Books › Violin making and repairing, 1927 › scan 119
Scan 119
Violin making and repairing, 1927
4 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Worm-eaten Violins.—Many old violins are badly worm-eaten, and in some cases the damage is so extensive as to ruin the instrument. Any sign of the ravages of this pest must at once be attended to, for worms, once they get into a fiddle, will pursue their work until the whole instrument is rendered useless. The head, neck and scroll being peculiarly liable to the attacks of these insects, the matter will be dealt with here.
3These "worms" are really small beetles, varying from the size of a pin-head to 1/8 in. in length. They are furnished with powerful jaws, by means of which they tunnel right into the heart of the wood and, moreover, make tortuous journeys in every direction. They are very difficult to destroy once they are firmly established. Creosote squirted into the holes is supposed to kill them—when it reaches them, but as a matter of fact it is almost impossible to get at them, buried as they are in the interior of the material. The best remedy, if the damage is not too large, is to cut away, when possible, the whole of the wood containing the holes and replace with new material. In very valuable instruments, in order to save as much of the original wood as possible and to preserve the contour and modelling, the holes are drilled and plugged with new wood. This is a troublesome, tedious and expensive process, and should not be undertaken unless the value of the fiddle warrants it. At the same time it is not desirable indiscriminately to cut away whole portions of the fiddle and insert new wood. Discretion must be exercised, or the tone of the violin may be seriously injured. This especially obtains where the repair is
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