Books › The Repairing & Restoration of Violins, 1903 › scan 23
Scan 23
The Repairing & Restoration of Violins, 1903
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 9. See the scan on archive.org.
1now-a-days as ever got into the gluepots of the old masters—but it must be selected. That kind used extensively in the German manufactories is said to be a fish glue, remarkably hard, very light in colour and almost opaque. This is not to be recommended for violin repairs; it holds the parts together with such tenacity that fresh fractures are likely to be caused in undoing a portion, a process often very necessary; professional repairers will tell you "it tears the wood too much." The glues mostly in favour among upper class repairers are those known as Russian, Cologne and Isinglass, all good; they are light in colour, very firm, not too brittle, and transparent. There are other varieties to be had of excellent quality and which conform to the conditions required. Thick cakes of a dark brown colour with an unpleasant odour should be avoided; they are too easily affected by the atmosphere, turn bad in the gluepot under very little provocation from damp warm winds, and spoil the look of good and refined workmanship. There are many different kinds of glue sold under various titles, some termed "liquid glue," others cement, apparently for saving the very insignificant time and trouble in warming up the orthodox solution; but none appear satisfactory in general and many of them are even detestable. There are some adhesive materials used in India where warmth and damp have their full play and make short work of an old master's joints, but these cements of the Eastern Hemisphere are likewise unsuitable for the kind of work under consideration, as when once dried, being unaffected by damp to any extreme, they are of course difficult to remove when further repairs have become necessary.
3One of the special advantages of glue to the repairer is its yielding to the direct application of moisture, so that in future repairings the old stuff can be washed completely out and fresh glue used over clean work. Let all amateur repairers therefore, abstain from seeking after a vain thing of the nature of glue impervious to moisture. One word more, as preachers say, and that is as to the
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.