This Swedish lute from 1804 came in for some repairs. A couple of the back panels had come unglued and needed attending to. I re-aligned them and fitted new parchment on the inside to reinforce the seams, as well as removing a metal reinforcement bar which had been added at a point when the instrument was strung with high tension strings.
This cello came in because it had fallen over and the bridge had snapped. Thankfully this was the only damage to the instrument, and from looking at the way the old bridge had warped, it seemed like it might have snapped sooner or later anyway.
This cello came in because the pegs had slipped and the soundpost had fallen over. Usually if it has fallen over which the cello being knocked etc. then it is an indication that the current post isn’t under enough tension. In the end, after checking the fit, we agreed that it made sense to fit a new post. I also addressed the cause of the immediate problem by tweaking the fit of the pegs. I also adjusted the string heights, as they were a bit low for gut core strings.
This cello came in for a new bridge as the old one had warped. I also fitted a soundpost as the old one wasn’t contacting the top very well and had to stand at an angle to get any sort of pressure.
This cello came in for a replacement corner as it had been chipped. It’s always a fun (if frustrating) job making a clean new corner and then varnishing and distressing it to match the surrounding wear and tear. I also decided with the owner that it made sense to fit a new soundpost as the old one was very loose.
New bridge to start the new year! At some point this violin will also need a new fingerboard as the old one is on its last legs, so I checked the elevation to try and ensure that, when that happens, the new bridge will still be of the correct height. Thankfully it’s fairly standard.