Restoration (continued)
| After a long hiatus, the restoration on the Gemunder cello has resumed. Below are some pictures of a crack inlay I did in the lower bout of the top. As you can see, I've now removed the bass bar and the old patch at the lower block. After cleaning and regluing many cracks, I found that the last one could not be closed with the edges of the top held flat as they will need to be so the top can eventually fit the flat rib gluing surface. So with the top clamped to the edge support fixture I made, I fitted a tapered inlay in the remaining crack as shown in the photos. Subsequently I cleaned out and inlaid new wood into the deepest damaged areas under the lower block. Now that the lower cracks are all glued, I can proceed with doubling the rest of the lower edges. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Progress as of October, 2009
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| In these photos I've shown the old insect damage in the top at the upper block and how I decided to repair it. I always agonize over any decision to remove original wood, especially when the removed portion includes some of the outside surface, but in this case I think it was the only way to restore the structural integrity of this critical area. The neck transfers the full string tension to the body at this point and weakness here is one reason that on some cellos the neck projection drops with resultant increase of string height. For this reason I decided to go with a through patch in the worst area and fitted shallower patches on either side. One side of the through patch coincides exactly with the center joint. Each patch is very slightly tapered allowing me to get an excellent fit side to side. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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