CHAPTER XVIII.
THE BAR IN OLDEN TIMES—THE MODERN ONE—THE OPERATION OF FITTING AND FIXING THE BAR—CLOSING AND COMPLETION OF THE REPAIRS—VARNISHING OF THE REPAIRED PARTS HAVING FRESH WOOD.
Much false reasoning upon insufficient premises has at times on and off been bestowed upon the subject of the bar and its supposed mysteries. Space at command will not allow of a dissertation on this detail of the constitution of the violin. A few remarks will perhaps be sufficient for present purposes. When violins were first sent forth by their inventor, Gasparo da Salo, the bar was sometimes omitted, possibly in all the earliest ones, the strain on the upper table being then slight as compared with that of the present day—at others it was very short and weak. The substance of the upper table was considerable, and much over that which the later and modern makers approve of, and thus there was a counter-balance.
At the present time still stronger bars are inserted, and very frequently without rule or reason. Occasionally a coarse bar will allow of good results as regards the emission of the tone, the length and thickness happening to be suitable to the proportions in detail of the instrument. A weakness at each end of the bar is an oft-recurring cause of bad going with regard to the vibrations.
From this we may infer that when the bar was first thought of and inserted it was simply with an idea of supporting the part over which the third and fourth strings were stretched, and that as the tension of the strings became greater in consequence of the rise in the pitch, so the bar had to be increased in strength, that is, longer and deeper. The discovery or unearthing of an old master in its original condition will therefore be followed by the opening and re-barring for the emission of the tone according to modern ideas; these may be summed up as the getting of the largest amount of tone accompanied by freedom of vibration or ring.
As the removal of a defective or weakly bar and its renewal and fixing in accordance with the best knowledge of the subject is an operation that should be seldom attempted by other than an experienced professional repairer, it may be as well to pay another visit to our chief and his assistant, James.
After some lapse of time we find on looking in at the establishment that there is no perceptible change in the working or general routine; violins innumerable have come and gone and still seem likely to do so for ever.
The chief has been occupying a few minutes looking through a newspaper, not so much in connection with his business, which, as no doubt will have long since been perceived, is a private or personal one, he is simply keeping up with the times in reading about what is going on outside his own little world.
James, notwithstanding his lesser amount of artistic and scientific knowledge than the chief, has been steadily improving in his own way, that of implicitly following directions put forward for his guidance and given with so many axioms, the result of long experience and watchfulness. It is a warm day and really heavy work would not be to the disposition of either master or man.
Looking through the doorway into the workshop at the back, James can be seen sitting as quietly and contentedly as his master in the front. He is engaged on some fitting of small pieces into some fractures of the upper table of a Stradivari. Having been told to do them neatly, cleanly and with every precaution, experience and deft handling of tools, he has got these latter into nice cutting order. The finest and even semi-transparent shavings will have to come from the fractures and the portions of wood to be inserted therein. James has by this time acquired considerable neatness in the treatment of "delicate jobs," as he calls such as the present. His tools have had special attention in the keenness of their edge and he thinks that when all is finished the violin will be as good as new, and very little of the damage done while in charge of the owner will be perceptible unless hunted for. He argues within himself that the greatest amount of expenditure of muscle work and fitting together of ever so many parts has been done by himself, and therefore the honour ought to be principally his, in fact the fiddle is more of his make than that of old Strad. His ruminations are stopped rather suddenly by the voice of the chief, who calls out, "I say, James, what about the re-barring of the Maggini that Miss Winks left a week back?"
"Well, sir, she called again yesterday, and said she didn't think it would be done, because we seemed slow people, but intended to call again in three days."
"Perhaps you had better set to work, James. Have you got everything ready for placing the bar?"
"Yes, sir, everything except the bar itself, which is not cut to shape yet."
"Well, let me see it. Is it of nice straight grain and from the stock of that old Italian?"
"Yes, I've picked out a piece that appears to me just the thing; it only wants the curve cutting to fit the upper table, and that is quite clean and regular without any slips of the tool in cutting the old one out, which I think was the original one."
The chief gives two or three glances over the work, his accustomed eye being ready to catch any little fault likely to have been made by his man.
"That surface, James, for a Maggini, is remarkably even; as often as not the gouge marks are left, making a close fit of the bar an impossibility, let me see the bar."
The piece of wood is produced; the Maggini being a full fourteen inches in length of body, the proposed bar is cut to ten and a half inches in length and seems to the chief to be satisfactory.
"You can now go on, James; let me see the bar before you glue it in."
The upper table of the Maggini and the bar are taken away by James, who goes at once to work with the necessary preparation for placing the bar in position correctly.
With a rather soft lead pencil he marks off the length from each end of the table that the bar will occupy, that is, a little over at the lower end than the upper, the exact distance from the joint or central line, a trifle, perhaps eighth of an inch nearer at the upper part, letting the middle or thickest part of the bar be at the spot where the foot of the bridge will rest.
After this the bar, at present straight and about three-quarters of an inch high all along its course, has marked upon the part that has to remain uppermost some indication to the fancy of the operator that will keep in mind which end is to be placed at the upper part.
This being done, he commences with a chisel to cut away portions at each end, and tries on the surface of the part to be fitted to. After two or three times the chiselling has to be more finely done until the closest fit possible is obtained; it is then ready for fixing. The bar is as yet quite straight along the upper part. With regard to the levelling of the bar to the curve of the interior part of the upper table, there used to be a custom in the repairing business of "putting the bar in with a spring" as it was termed. The repairers always spoke of it as "the regular thing to do," but on being asked questions as to how much and under what circumstances the "spring" would be best one way or the other, became somewhat reticent, possibly from fear of being led into some scientific depths from which it might not be easy to extricate themselves. James, however, has been taught differently in the management of this portion of his work; he having found from close examination that the rise of the curving on the outside on the bar side was quite high enough, went on with the operation.
Had the bar side been in a sunken condition, his chief would have required him to restore the elevation by the wetting process before alluded to.
The accessories, glue and cramps being in readiness, two pieces of thick hard brown paper are folded together to go over the varnished surface of the upper table. This will be quite thick enough, as any more will cause a liability to press the bar into the wood when under the influence of the damp of the glue. This result is often seen in violins that have been through the hands of inexperienced repairers, there being an elevation at each end where the bar terminates when the violin has been strung up.
Cramps are used of sufficient width for reaching over the border at each end and quite on to the end of the bar. James, after his repeated trials as to the closeness of the relation of the curve of the bar to that of the table, takes it to the chief as commanded, who expresses his satisfaction and orders the completing process to be gone through.
The curved surface of the bar is wetted and some glue placed along, the part of the table with which it is to be in contact is also wetted, but not much. After a few minutes for the glue to soak in, the final glueing is done along the course on the table and the curved course of the bar; the latter is then placed in position and first one cramp at one end is fixed, then the other; the screwing down is very gently done, James, from experience, knowing just how much and no more. The hard brown paper between the cramps and their padded or corked ends prevents any injury to the varnish.
For the central and adjacent portions of the bar to be pressed, James uses at times wooden cramps with a longer reach, and treating all parts of the bar with gentle but sufficient pressure, being meanwhile careful that the pressure is not directed on one side but direct downwards; he knows that if this is not strictly attended to, the bar will be twisted and when dry, or even finished, will not appear straight but curved along its course.
James having seen that this part of the operation has proceeded satisfactorily, places the table away to dry, and when so, the cramps are removed and the table examined by the chief. All being assumed to be satisfactory, James is told to go on with the shaping down of the bar, which is done with a chisel held with the bevel downwards, this being safer and less likely to slip.
This having been done to the curving desired by the chief, the glass-papering to a nice even surface and finish is proceeded with, and the operation may be said to be completed.
We now come to the closing down of the upper table. This last is a final process that when done clumsily, hurriedly, or in many ways improperly, has been the cause of much damage, if not positive destruction, to many good or valuable works of the great masters and others.
Before deciding upon the precise moment for this important stage of repairing, there should be a most careful investigation of the condition of the whole of the interior of the instrument.
Without this there is the possibility of fine splinters of wood, or cracks, being left unattended to that may announce themselves when all is supposed to be in readiness for the bow, by a jarring, or, when the bow is applied, by a buzzing which will take all the knowledge, experience and guessing, perhaps more, that can be brought to bear upon the matter without any practical result, excepting perhaps that of the necessity of re-opening.
If found out before closing down, neighbouring parts should be rigidly examined, as a slight, almost invisible fracture, will, on testing, be frequently found to be much more extensive than was at first suspected.
Gentle tappings may be tried and testings of resistance to bending at the same, keeping the light at right angles to enable the slightest opening or fracture to show itself and be at once placed under treatment. When every test proves the instrument to be sound and ready for closing up, preparations may be commenced.
There is probably no one of the different details of repairing that gives more evidence than this of the kind of workman engaged upon it.
It may almost be said that this is rarely done as it ought to be in the manner that can be described as being good in every way for the purpose, and neatly done.
The bad manner of closing has been, more frequently than any other, the means of putting the whole instrument out of order, gradually distorting, if not actually bringing it to ruin as a work of art, and to destruction as a means of producing good musical sounds.
Judging by the ways adopted by many inferior grades of repairers, professional and amateur, the closing down of the upper table is thought to be a trifling matter and simply that of passing some glue on a brush rapidly round where the ribs are to come into contact with the table, clapping it down, placing the cramps round, screwing them tight, and, if the weather is cold, acting with more rapidity.
Ten minutes may be said to be the average time that this performance takes, and in the majority of cases is thought to be a good one.
But not so by a really competent, painstaking repairer. From his view this operation is to be one of the most cautiously conducted ones in the whole series of joinings in connection with the repairing or constructing of the violin.
As with other processes, there is more than one way of doing a thing and that well.
I recollect in early days being acquainted with an exceeding dexterous amateur in cabinet making, the principal part of whose furniture, in a large house, was his own individual and unaided workmanship. He also combined with this the making of violins, and of them I have a recollection of their exceedingly neat workmanship, being, in fact, ahead in that respect of many professional makers of the time. I often received from him hints as to the best methods of overcoming many little mechanical difficulties.
Once I was telling him about the dexterous manipulation required in fixing accurately and swiftly the upper table. There was the difficulty of getting perhaps the two end parts in position and fixing with sufficient rapidity before the glue had stiffened or set at the other parts.
He asked me why I wanted "to do this all at once, instead of a part at a time? He never did it."
He then proceeded to show me that the glue might be applied to the two end blocks and the corresponding parts of the table that were to be affixed, and these cramped exactly and with comparative ease, in their proper position. This being done, a very thin worn table knife could be used for working in glue at the other parts and the cramping down proceeded with as before.
Another way suggested itself to me some time after, which in careful hands would be still more adapted for accurate fitting. It is as follows:—Having seen that the opposing surfaces or parts that are to be affixed to each other are quite level, fit each other, have been cleaned and are free from any oiliness or greasy particles, the glue is neatly brushed round the parts requiring it, both upper table and ribs being treated. The corner and end blocks, if new, will require more than one coating, and these to be allowed to dry, as the end of the grain is very absorbent.
Assuming that the glue is sufficient in quantity all round, it may be allowed to dry.
The upper table can now be tested for a good fit by laying it, and noticing whether the marginal projection over the ribs is regular or not; in some instances a little humouring or averaging of this projection has to be made, especially when the instrument is very old, and bears evidence of much trouble under the hands of repairers of different degrees of skill, experience and patience.
This being found satisfactory, a slight brushing of thin glue over the upper and lower end blocks will be enough before placing the table in position and cramping them down.
For the other parts the thin knife will be sufficient, wetted and worked between, the cramps being applied as before.
This way of closing up dispenses with all cause for hurry. The exact amount of glue can be calculated without danger of over-loading, and the next necessary opening for repairs can be effected without the least risk of damage to the margin of the upper table. By this method there is no occasion for wiping superfluous glue from underneath the over-lapping edge, as there will not be any perceptible, or, indeed, present, when tidily done.
Sufficient time being allowed for drying—a little longer for the end blocks, these being more hidden and slowly affected by the atmosphere—the cramps may be removed.
As a final process, the varnishing over the parts that have been repaired may be touched upon.
The success of this so much depends upon the natural talent of the operator for matching colours and mixing of different gums for obtaining as close as possible resemblance to the surrounding work, that any hard and fast rules concerning it cannot be laid down.
An alcoholic mixture is almost invariably used for the covering of raw repairs, time scarcely ever being available for the use of an oil varnish.
The most commonly used basis is a lac varnish. The ease with which this is dissolved and manipulated is a temptation to use it at times when it would be the least desirable for the imitation of old varnish. One great fault in connection with it is its retaining a glare on the surface when hardened, and the undesirable aspect is given of polished spots where repairs have been going on. There is only one way of counteracting this—by mixing other gums or resins that have less or but little glare when hard. Those of a very astringent quality should be avoided, as when dry their pulling power or contraction is very great, and a cracked surface not at all like the rich fused appearance of many of the old masters, but dry and uninteresting, will make itself too evident.
By a carefully-calculated mixture of soft and hard gums, with a little transparent colouring matter when necessary, a very good if not highly successful imitation of the surrounding work can be accomplished, such as will prevent the repair "catching the eye" too soon, for it must do so eventually when hunted for. The density of colouring and thickness of the principal component parts must always be studied, as the same depth of tint by a very thin layer as that of a thick one will not have the same effect, and one or the other, when making a contrast with the adjacent old surface, will be conspicuous as a failure.
A few hints may be acceptable as to material and the management of it. We will assume, for instance, that a portion of the upper table of a rather deep brown-red old master has been repaired, and a slice of comparatively light coloured or new wood has been inserted as a necessity, the grain as a matter of course having been matched to the best of the ability of the repairer.
The first step taken will be that of putting a nice clean even surface over the fresh wood, and in such a manner, that on passing the hand or finger over it, no lumps, edges, or rough spots are felt. Having brushed the dust or powdered wood away, the colour of the wood will have to be lowered or subdued, otherwise the whiteness will obtrude itself and stare through any carefully selected varnish. This, for good effect, will be found advisable with the repairing of any old instrument.
The precautions to be taken at this stage are respecting the quality or disposition of the stain (as we may call it). The stains ordinarily sold for colouring wood are quite useless for present purposes, as they are absorbed between the threads, leaving these by contrast very light and the reverse of what is desirable.
A very weak solution in water of bichromate of potash will lower the colour sufficiently for most purposes, and when quite dry the wood will (having swelled with the moisture) require the fine glass-papering again, after which, the next stage can be proceeded with.
The solution of nitric acid in water should be avoided, as, although giving a fairly good lowering of the tint, it destroys the soft parts of the wood, and, further, causes an odour that may cause annoyance to the musician and suspicion to the expert.
Another solution may be recommended, that of the black liquorice, which is a transparent brown, and naturally hard. Judgment will have to be exercised in the management of either of the above solutions that they are not put on too heavily.
The staining being effected, a slight coat of a diluted or light tint of the upper or deeply coloured varnish may be painted over and left to dry.
If time is not an important item for consideration, a turpentine varnish may be applied.
An excellent first colouring can be effected with the transparent preparation of gamboge. This material has for long, perhaps always, been in request for coloured varnish, as it can be used with (after due preparation) either alcohol, turpentine or oil. If dissolved in the last, the drying will take so long as to be practically useless to the repairer. The turpentine solution is more rapid, but not sufficiently so for the restorer under ordinary circumstances.
It will be therefore plain that an alcoholic solution of gums or resins will have to be relied on for obtaining the best results when time is limited.
The solution of gamboge in alcohol is, when used alone, too weak or insufficient in body; it is therefore advisable to incorporate with it some other material of a resinous or gummy nature, but such as will not impair the transparency. Among the most useful are the bleached or white shellac. This, as it leaves the manufactory, is not always in a condition for immediate use by the restorer; it should be washed in water and then dried well, pounded up and placed in a bottle with about four-fifths of alcohol; after remaining in solution for some days the clear portion can be poured into another bottle and retained for use.
This, when used alone in its colourless condition, will possibly have, when dry, too much glare upon its surface, but the colouring matters put into it may oppose this sufficiently.
The use of a little gum guacum in solution will be found occasionally advantageous; this gum is fairly hard and will lower the colour and prevent too much of an approach to gaudiness, that is, if a highly coloured varnish has been found necessary. When it is desirable to dispense with lac of any kind in the varnish, other materials can be found that will perhaps answer the purpose as well, if not better; a solution of benzoin has no colour sufficient in itself and therefore may be used as a priming or mixing with the gamboge or with dragon's blood if that is desirable; the latter, like the gamboge, requires something to give it body.
Dragon's blood will soon let the operator know that its power of colouring to a staring degree will require suppression. To lessen its strength the following may be taken as an excellent means, and will reduce the violence ad libitum. With a lighted candle, wax for preference, smoke a piece of clean glass, and with a camel hair brush remove the black and stir it carefully with the coloured varnish. Care must be taken that too large a quantity is not put in, or an unpleasant tone, even blackness, will be the result.
With regard to the strength of the red, the same precautions must be taken: on comparing the varnish of a very red old master of Italy, say a Landolphi, with some made with a fairly strong solution of resin and dragon's blood, the violence of colour in the latter will be very apparent. At a little distance off the old master will look very modest while the other will seem coarse and vulgar.
For softening purposes a very small quantity of gum thrus may be used, too much will result in tackiness.
For hardening, sandarac has its place and usefulness, although, as with the naturally soft gums and resins which return to their original condition after the solvent has evaporated, great care must be taken to use a very small proportion.
A mixture of sandarac and shellac will result in an extremely hard and almost insoluble varnish, a very undesirable covering for a musical instrument of any kind as it wears badly, that is, suddenly and harshly with a rough fractured edge, instead of the gentle thinning-away under usage, seen with a delicate yielding material.
Acroydes is an Australian "grass gum," with very little recommendation, as in any considerable amount, it impairs the transparency of the other gums with which it may be mixed.
For a brown colour, a little burnt sugar will give a good tint, although too much will spoil the consistency of the other ingredients, and the whole will be easily affected by damp. Aloes, of which there are several kinds, have been used as a colouring ingredient, but the results are not on the whole to be considered as good.
Of the different lacs, or as it ought to be termed, condition of the resin, as they are all from the same source, seed lac and garnet lac, in proportion with other resins, will be found to have considerable colouring matter and requiring very little in addition.
For our present purposes, those of varnishing fresh parts of injured violins, the above mentioned component materials will be found, when in good proportion, according to the experience of the operator, to be nearly all that would be desirable in imitating the surrounding work.
There is nothing that can be suggested to enable a careless or incompetent repairer to achieve good results without care or calculation, and these two are an absolute necessity when the repair and restoration of a violin at all worthy of the name is the subject in hand. Innumerable effects may be obtained by changing the proportion of groundwork or priming, and top or coloured varnish. As the celebrated old Italian varnish was not one kind but very many different kinds, it is more than probable that the different results obtained by the celebrated liutaros consisted to a greater extent in the manner of the application than any wonderful quality of material. Of this subject much might be written which would fill many times over the capacity of our present volume.
A few words more may be said in conclusion regarding the varnishing of new work on old violins; it must not be supposed that for the imitation of the surrounding work an exact repetition of the old Italian process with the identical substances used by the liutaros would be absolutely necessary for perfect or near success; it must be borne in mind that old varnish near the spot with its partial decay, probably from many causes, has to be imitated, and that what would be a great success with regard to a small space, might in all probability prove a signal failure when the whole instrument is so treated.
As a final stage, a freshly varnished portion (and over newly inserted wood), will require a little rubbing down (as it is termed); this may be done with some of the finest and worn glass-paper, finely ground pumice and oil, with a last turn of tripoli powder or rotten stone with oil. This should be done only when the varnish is quite dry and hard.
THE END.
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