luthiers, famous in Paris already, were also advanced in repair. Probably because in England, as in Paris, much was happening in the field of music. We should also not forget that every shop was independent. If you wanted to learn something from another shop the best way was to hire one of their workmen, and our friends across the river (the English), knew that very well. It is between those two cities, Paris and London, that the repairs probably were the most advanced. And again, it is very difficult to be precise, if what I am telling you is correct. Despite the secrecy between shops, one can easily see the similarity of the craft in workmanship and repair.

Repair from Germany and Eastern countries were somewhat simpler and mostly secured with big shaped studs, rather than that of doubling or patching. For some reason, it was customary in those countries to sign, or even label the work which was done. This is how I came, very easily, to know who the repairer was but not only his name, but also the country from where he came. As I said earlier, the 19th century saw the first great advance in repair, and by the end of the same century, restoration has already began.

As long as we simply glue cracks, reglue joints and reset necks, these repairs, if done carefully right from the start, do not require more elaborate techniques. But, and this is a big one, if a crack because of bad gluing became uneven, it was frequently scraped on the outside to make it appear flush. Also, bad retouching or staining plus bad underlay edge work and the new corners made out of the makers style, require a re-doing a second time around. Only if we succeed to make this work look close enough to the original can it then be called restoration. Early so-called "restoration” created more damage. For example, when the first counterparts with a sandbag were used to rebuild tops, a bad counterpart often changed the original arching, and worse, when the bag was clamped too hard, the soft grain of the spruce was crushed , destroying the varnish and reversing the appearance of the hard grain. To make it worse, some of the greatest "geniuses" scraped the original, trying to restore the grain to its original appearance. Unable to do so, we see the center of the top often over-retouched, and known as the "mustache”.

I will have to jump back and forth in order to try to make sense to what I approach. I would like to mention the Manual Complet du Luthier of Messrs. Maugin and Maigne which was approved and augmented by Dr. Savart. Some of you may have read about Savart, who was a doctor that fell in love with instruments and who designed a trapezoidal violin with a bass-bar in the center, thinking that he

had found the master sound instrument. You also know that later on there was a member of the Chanot family who was a boat engineer and who invented the "guitar-violin". There was a constant need of improvement in the sound of the instrument, and makers were seeking to imitate the color of the human voice. These people went on either to modify what was available to them or try to invent something new.

In this first repair technique that man had to do, I read in the Manual Complet du Luthier, and I quote, "To reglue the crack, place the plate on a stud fixed on the bench. Push against it, holding the plate in your hands in order to close the crack. Allow to put the glue, and with a hot iron, glue a strip of paper about l cm wide, the length of the crack." Now if you understand what I mean, the repairman had the plate removed, whether it was a top or back. He would apply the glue and hold the plate on his bench. There is a drawing in the book showing that iron with its measurements. The iron would be heated and the glue would be put into crack; the paper would be on the crack, and he would dry the glue with that iron. This was one of the first repairs.

A little later we see the first use of wood clamps to close cracks. In other words, makers realized that a hot iron was not quite successful on its own, so what they did was to make the first crack clamp. This was made of wood and it would be slid along the side of the instrument and it would be made for the purpose of that instrument.

Illustration I: Wooden Crack Clamp

The first reinforcement of a thin instrument was called doubling. This process, very well established at the end of the 19th century is still in practice in some shops today. It consists of an eye- fitted thin piece of wood, spruce or maple, pre-cut in size to the area to be reinforced or thickened. This piece of wood was wetted on the outside with glue put on the inside, and rapidly put into place to be glued and shaped, and at the same time, pressed with a warm sandbag. No real or precise fitting was necessary. The problem is that sometimes, if the wood doubling to be glued was not of the same split- cut as the original, it would warp in time and the arching would be deformed.

I must mention to you here, that the technique of doubling was perfected by Hill in London, and to this day many of those restorations do not need further attention. It is too bad that this famous shop did not publish a book on their methods. Such a book could have saved many an instrument from the scraper. If my lecture does not give you too many details, it is because I feel that all of us here know what I’m talking about. Later on, I will be open to your questions. Try to take notes, and we will discuss details later on.

I would say here that from the beginning of the 20th century to the II World War we saw many phenomenal luthiers throughout Europe with fabulous tool handling ability who realized the need for better restorations. For example, we find the insert of new wood with the "saw-tooth" method where one would fit the new wood, a grain at a time, from the outside. You probably have seen some of these repairs. "F" holes were completely moved up or down. In 1962 or '63, my uncle Paul Bisch won a medal as "the best artisan" of France for showing at the competition a Stainer violin with an "f" hole moved to the correct diapason by the "saw-tooth" method. To do this, the skill of tool handling must be at its very best. We also see bad cracks filled with "fillipoes"; the same idea as grain filling. In 1955 Maestro Sacconi came into my life. I believe today, that from him was developed the greatest advance in the technique of modern restoration. His inventive imagination surpassed all others in the field. Because of his genius and understanding of the need to preserve the original, he invented a new method of restoration where phenomenal tool handling was not the only requirement for great achievement.

Where skill of tool handling was needed before, now more precise techniques and fitted counterpart systems came to life in many forms: i.e., counterparts of soft wood rubbed on carbon paper; zinc lining to prevent gain crushing; waxed paper to protect the varnish; silk to glue on the varnish and keep the damaged wood together then to allow the removal of wood on the inside in order to prepare patches to be fitted; gluing of some studs around a patch to maintain a perfect position for the patch being fitted. This, the creation or invention of a new method, although somewhat slower, gave the luthier-restorer a feeling of security as the step by step procedures achieved near-perfection as never attained before. In the same meticulous way, a new technique for fitting a neck graft, new techniques for changing blocks and procedures to check and control the edge before gluing the plate back on an instrument were developed by Mr. Sacconi. No more eye skill alone, and guessing games where even the very best craftsmen made mistakes in earlier days.

One of his greatest achievements is the re-touching system. His method to hide cracks, new wood, and any sort of damage done to the varnish is unique. Unlike in the past, Mr. Sacconi taught everyone, without withholding secrets. In this way, his methods were quickly followed and have allowed us today to continue in the advance of restoration and to develop methods in his footsteps. If he was here today, he certainly would be pleased to see the fruits of his hard labor and the continuation of his vast knowledge which he shared so freely. Mr. Sacconi always conveyed to his pupils a feeling of love for instruments, and profound respect for the artists who created the great old instruments. That feeling of love is critical to the success of modern restoration. You must remember that while challenge in your work is important, respect for the original is imperative! Remember, that if you touch the original you are not a restorer...and your work will cause new damage to instruments needing to be preserved. I have to say that without Mr. Sacconi, I would not be here in front of you today.

By now you must be ready to give me some questions on these new methods of restoration, and I will try my best to explain them to you in two ways: what was done before, and the techniques we use today. I would like to start by talking to you about the plaster counterpart which allows us to reshape the plates of an instrument. This plaster counterpart system allows restoration to move much further than the methods used before by the old-skill craftsmen. Let's first however, examine the wooden counterpart system. Counterparts of carved soft wood (i.e., willow, poplar, or any soft wood without 5

pronounced grain) did make possible the reshaping of archings. The process of carving a negative arching by eye was, however, laborious and inaccurate. The wood was first shaped by eye, and then fitting continued with the help of carbon paper or artist's color like the oil-base Van Dyke brown to transfer the shape of the arching to the wooden counterpart. The process never allowed for the accurate reproduction of the plate edge-area or the reproduction of the "f'' holes. It is very difficult to use the wooden counterpart to re-shape arching correctly. In areas requiring filling to lower the arching, too much wood is typically removed, and the entire arching can be distorted. This distortion usually causes the arching to increase in height both in the main arching areas and especially in the form of the groove area near the edges.

Illustration II: Wooden Counterpart

Arrows indicate the direction of plate movement when the arching is re-shaped with a sandbag under pressure and heat.

plate for re-shaping carved wooden mold

As you see here, if I push the arching down in the center to re-shape it, the plate will move inward on the edge area which cannot be accurately duplicated in wood. Therefore, the pressed height of the arching will be exaggerated, while the groove area is invariably distorted. You may be satisfied with the center of the top, but what you have destroyed is the groove and edge-shape of the instrument. In a wooden counterpart you cannot fill areas where the arching is to be lowered. To re- shape the breast area, the overall counterpart must be deeper. The result is in over-chested tops that have lost their shape in this way, resistance against string tension is changed, and therefore a damage in my opinion is the result. I do not consider this to be restoration. I had the experience with a famous Guarneri del Jesu where the arch had been pushed so high that the sound of the instrument had nothing to do with the Guarneri. The owner convinced me that I should attempt to push the top down and it was the first for me. It was done with the achievement of building plaster counterpart after plaster counterpart, and filling the counterpart in order to lose the extra height that the instrument had. If we use on the other hand, the plaster counterpart, you will see and I will draw you on the board, the reason why it is a more perfect and quicker, and less expensive way.

Now, let me give you some details about the new methods of using a plaster counterpart. A plaster counterpart provides a perfect fit. Plaster can also be easily shaped and corrected with a filling material like "spackle".

The first great advantage of plaster is the fact that the plate is locked in place. As you proceed to press with a sandbag there is no chance that the plate can shift out of position on the plaster. On using a wooden counterpart, you must be very careful that the mold does not slide, especially when using waxed paper as a varnish protector.

In practical application, there are several possible types of plaster: molding plaster, casting plaster or plaster of Paris. Because plaster often varies from bag-to-bag, it is wise to test the plaster for setting-time before use. It is very important to line the counterpart with zinc first, and then a sheet of waxed paper between the zinc and the plate to protect the varnish.

Illustration III: The Plaster Cast

As is often the case, an arching can be distorted higher beneath the fingerboard and tailpiece areas of a top. With a plaster cast, the mold can be filled in these distorted areas, so that in re-shaping, the arching will be lowered in specific areas. Vinyl spackle works well as a filler, and it also can be re- shaped and adjusted with a scraper.

Illustration IV: Corrected Cast

One is to understand that wood is not elastic, and lowering an arching in one area requires that it be raised elsewhere on the shape: pushing up low areas requires lowering in high points. If you do push the low area to the up-one, this is the very big mistake which has been done too often; you end up with an arching that is too high. Also, you can draw reference lines on the plaster with a felt-tip marker 7

to measure the plate and transfer details of the arching to the mold. The ink penetrates deep into the plaster, allowing you to remove material without losing reference lines and marks.

These are just a few reasons why I accept the plaster casting as the best counterpart system and an advance in restoration technique. Now, do you have any questions on repairs that you would like me to talk about?

Q. When was the first patch coming through the top and back of an instrument?

A. First, as I said earlier, the system probably began in the 19th century with pieces butted to the original plate, ribs or scroll. Later in the same century, the "saw-tooth" method developed and now at the turn of this century we first see the patch coming through. How ever, the system of patches "coming through" was really perfected along with the new system of counterparts.

Q. Could you explain a way to restore crushed grain on the top of an instrument?

A. Well, we do find crushed grain constantly, and that's a crime, because a crushed grain certainly doesn't have the same vibrating quality as before it was damaged. However, if an instrument comes to me today with a crushed grain limited to the point that the original varnish remains in the soft part of the spruce, then most likely that instrument has a stomach patch. That patch is removed until we get to the original wood. I use a steam press against the counterpart in order to reform the soft wood and swell it back to its original shape.

Q. Into the counterpart?

A. Yes. It has to be steamed in the counterpart. If you don't you will swell the wood to such an extent that the top loses its shape. Again, this is something that cannot be done without the plaster counterpart we have already discussed. The top is placed in the counterpart. You have a sheet of zinc in place and you do have a wax paper to protect the remaining original varnish. All of the retouching which has been done prior to that restoration will have to be removed, being very careful to save all of the original varnish which is in that crushed grain. The process that I use is to warm up the counterpart and the zinc. I make sure I have the waxed paper very thin in wax. The inside of the top will be wetted slightly and you add wet cotton (balls or cotton wool) which is pre heated. On top you place a waterproof separator (insulate tar paper) and then a fairly hot sandbag. As you press the sandbag, the water which is evaporating because of the heat creates steam pressure which has no escape and is forced into the wood to swell it against the zinc. There is no way for the top to expand because it is held in its counterpart. We have managed to do this to a Stradivari lately, and I think neatly and very successfully. This always makes you feel good and this is why the challenge in restoration has no end. Because if you accomplish something like this you feel that you have again put back an instrument into life, so to speak, and closer to its original condition. Hopefully someday, someone will be able to do an even better job.

Q. You mention you apply moisture on the inside of the top, first with cotton and then with a sandbag, all quite hot, so that the steam goes through the top and swells the outside?

A. That's correct. The fact that the grain has been crushed when you wet it, it swells, and regains its shape. If you wish, it is a little bit like the method of Lupot where he used breadcrumbs.

Q. Did you mean tin-foil or zinc?

A. Zinc. Zinc, with a gauge of .005 - .006, because zinc conducts and retains heat. Also, to repeat myself, and zinc is hard enough to prevent the hard grain of spruce from penetrating into the plaster, which is in fact, a major cause of negative grain in the be inning. Remember, here again, what I'm suggesting is what I have experienced myself. I have found that the Italian varnish can take much more heat than a French or German varnish. (I do not recommend that anyone use very high temperatures. It is not necessary for reshaping.)

Q. Can you give suggestions on washing out and bleaching cracks?

A. How much would you pay? (Joke) No there is no secret. What specifically would you like to know about washing a crack?

Q. What method do you use? Do you use oxalic acid?

A. No, not any more. I did use oxalic acid for some time but it has a disadvantage that in the long- run it weakens the strength of the glue. It is therefore, dangerous to use. One much more efficient way is the following: After you wash the cracks first with lukewarm water as we all know, I then use Clorox. Straight Clorox that is used in the washing machine. In between, I will use hydrogen peroxide at 30%. You have to be extremely careful not to put that peroxide on your finger as it will go right through your skin. With the Clorox you will develop a foam which is so strong that it will not only dis solve dirt, but it will bleach the wood. Sometimes a stain may have penetrated the wood. This mixture will bleach and remove that stain which is into the wood. Let me also give you a tip on a good way to treat cracks. While you take the time to clean the cracks and wash them as I have explained, while the crack is wet, prepare all your crack clamps and whatever necessary material that you use (i.e., plastic, Plexiglas, or zinc glued on a cardboard) to make this crack very even and flush. Now clamp the crack exactly into place as if you were gluing, and allow the crack to dry in this way. The crack cannot be glued until it is completely dry. You will ask why I clamp cracks after washing and before gluing. Well the reason is simple. It is the same as I explained how to raise the grain of the wood. The area of the crack which is lumpy and will not fit on the counterpart of the crack, will be crushed because it is wet-soft under the pressure of the clamp. The hollow part of the crack on the other end has swelled to fill the gap. So, if you allow that crack to dry under gentle pressure, you have a natural filling which is done by the fiber of the wood itself. The gluing of that crack afterward will be much easier, because the fibers have swelled or crushed to combine together. The success of a good and strong gluing is to glue the crack together as quickly as you possibly can. Do not allow a door to be open or a fan to be running. This will gel the glue and make it lose strength, and this is my system for cleaning and gluing cracks.

Q. Have you seen evidence of deterioration of wood from the use of Clorox?

A. Well, I probably took it for granted that anyone would understand that you must wash, once your crack is clean. All of the Clorox has to be washed totally with lukewarm water in order to remove 9

any excess of any strong ingredient. But, I do find that I have less problems with Clorox in the state it's sold for laundry. It's a very weak chlorine. If it doesn't burn some silk or wool, I don't think that it will deteriorate the wood fiber, because cellulose is a much harder material than some of the clothing that is washed with Clorox.

Q. Do you dilute the laundry-strength Clorox?

A. No, I use it straight from the bottle, and fresh. I don’t need to tell you not to spread it all over the instrument. Just use it carefully with a little brush or wood stick and just apply it where it is needed.

Q. How thick is the zinc that you use in the plaster counterpart?

A. The thickness, I believe is .005 or .006. It is very difficult to get. (Ed. note: The name of a supplier of zinc is Smith & McCrorken, Inc., 153 Franklin Street, New York, NY 10013, (212) 925 - 2170.)

Q. Have you used casting resins?

A. The problem of many casting resins is that you always have to be careful with anything that releases heat, as it solidifies. Even the possible advantage of some transparent resins is not worth taking the risk of heat damage. Secondly, the casting resins that I have seen are not hard enough in my opinion, to withstand the pressure of a clamped patch in maple. Furthermore, air bubbles trapped in this even slightly flexible material are extremely dangerous, because the cast may move at the place where an invisible bubble lies beneath the surface.

Q. Some resins also have the disadvantage of shrinking after casting?

A. There is a high rate of shrinkage, yes.

Q. What is the specific advantage of using zinc rather than tin foil?

A. Well, the tin foil is too thin, it's soft. You don't want a soft material. You see for the very same reason that if you take the structure of a piece of wood you know very well the winter growth is hard, and the summer growth is soft. As you put pressure on that wood, you crush the soft summer growth, because hard grain may penetrate slightly. But if you have a very hard and smooth surface in the counterpart (especially a wooden counterpart), all those hard grains will take the punishment of the pressure which is applied by the sandbag. The counterpart will not allow the zinc to bend or to give in any way, and therefore keep the soft grain from crushing even if you press it a little bit too hard. It would be pressed on the inside but the outside will remain smooth against the zinc. If you have a soft cast lining, then you will not prevent that to happen. That's the reason for the zinc.

Q. Do you make a fitted counterpart for every cello rib that you double?

A. For cello repair I use wood. You know that if you have an extensive restoration on the ribs, you need to make an accurate new counterpart only if you have to work at the corners, otherwise it would change the shape and would make it practically impossible for you to put the instrument back together again. But, as you go toward the upper and lower block, that counterpart can be used time and time again, so, for that reason I use wood, and I find basswood to be very successful. 10

Q. For cello rib repairs do you use wood or plastic counterparts?

A. For cello I use wood. Plastic is not practical.

Q. How do you deal with rib cracks on the blocks and in the corners?

A. Well, you know the reason for that. The wood shrinks in the width, not in its length. For example, if you look at a piece of wood in a microscope, you end up seeing capillaries similar to having a bunch of "straws from McDonald' s" all tied up with a rubber band. The cross-section of the wood has so few capillaries compared to the length wise capillaries. Now, when cellulose is wet it is like a sponge texture. It expands. Now you have millions of capillaries that expand by water in their diameter, but a factor which no one can explain is the fact that as those fibers shrink again and again to their normal size, they don't return exactly to their normal size. They always go a little bit less. I repeat, this occurs only in the width of the wood, not in the length. In a block, your grain is lengthwise. The rib grain is running across. If the gluing is so strong that it won’t give, automatically the wood had no choice but to split as it shrinks. The only solution to that problem in the old days was to put in a "fillipoe", which is the French word for putting a sliver of wood which is fitted from the outside, following the grain. If you intend to do a good job, better than traditional "fillipoes", you have to try to separate the rib from the block. You use very thin spatulas that are used by dentists for dental work. You warm the spatulas by keeping them in hot water all the time. You use them carefully with drops of alcohol to release the glue. You will succeed in separating the ribs from the block. That may take half an hour, maybe an hour, it may take five hours, but your patience and your being careful will make it a success. If you crack the rib, that is if it is impossible for you to remove it, then leave the rib alone.

Q. Do you use water and alcohol?

A. Yes. I keep the blade warm in the water because what happens there is that alcohol does not dissolve the glue. What it does is that the alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water and much quicker with heat. If you intend to use water only, it won’t penetrate the gluing. Alcohol will activate penetration and by evaporating inside the joint, it will attract moisture which in its turn will weaken the gluing. That's the way it works.

Q. When a crack has been scraped on the outside and stained into the wood, will bleach help remove that stain? Often a scraped crack is badly stained and difficult to improve.

A. Well, this is a very good question, but one of the things to approach such a case is trying to find out what the stain is before even trying to unglue the crack. If you are faced with a piece of wood that is stained and the only solution would be to scrape deeper, then it's a difficult decision to make. It's a decision for which sometimes you have no choice, if there is nothing that will remove that stain. If you imagine, that someone had done the damage before you, and on top of that he stained the wood and you are stuck with it, there is no ingredient that you know which will remove that stain. You have no other solution but to scrape deeper until you get to the wood. The fact that you have to remove and reglue that crack flush, is where it is important that you know how much you have to remove before you are •going to try to reglue it. In order that when you do your gluing you will have it even, it goes without saying that you have to patch a crack like this. If you raise the scraped area to its normal shape because 11

® Copyright 2015 AFVBM, Inc. you're actually fighting the fiber of the wood, it will not stay in shape. Studs will not be sufficient, because they will hold the shape for a few years only and "give" slowly to the stress in the same way that bass-bars need replacement.

Q. How would you approach the problem of retouching?

A. With a brush.

Q. I know, but what pigment and color do you use?

A. As I said earlier, I have studied in various workshops but when I came to Rembert Wurlitzer with Mr. Sacconi, he taught me to do what I still practice today, with some variation of course. That training to me, was a secret of the most important value to my completing the tasks of restoration. Luthiers before us would have given a fortune to retouch like Maestro Sacconi did, and to know what this man has taught in the way of retouching. One of the main elements of this system is that color is not mixed with the varnish. If some of you still put color in varnish for retouching I would say, in my opinion and experience, it is a gross mistake.One of the advantages of using the color separately from the varnish is that you will achieve a color blending, and a color density or thickness of varnish like the original. You will never have the problem of matching varnish thickness. If you use a colorless varnish, you will apply the varnish as you need it in order to achieve the thickness that is necessary. But if you have the color in your varnish, by the time you reach the instrument’s color, you may be surprised you have too much varnish or not enough. That's the advantage of separating the color and the varnish. But, on the other hand, we all use lac, some gum-lac in our retouching. There's no way out of it either. Gum-lac in itself as it ages, will turn brown. Therefore, for those here who have worked with me I forbid implicitly to put any brown (earth colors) into a retouching until the retouching is almost complete and the brown color comes on top at the very end, never in the body of retouching. I have seen retouching which was probably fantastic ten years ago when it was new, but today, because of the gum-lac in the retouching varnish, it has turned brown and added color to the varnish. So you have to undertone your color or leave it slightly on the light side. If you put your brown on top, if you have too much color, it is very easy to remove the excess and you will never have to interfere with the work that you have done underneath.

Q. Are you saying not to put color into the varnish? Don't you put anilines into the varnish?

A. I am talking in terms of retouching. I think by retouching one is working on a small area, or hiding a crack or something which needs to be blended to match the surrounding varnish. However, it is sometimes better to put the color into the varnish if you are retouching large surfaces, like putting a new neck graft on a cello. At that time you have the full foot of the neck to varnish. In this case, if you are careful enough, you can put your color and make it as you would varnish a new instrument. This would be an exception. Also, if you have to revarnish a plate, then you have no choice but to make a colored varnish. Again, no matter what you do when you try to match a color of an instrument, always be afraid of the brown. The brown is a terrible thing in retouching, because it gets darker as the years go by. Later on, a man may have done a marvelous job and then people of a lesser caliber will look at this

work and say "look at this guy, he's so sloppy", but they didn't see the retouching when it was newly finished.

Q. Have you suggestions ...when you retouch a light color varnish and the color changes in direction of the light, what can you do to improve the problem?

A. Yes, this is a problem of wood refraction. Sometimes you have to use a little bit of your own imagination and experience. Often it is wise to try to "cheat" a little bit and make your retouching a little less transparent. Or, you may experiment with different varnishes, like the famous 1704 that we all know. The retouching varnish I use is a white shellac base, 2/3 white shellac, 1/6 soft copal, and 1/6 sandarac. You use that varnish that will give you a better result. Those yellow colors in varnishes are always very hard to match as far as the refraction is concerned. But if you moisten the wood enough with water to show refraction before putting the varnish and study this index of refraction before starting, it might give you a great deal of advantage as to what to do next.

Q. What are different ways that you fill cracks?

A. I don't really use different fillings. If you handle the crack the way I described it before, you will be faced with less filling to do. I'm always afraid of any kind of material going into a crack because you cannot stop the wood from moving and therefore, any hard material that you put in there will not follow the same expansion and shrinkage of the crack itself. If you use a hard material into a crack, you wind up with two cracks, one on each side of your filler. If the crack is really bad, you have to refit it sometimes, which is a very sensible thing. I would rather refit the crack then put a "fillipoe”. Unless it's a different problem, particularly if the instrument has enough value. The top must be removed, and there would be what we call the "wood chip" filling which is a patch. You take a wood chip from the original wood inside and fit it to come through, then patch it in the back.

Q. Sometimes in retouching with varnishes that are very thick, one must build up the varnish thickness with retouching varnish. What do you use in this case? A. Well, you're thinking about a very thick coat of varnish like you sometimes see on old French cellos. Well, you have no choice but to fill. If you leave a gap, no matter what you do with the retouching it will show. You have to fill it. The varnish that I use for retouching is evaporated to a particular consistency that can be used for filling. If you use 1704 you will encounter the problem that 1704, after 6 months to 8 months, thins down (shrinks) quite a bit. If you are satisfied when the instrument leaves your shop, you will see it 6 months later and say "Oh my God, I can't believe I let it go like this." So, it is better to use retouching varnish. What I gave you is for me still the most reliable mixture of gums mixed together to be used as a filler and as a retouching varnish.

Q. Is there an advantage in using white shellac rather than clear shellac in retouching varnish? A. Well, you know that clear shellac is de-waxed and it's a much harder lac, and it's not the same product.

Q. It is your experience that white shellac turns dark after many years?

A. That's what I told you before. Every lac turns brown. That's why I said don't put brown in your varnish when you retouch. There is no way out of it. Oxidation gradually makes shellac turn brown. 13

Q. What difference is there between blond shellac and white shellac?

A. Well, as you probably know if you order white shellac from one company and white shellac from another you never get the same thing. If you really analyze it, the blond shellac is a lac that has been purified to the point where the wax has been removed, therefore, it is a very hard lac finish. You could use that very well if you varnish the neck. But for retouching it's way too hard. The white shellac is simply a lac which had been bleached. The impurities have been removed but the quality of the lac remains the same with the same proportion of lac and wax content ...so it's softer.

Q. Can one use "wood-dough" fillers to replace splinters on the inside of a top where wood is missing?

A. Too much use of any of those fillers inside the edge gluing area of an instrument is a mistake. If the instrument is valuable, it is wise to replace the deep splintered areas with new wood. It's quite easy to gouge a wood chip and again, you can use my plaster counterpart. You take the wood chip and you press it into the corrected groove, and there is practically no fitting necessary. I have had experience where somebody has so much plastic wood that they had a groove of about l mm deep or more for half the bout of the instrument. What I do is use a very sharp gouge of corresponding shape and go carefully all around that damaged area to clean it and shape it to that gouge size. With the same gouge, make the wood chips on a similar piece of wood for appearance and quality. I glue it then on the counterpart and in this way I get rid of the plastic wood. The plastic wood that we used for so many years is the Weldwood plastic wood with "natural" color. I'm afraid that it is discontinued. They have a new product that the company claims is better, but it's terrible for us.The old one, I did use it, and on the very same missing wood areas, it was a great help for the violin repairman.

Q. As you said earlier, do you have a new way to make a neck graft?

A. Well, the new way of neck grafts is what I learned from Mr. Sacconi. I came from France and I did the French graft which is very close to what we call the German graft. Now I use the third one, that I call the Sacconi graft. This is what I learned as a youngster of the French graft (A). We used to cut a third of the cheek, which demanded some very high skill. The theory behind this graft is the fact that the strings pull the peg box forward, holding the butt. In this way, the scroll would never come forward. I have seen some of these grafts fitted to a perfection that you wouldn't have seen the joint. When the instrument is four or five years in the United States, the graft comes apart. The head-wood will not accept the American climate. The German graft comes straight down the back and comes out half way (B). So., actually the wood comes right out without having the butt like the French graft. Now here we have what I call the Sacconi graft (C). In this method the bottom has no stop whatsoever. It ends thin and there is no joining of end grain. Now I recall I made a remark when I came to the shop of Wurlitzer. I had to make a graft the Sacconi way and I said, "My God, this is no good. It's going to come apart." Someone said that this graft is very strong, and I said, "They don't do the French graft because it's too difficult." I was the black sheep in shop for saying so. I was proved wrong, and from my experience in America, this is the only graft that is going to survive changes in temperature and humidity. Probably today the way musicians travel all over the world, I would advise this graft as being the best.

Illustration V: Neck Grafts

A. French Graft B. German Graft C. Sacconi Graft

Q. Don’t all the graft methods have similar surface area for the glue to hold?

A. It's not the question of gluing surfaces, but the fact that the wood is constantly in motion. With a feathered joint, the cheeks move together as a unit, without tension. There are no contradictory forces at work. The head wood is impossible to glue, so as the wood moves, the joint becomes loose and gradually it coms apart.

Q. What are your feelings about using a "black light" (ultra violet) your work to check retouching?

A. In bad retouchings I sometimes use the black light to see how much is to be removed. I use ultra-violet to find out the area which has been mistreated but then I come out of the black light and work in daylight to do whatever is necessary. But I don't work under the black light.

Q. How do you remove old retouching varnish before beginning with a new retouching?

A. Well, patience, and believe it or not, if there is no other way, and if it is varnish that dissolves with alcohol, you will do it this way: very carefully, with a little jar of alcohol next to you and a retouching brush, you will apply alcohol so little as to dissolve a single layer of re-touching. You’re going to use a scraper and scrape it away, layer by layer. As you reach the original you stop. I used that technique on a famous Stradivari violin and the work took 72 hours to complete. But I saved the original. You must realize that the Italian varnishes, although they are resistant to heat, are very sensitive to alcohol. As you approach the original, you must be extremely careful only to dissolve the retouching alone. 15

Q. Are you familiar with a product called "Deft"?

A. I have had experience with instruments who were covered with acrylic varnish, including a Stradivari cello.

Q. Is "Deft" a lacquer for furniture?

A. Well, I don’t know what it is. Does anyone have an answer? (Floor) Yes. It is a coconut-alkyd polymerizing oil based finish.

Q. How do you repair cracks in the walls of a peg-box?

A. I like that question. You see, sometimes we advance in some repair or restoration too fast, and we make mistakes. This is one of the repairs that I decided to re-think. As a youngster I learned how to put the "clavette" in order to reinforce the A peg-hole cracks. The clavette is on the inside of the peg- box cheek, and you can use wood cross-grained which makes the side of the scroll much stronger. I have seen patches fitted on the outside of the peg-box wall so beautifully that the repair of the cracks was invisible. But the patch will begin to move within 5 to 10 years. I did some restorations like this under Mr. Sacconi and to my disappointment I see them move today. Because this outside patch removes too much original wood, AS WELL AS not holding well, I have abandoned this method in favor of the "clavette" inside the peg-box wall.

Illustration VI: Peg-box Repairs

The same crack, repaired with a The A' cracked peg-hole with a patch "clavette" on the interior of the fitted to the outside. This method is peg-box wall. This solution is never stable and requires removing both stronger and it retains more original exterior wood. original exterior features, even if the crack remains slightly visible

Q. Does the clavette last longer?

A. If the clavette moves it doesn't matter. It doesn’t show, for one. The inside will hold the peg-box strongly, and of course, they're all black and brown inside and easily camouflaged. It's a great advantage to go back to the clavette system .of repair.

Q. Do you feel that that beveled edge is necessary?

A. There are all kinds of theories on that. I was trained to use a beveled edge. The beveled edge functions a bit like a dove-tail. You have a natural self-fitting shape as you put the clavette slightly on a trapezoidal form. As you push the clavette in, it almost glues itself, with practically very little pressure.

Q. With the outside patch do you find after 5 to 10 years that the crack reappears?

A. Well, the patch would begin to move at the seam because you have a grain matching that of the crack and you wind up with the same problem if that happens. I have seen the patch re-crack at the same place. Sometimes you have no choice. If there have been so many repairs done prior to the crack you must put a patch on the outside. I mean, every single repair is different and each will need your own evaluation of the damage before choosing a method of restoration.

Q. If you bush a peg-hole, can you explain how to bush a peg-hole "with the grain"?

A. Yes, if I do a peg-hole which is a normal peg-hole, I don’t believe in putting a patch with the grain because you again have to enlarge that hole in order to fit the patch. If we go back to the side of a peg-box and we have to do a repair at this area, I will simply put a patch. I try to limit the size to the extent of the previous damage, and fit a patch somewhat like a soundpost patch. I also try to find a piece of wood that will match the grain. Before, I would have had to bush the peg-hole in the regular way. At one time, I recall, we had a tool made by Arnold Bone, and I did such a repair on a 1720 Stradivari scroll with it. I'll never forget when I used the lathe. One tool would make the dowel, and the other tool would cut the hole which had a slightly conical shape. If you found a piece of maple that matched, you would put that on the lathe or on the drill press and you would make that dowel and glue it in place. The joint was so good that it was invisible. But, there is also the same disadvantage of head- wood scroll with it. It's very hard to hold together. I have seen that same Strad from time to time, and I'm afraid to say that after 20 to 25 years, all the joints have moved because it's very difficult to hold head-wood in maple. If you put in a hand-fitted patch which is a little more work, you limit your fitting strictly to the damaged areas. Therefore, you must avoid cutting the original, as I've said before, to save as much wood as possible from the original peg-box.

Q. How do you feel about doing a second bushing? Do you put the peg-hole in the center of the bushing or off to the side?

A. Whatever you do, always try to rebush inside the old bushing and avoid touching the original wood. It is imperative that you put your pegs in the best possible location but only rebush what is damaged. Don't do any more damage yourself by trying to put the pegs in line. For example, if you have a Gragnani scroll with a very curved shape, if you try to fit the pegs in a straight line, the result will never be perfect anyway. It's better to forget about it and not damage the peg-box.

Q. In not changing the holes themselves, do you put the peg in the center of the bushing or slightly off to the side?

A. Oh, if you are on the center of the bushing or not, that doesn't make any difference. The peg doesn't necessarily have to be in the center of your bushing.

Q. What is your favorite type of water-soluble glue?

A. I'm having problems with my glue again. I had that problem 15 years ago. It regards fingerboards becoming loose. Bill Monical has studied and analyzed old glues, and has found a manufacturing company able to produce a product that is very pure and transparent. I am sure he will let everyone know when the glue is available, and then we will all be thankful for his effort. He has sent me a sample and I am already very pleased with the then we will all be thankful for his effort. He has sent me a sample and I am already very pleased with the result.

Q. When fitting a soundpost patch, how can you raise the compression mark from the bridge foot?

Illustration VII: Reshaping a Compressed Bridge-Foot Area

A. For a normal soundpost patch, I don’t use the plaster casting, but I use dental compound. You are all familiar with it. The compound is softened in hot water and then you apply it with a plywood packing. You protect the instrument with saran wrap. Once you get this, you begin to remove the old soundpost patch. Next step is to determine the precise area of this crushed wood in the arching. In other words, this is your arching and this is the indentation made by the pressure of the bridge from many years of playing. In this case as I remove the wood here I would be very careful not to come to close and leave enough wood there to work with. With a scriber on the inside of that wood I will mark exactly where this hole, or crushed wood ends. When I have this very carefully marked, with a gouge, I will go and remove more wood around this area, leaving a lump on the inside. In this fashion, I will make a little counterpart with 3 or 4 layers of cardboard. Not' corrugated cardboard, but a cardboard like you have in a shoebox or something. Backing it up with a piece of wood, I will wet the damaged area. It's never that square you understand, and with a clamp I will press the dented part against the zinc-lined casting and his will press and restore the shape it left overnight. The next day the damage has become re-shaped and you have enough wood that you will then proceed in your normal soundpost patch fitting.

Q. How thick should it be?

A. In an indentation you will have to allow yourself at least .5 millimeters of wood. When you do this, some of the wood has been crushed for so many years that is has disappeared and you are actually re-compressing the wood into a new shape. In this new position, it is up to your soundpost patch to hold the table up in place.

Q. If you correct the bridge-foot area on the soundpost side, must you then make a patch on the bass-bar side as well?

A. Well it depends on the extent of the damage. Usually the soundpost side is always deeper than the bass-bar side. However, if you have no choice, you have to use the same process that I did on the other side, but limiting the size of the patch because you don't have the pressure of the soundpost and therefore the patch is much smaller. There is an easy way if the instrument is not too valuable. I will call that a repair, by just using a wood chip and gluing it in the depression and retouching from the outside. That's a quick repair only; it's not a restoration.

Q. Do you feel it necessary to thin the table to .3mm when fitting a soundpost patch?

A. With a soundpost crack, I think that that's the only way that that crack is going to hold in the long term. If you leave more wood you are taking a chance that the crack will move again. Today, with the new strings, and more angle to the neck, almost every violinist throughout the world, wants a strong table, and less inclination on the E string. I predict that in the next 10 to 20 years, the fingerboard of the violin will be strictly parallel with no more tilt on the playing side. Modern bowing techniques are slowly destroying the edge of the instrument's table, because there is not enough clearance to play. As much as we raise the E string we create more pressure on the instrument and we have to be aware of the fact that if we have more pressure, the soundpost patch has to be that much stronger. I graduate the soundpost patch very often to 3.Smm. For a stronger player I have soundpost patches 3.5 or 3.6mm thick, in order for them to have a "round" E string. Otherwise musicians play right through the core of sound. Also, with this higher tension, in no time you will have an old crack that is going to reopen again unless the table is thinned down to approximately .3 mm. This is the difference between virtuoso playing and the fellow who is sitting in the orchestra. We have to consider and classify these as two different types of performance settings, and decide which final thickness of the patch to use.

Q. After retouching an instrument, frequently the new varnish has more shine and gloss than the original. What do you do to match this new shine with the original?

A. I don't polish it so highly. There is a sandcloth (polysand) that is made in Switzerland which is backed with a foam rubber. The abrasive is very, very fine. It is as fine as or finer than Tripoli, but it is in the form of sandpaper. If your instrument is too glossy you use this, and when you use your polish rag, all the sheen is gone. That's what I do.

Q. How do you see the changes in setting-up instruments today?

A. Well, it's very easy to understand. I recall in the past having seen so many cellos with gut A strings and gut D's. These were always aluminum wound strings on gut. How many cellos do you know of today that do not have A and D strings in metal? Let me go further. There are so many instruments now with 4 steel strings. Musicians are even using rough-core and silver wound Spirocore strings for more tension. Now, Dominant strings have come along for all sizes of instruments and they fit very well between strings of gut and steel. When Dominants were first given to players they said, "Oh, I can't use that." The Dominant is very often rough under the ear of the player. However, in the audience, the sound is smoother than gut. But it's definitely inconvenient for the performer, so the first approach is that they all tried the Dominant and it was no good. They went back to their old strings for a few weeks, or months, and the next thing you know is that they go back to the Dominant string. This string having a core of a mixture of nylon and plastic increases somewhat the pressure and therefore we have to compensate.

Q. How much inclination do you give a violin neck?

A. Well, I used to give l mm total inclination on the E string. Now I only give l/2mm. But I predict that in the next generation it will be even. Because even by using only l/2mm I have some virtuoso who complain. What I am afraid of is to create an E string that becomes too screamy.

Any more questions? I have not time for my joke. Well thank you for listening to my lecture.