violin repair Archives - Fiddler Dan Violins & Workshop, Brisbane

What’s the Best Glue for Violin and Cello Repairs?

A Titebond–Aquadhere–Hide Glue Shootout!

There’s really no debate here: the gold standard is freshly made hot hide glue for traditional repairs. It’s a wonderful adhesive — strong, it pulls joints closer together as it gels, and most importantly, it’s reversible. That last point is crucial: violins and cellos need to be taken apart for future repairs and maintenance.

That said, there are occasions when modern glues earn their place. This is particularly true for structural repairs to broken timber, where hot hide glue might not be the most practical option. In these cases, CA (super glue), epoxies, and PVAs all have a role, depending on the value of the instrument, the type of break, and the repair budget.

A common (and hotly debated) example is a cello neck root Cello Repairs Brisbane (broken necks etc…)break. These breaks happen often because of the stresses on the cello neck, the length of the root, and the unfortunate fact that the grain direction is exactly the wrong way. Among luthiers here in Brisbane, there are several schools of thought:

Cross-linked PVA glues (aliphatics)
Traditional hot hide glue
Reinforcement with a dowel

I’ve spoken to more than a few colleagues, and they all make excellent points. PVAs are known to creep over time, but they are less susceptible to shock — which is useful for student instruments that get bumped and knocked around. For those who go this route, the highest-grade PVAs — Titebond III or Selleys Aquadhere Exterior — are the go-to choices.

On the other hand, traditionalists swear by hot hide glue: it pulls joints tight, it’s easily reversible, and it doesn’t creep over time. As for dowels, opinions are split. Some say dowelling adds meaningful strength to the joint, while others argue it’s unnecessary and doesn’t contribute much.

A Little Backyard Science (no i wont be adding this to my list of academic publications)

So, I decided to do a quick experiment. Using scrap pieces of maple, a spring gauge, and a clamp, I prepared four small samples (about 1 cm² of glued area). I glued them up and progressively stressed them in a setup meant to mimic the lever action that occurs about halfway down a cello neck root.

Now, this was far from a perfect experiment — grain choice, glue area, and lack of repeated trials mean the data isn’t statistically significant. But still, the results lined up nicely with my own workshop experience.

The Winner

Selleys Aquadhere Exterior, especially when combined with dowelling, significantly improved the joint strength, wood tearout before glue failure too. The dowel although only tested on HHG improved strength of that joint – at least up to the shear strength of the dowel itself, which was all I tested.

Here’s a quick video and my back-of-the-envelope results.

Cello Crack Repair

I repair a lot of cello cracks amongst other cello repairs , esp on student instruments. My approx to student instruments varies, as they need to be cost effective because of the instruments value. For this reason I get a lot of repairs from schools and parents alike, for which a classical repair might not be possible.

If the crack is clean, that is, not too much fracturing of the wood it is possible to do a near invisible repair, though often this is not the case, due to the nature of the finish applied to student instuments (a sprsay nitro or acrylic that often flakes).

Below is one repair that turned out quite well. Here you can see a sound post crack under the bridge, The origin if this is that is was an imported instrument never setup in, or for, Australia and the sound post was too long, the other was due to the instrument being dropped

A classical repair of this instrument involves taking the top off and fitting a sound post patch…quite expensive. The other option is to go through the top and fit cleats either side of the sound post.

Reenforcing cleats are applied to the inside of the cello to strengthen the crack area

To manage expectation here is a crack repair that was less clean, when the instrument broke it was cross grain and some small splinters were lost. Re alignment of the crack wasn’t perfect.

Regraduating a violin

Breathing New Life Into an Old Soul: Regraduating the Violin Top and Replacing the Carved Bass Bar

Old European violins — especially those from Germany, Czechoslovakia, or France — can be full of promise. Many were mass-produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, crafted with decent tonewood but often built too thick and fitted with a carved-in bass bar.

The result? Instruments that are structurally sound, visually appealing, and full of untapped tonal potential — but often muffled, unresponsive, or overly nasal in tone. That’s where two advanced lutherie techniques can make a dramatic difference: regraduating the top plate and replacing the bass bar.

This is something I undertake sometimes do to a treasured family violin for a customer who wants to get something more from it, or I come a violin that i think would benefit from it as a viable proposition. as the process requires many hours of detailed work. A good candidate is an instrument whose top needs to come off for other work anyway.

Usually where the timber selection is of a high quality, it has proper corner block and the maple back has been well made.

What Is Regraduation?

Regraduation involves removing the violin’s top plate and carefully thinning or reshaping the internal arching and plate thickness to achieve more ideal acoustic properties.

Many older factory violins were built thick to save on time during the making process. They often tops exceeding 4mm in places which unfortunately, this dampens the natural vibrations and leads to a dull, stiff sound.

By regraduating the top to modern thickness standards (typically ~2.5mm in the bouts and ~3mm at the centre), you can unlock resonance, projection, and sensitivity that the violin has never fully expressed.

The Bass Bar: Carved vs. Fitted

In these same violins, the bass bar (which runs under the lower strings to support the top plate and guide its resonance) is often relief carved from the plate itself rather than being made as a separate fitted piece.

Carved-in bass bars:

Save time in factory production
Are often too short, too thick, or poorly shaped
Restrict top plate flexibility and tonal response
don’t have the correct cross grain angle to support sound vibration

A properly fitted bass bar, is a new piece of spruce shaped, chalk fitted and then tap-tuned by hand,. It supports the structure and also helps control and propagate the low-end frequencies of the instrument. When combined with a regraduated top, this upgrade can completely transform the tonal palette of the violin — adding projection coupled with warmth, depth, and clarity.

What’s Involved in the Process?

Regraduation and bass bar replacement is a significant procedure that should only be done by an experienced luthier. Here’s a simplified breakdown:

Top Removal
The violin’s top plate is carefully unglued from the ribs, avoiding damage to purfling or corners.
Graduation Mapping
The existing thickness is mapped using callipers and compared to ideal dimensions based on the arching, wood density, and desired tone.
Thinning & Reshaping
The top is gradually thinned and smoothed by hand, often using a combination of planes, scrapers, and light tap-toning to monitor flexibility and response.
Carved Bass Bar Removal
The old carved bass bar is removed and the area is planed flat.
New Bass Bar Fitting
A new spruce bass bar is shaped to match the top’s curvature, chalk-fit for precision, and glued in place. It is then carved to a specific profile based on acoustical modelling and traditional proportions.
Final Adjustments
Once the top is reinstalled, the soundpost and bridge are adjusted to suit the new plate dynamics. The violin will often “open up” more in the weeks following the work.

New bass bar and graduated top…almost finished, some cleats on a crack too

What Can This Do for Your Violin?

If you own a stiff or lifeless older violin that just never quite sings, regraduation and bass bar replacement can:

Increase volume and projection
Balance tonal colour across strings
Improve bow response and dynamic range
Enhance sustain, warmth, and articulation
Make the instrument more expressive and enjoyable to play

This is particularly worth considering for older German, French, and Bohemian violins made between 1880–1930, many of which were overbuilt but used excellent tonewoods.

When Not to Regraduate

This procedure isn’t for every violin and is regarded as a no-no on an instrument that has been properly graduated by a named maker. Regraduating is irreversible and should never be done on valuable antique instruments or finely graduated hand-made violins. It’s only reserved for:

Mass-produced trade violins (Mittenwald, Markneukirchen, Schönbach, Mirecourt, etc.)
Instruments with overly thick tops and poor tonal output
Cases where structural reinforcement is not needed

In Summary

If you’ve inherited or purchased an old European violin that looks beautiful but sounds underwhelming – reach out would love to hear from you!

With regraduation and the installation of a custom bass bar, your violin can go from stiff and quiet to rich, responsive, and full of character — ready to sing in a way it never has before.The transformation may surprise you — and your violin may finally reveal the voice it’s had hidden for decades.

Geared pegs for violin

Geared violin pegs, like Wittner geared violin pegs, are a great addition to any instrument where you would like to tune solely from the pegs at the scroll. They adjust as finely as fine tuner but can do a greater tuning range than just fractions of a semitone, so quite useful as an all in one tuning solution. They owe their secret to tiny planatery gears inside the peg itself which allow the spindle inside the peg box to turn slower than the outside by 8x or so.

Frequently I am supplying and fitting these pegs for a range of needs

Older clients as they find are much easier to turn that conventional pegs and fine tuners alike.
They are particularly sort after for fiddlers who like to use alternate tuning for some songs and thus might need to change tunings mid session. For example instead of GDAE an ADAD tuning gives you and instant D chord with drones! )
Another reason that presents is if there is existing damage to a peg box it can form part of a repair solution that is less invasive to the instrument.

Conventional pegs hold in place by a friction fit with the peg box., the friction arises by pushing the peg in thus directing force outwards which tries to expand the hole (pegs are slightly conical in shape).

Geared pegs once fitted are no longer doing this dynamically and only pull in the direction of string tension. Thus a peg bushing, rather than new piece of timber fitted to the outside of cheek on the inside can remedy all but the most severe of peg box cracks.

Fitting of geared pegs is similar to the fitting of normal pegs, with some minor tweaks. For Queensland conditions many luthiers (and I am no exception) like to use the tiniest amount of glue to hold them in place (PVA or poly urethane depending on circumstances) this helps the pegs which are plastic sit more reliably in the peg hole for our temperature and humidity variations. Also for all but the smallest of peg boxes the turning part of the shaft needs to be aligned proximally to the string groove its feeding.

Using geared violin pegs

Using of geared pegs is pretty simple though it takes a period of adjustment by the user:

When putting the strings on some care is needed to make sure the string only goes on the turning part of the peg – which has a roughened/striped texture
The string should be placed in the hole so that its not bent close to 180 degrees (this will make sense if you try to do this) to avoid string fatigue that would shorten its life.
Its no longer necessary for the string to be wound right into the side of the peg box as the peg no longer needs this to aid it staying in place
The pegs have an 8:1 ratio, meaning it takes 8 turns to turn the peg once….so it takes a few more turns to put new string on it.

NOTE: While its no longer necessary to keep the fine adjusters on the tail piece they can be removed, however I don’t recommend doing this until after you have been using the geared pegs for at least few months. You may find for the A and E strings in particular you might still prefer to use fine adjusters, rather than bending your left hand around the peg box mid session.

So why don’t more violins come with these marvellous pegs? I guess first is the cost as the pegs (sans installation) run close to $200 a set. Secondly though they are geared and made of modern materials and many want the feel and look of traditional pegs. The look being a pretty important cultural thing associated with the instrument, mind you we are happy to use synthetic strings and tail pieces and chin/ shoulder rests so maybe their time will come?.

Brisbane Bow Rehair

I offer violin bow rehairing as a service for the serious amateur and professional alike. With a shortage of bow rehairing services in Brisbane, some time ago I invested the time to study violin bow rehairing with my teacher and committment to practicing it. Here is my bow rehairing journey from 2023, for which I am deeply appreciative to my teacher and also to the community who help provide the opportunity to work on their bows

Choose from Mongolian fine hair or courser grades for viola, cello or bass. I can also replace thumb leathers and bow windings as well.

Bow Rehairing is something in demand in Brisbane and with several luthiers recently retiring, it is even further under pressure as demand continues to grow. Reasonable mastery of violin bow re-hairing requires something of the order of a few hundred rehairs to have been completed, which is not a short path by any means….of course reasonable competency is reached well before that (~50 in the trade).

bow hair stock for bow rehairing per customer reuuirements

UPDATE Aug ’25 i have now rehaired over 100 bows and have a good selection of hair from fine Mongolian, to courser grade hair and black hair for individual preferences of violist, cellists and bass players.

my bow rehairing jig given to me by my teacher...its made of huon pine...which i like to use for my plugs — My bow rehairing jig, a gift from my violin making teacher David Brown

Under the instruction of my teacher I have been learning the art of bow rehairing for the last year or so with numerous rehairs and bow repairs now under my belt, as well as general bow repair services . I am happy to say I now can offer this service as a ‘journeyman’. The challenge now is to continue to progress my experience for the future, which is where I need your help.

Rehairing from Brisbanes most experienced luthiers is around $250+ and well worth the price. Some music shops are doing them for around ~$200, either in house or outsourcing the work to a specialist. I highly recommend these services if you have a professional level bow and are playing to a high level.

bow rehairingh requires the replacement of the wedges at the tip and in the frog of the violin bow

However for student and intermediate bows for intermediate/advancing players you might like to give me a try, as I am offering my ‘journeyman’ bow rehairs for a little less as I develop my experience and further refining my skill. Rest assured though I am using the same high quality Mongolian horse hair that my more experienced colleagues are using.

Take a look at some the elements of bow rehairing

Why are my violin pegs slipping?

Actually most people don’t ask why are my pegs slipping, they just say my violin is out of tune and won’t hold a note. There is a myriad of reasons and the violin pegs slipping is usually the culprit. To understand why it happens it’s useful to understand how pegs work.

Pegs have a slightly conical taper to them, this neat design allows them to fit more snugly by pushing them in slightly as you tighten the string. Its not perfect , probably need to move to something like guitar tuners, but hey this is a traditional classical instrument so pegs it is!

The pegs them selves are made of a hardwood, usually ebony so they they don’t wear out and go into the peg box which is maple – also a hard wood but slightly softer. So inevitably though use they start to wear a bit. Wood on wood can get a bit sticky or creaky so they are lubricated with peg paste (or peg dope). Peg past is made from some lubricating and some sticky elements, so they can grip and slide appropriately. A mix of fine clay, rosin and perhaps graphite is in this material. The different makers of peg paste have different combinations and I find using the right one for the climate is important. Peg paste is something replaced yearly with an instruments service.

Home/ teacher solutions can involve some crushed rosin or chalk applied to the pegs – yes it works as a quick fix, but you may end up with stuck pegs.

Over time the wearing of the pegbox takes place , and its an out or round wear, because for the string tension in one direction , meaning the peg develops favourite positions to sit in and may slip to these. The remedy here is to ream the peg box hole slightly to return it to round and shave the peg also if appropriate.

Another thing that happens to pegs /peg box as they wear is the peg sits further in the hole. At some point this is limited by the string that is wound around the hole as it hits the opposite side of the peg box, and so push in as you may the peg will never fit tighter in the box and always slip. this is common on a violin thats been played for some time (years), so on secondhand instruments that have been handed down to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th player its an inevitability. The solution is to drill a new hole in the peg for the string to sit more in the middle of the peg box…no hassle!

One note of caution if your violins pegs are slipping, resist the temptation to push it too hard into the peg box to get it tight. The danger here is you crack the peg box and have a very expensive repair – or in the case of a student violin it will be cheaper to replace it.

Violin Appraisal

Appraising a violin for value is a tricky business, with more than a few places not doing it? Violin appraisal is looking at the quality of the build of a violin, its sound and then also its historical value. Un-picking these three components of a violin during appraisal I find helpful in determining the value of a violin. But it’s not without its challenges. (See How much is my violin worth).

For modern instruments from a reputation brand or maker, appraisal is more straight forward and google can really help here. Of course you also need to consider the providence, or how the current own (and owner before them) came by the instrument to ensure it is authentically what it purports to be.

Older violins are much harder to appraise, labels to the uninitiated can be misleading at best, age can be faked, many in the trade are unwilling to appraise such instruments. For example most if not every instrument label as a Stradivari is labelled so at best as a homage to the famed maker, or indicates a copy of one of his models and the same is true for the instruments copied of other famous makers like Guarneri, Maggini and Amati’s in the wild.

Less kindly there is an entire business around “antiquing” of both instruments and the labels inside them , with dust, staining and even “tone balls” added to give a sense of age. In the trade valuing of these instruments is acknowledged as difficult to do, even with a encyclopaedic knowledge and years of experience, where there is intent to deceive by a maker it can be tricky to detect. There is the business of fake repairs, fake neck grafts etc… to give an impression of age.

Through the quality of the timbers, construction on the insides and sound one can learn much about an instrument during appraisal.
How old is it, where was it made and ultimately how much is it worth are the common questions i am asked during appraisal.

Usually I can give a pretty good idea, though where I have some uncertainty I often refer on to someone else, in particular with higher quality older instruments. Usually my estimates come in the same ball park as my collegues..but not always.

Violin Bridge replacement

Violin bridges are essential for a violins function and over time need replacement. Just a few mm wide, a violin bridge holds up strings in tension with significant downward force on the body of the violin itself. In addition to the mechanical properties the bridge is responsible for the transmission of the strings vibration to the body and the violin bridge replacement needs to be carefully crafted and sculpted.

Bridges fail for all kinds of reasons including misadventure, but also succumb to the ravages of age and twist and warp under the constant tension. An improperly fitted bridge may have a shorter lifetime as well as it may not sit at the correct angle to connect and buttress the strings to the body in the correct alignment, or the feet matching to the body of the instrument may not be optimal.

When I fit a bridge I take into account the instrument it’s going on, the strings and the needs of the player. For beginners and student violins I cut the bridge a bit thicker than otherwise, this prioritises strength as the alignment is not likely to be checked and adjusted as often as it should be. On better instruments, the matching of the bridge to the instruments tonal qualities can help with the bass vs. treble response, bridge thinness and mass removal from the kidneys and bottom arching can really help. Selection of the grade of the bridge is also important especially if you are chasing projection and brilliance.

A new violin bridge blank looks something like its final fitted form and the replacement process involves matching the feet to the body of the violin to ensure full tonal transmission. The angle of the bridge must be set so that the pulling of the strings from the top and the tailpiece are optimally into the instrument. String height is then matched to the type of strings used to make sure the heights are both playable and also that the strings have enough room to swing without clipping on the fingerboard and leading to buzzing.

Violin restringing..easy as

Restringing a violin is relatively straight forward and easy task to undertake. Usually about once a year is about right for the average violin players restringing frequency. Its a good idea to keep a spare set of strings on hand in-case one breaks so you can do it straight away, and then once the first one is changed check out the others, to see if they might need changing as well. You see, before a violin string breaks, usually its has started to degrade.

Tell tale signs of needing a strings change are :

1. Discolouration such as oxidation as a white powered on aluminium strings and rust on steel strings (particularly the E string)

2. The winding on the outer string is starting to unravel. This may occur at points of higher preassure such as the bend at the nut and over the bridge. Also common is the A string when the first few fingers go down

3. The ‘sparkle’ has gone out of the sound. That is over time strings stretch and thus lose their elasticity. once this is gone their ability to support the over tone harmonics is also diminished. ‘Sparkle’ is the technical term 😉

4. Just before a string breaks it loses its ability to stay in tune, make sure this is not due to to peg slippage though. Its the internal fibres of the string starting to let go.

If your changing the strings yourself (and you should learn to do this) also :

1. Make sure to ‘lube’ the nut and bridge with a lead pencil so the string can move easily.

2. Clean up the fingerboard underneath, if its grooved then get that seen too as this will effect the strings ability to vibrate properly.

3. Make sure the pegs still grip, and don’t creak or jump – this is a sure sign that a peg break is likely in the future – and need some lube or peg paste.

4. Make sure the pegs turn smoothly, if not the peg holes may be slightly out of round and need some reaming. Ebony is harder than maple and wears it away over time.

5. When winding the string on, wind the string on away from the peg wall for a turn then cross it over itself to lock it onto the peg and wind the string up to the peg wall its closest to on the nut, this helps stop the tapered peg from escaping the peg box a little. (If this doesn’t make sense ask someone that knows a bit more that you)

See changing the strings at 2:40s

A violin restringing is a bit like a minor service, so in addition to all of the above give the violin a good look over and a clean (nothing but a gentle cloth and the tip of your tongue to moisten it though). If it has any issues that need attending to take it to someone for an opinion.

Also make sure to pickup your next set of strings at this time to (though the old ones can be emergency spares for a while). You might also like to try another brand/make of string as well…they all sound different so depending on what sound you are looking for get some advice there as well (see Violin String Selection Guide…for Brisbane-ites and beyond )

Violin Neck Graft

This lovely old violin came my way recently in quite good condition and looks to be well made. However the neck is what let it down and it turned into quite a rabbit hole.

The button had at one stage been broken on the violin and been repaired with an internal button graft , complete with wooden pins. Higher up on the neck root signs of fracture, were plan to see. A neck graft was required…

On disassembly the reason for the fracture was plain, the screw holding the neck to the body had rusted into the timbers. This method of neck attachment, as a butt joint was common on older violins, especially baroque era instruments. Today it serves less well as there is a lot of strain placed on the button and end grain gluing of the neck root to the ribs is not considered sufficiently strong for modern higher tension strings. Originally the neck and top block would often be nailed together for strength, though on this instrument was likely replaced by a screw.

The solution for this instrument was to graft on a new neck root, ensuring plenty of parallel grained timber for strength as end grain gluing is not that strong. Also a modern neck joint was carved into the neck block to increase gluable area at the bottom of the neck root and mechanical strength of the joint as well.

Once this was undertake, neck angles set and the button graft attended to, it was time to finish the neck with sufficient traditional pigments and a bit of “splodge” to blend in better.

I’m looking forward to playing this instrument…but first the peg box needs some attention as well…so I need to be patient