For the present we will be content to know that this varnishing, a very delicate process in connection with the repair, is undertaken by the chief himself, who sets to work at once and in a manner as if it were a true labour of love, there being no hurry, but careful time-ignoring attention to matching and calculation of effect. Just before settling down with colours, essences, solvents and brushes, he gives directions to his man James to "finish up the crack or fracture in that old 'Stainer' lying on the shelf there behind."
When it is taken down from its place of repose, James looks at it for a moment and then observes, "Rather an awkward job, this, sir! It is more than a crack along the whole length of the fiddle; somebody has been at it trying to mend it and made it positively worse. The edges are quite apart. You can see through in some places, and in others there is a lot of black hard glue."
The chief now has a look over the damaged part and then remarks, "The thread of the pine happens to be very straight, and that will lessen the trouble."
"Right, sir," is James's rejoinder, "not like that Genoese fiddle that we had some time back with the very curly bit of pine that looked as if the tree had been growing at the side of a rock and trying to look round the corner. Fitting a straight piece along the centre of that fiddle was no joke."
"Well, James, wash all that filthy dark glue away, and when quite dry, run a thin chisel along each side of the hole, taking fine shavings off until the upright walls have a sharp clean edge."
The washing out is at once commenced, and when finished, the upper table, which of course had been removed some time back for ascertaining the necessary amount of repairing, is placed apart for drying.
While this is in process, another violin is taken in hand. It has a different kind of fracture, which it has been thought well for appearance sake should be re-opened and made tidy, in fact, obscured as much as present skill will allow of.
The fracture, although not one of very common occurrence, is of a kind well known to professional repairers. It has been caused by a twist, possibly while being handled by some clumsy or heavy-handed repairer of olden times, and hastily filled with polluted glue, pressed together and left to itself. It is not at right angles with the plane of the instrument, but at a very acute one, very little evidence of it, possibly none, being seen from the inside.
The first step taken by the repairer is the cleansing and removal of all foreign particles likely to interfere with the adhesion of the surfaces to be brought into contact. As there is present much grime, and this not free from a suspicion of the presence of grease, James has recourse to the bottle of benzine, into which he dips a small brush, working it backwards and forwards, wiping it on an absorbent rag and re-applying the liquid.
This does not take very long; the evaporation being rapid, the wood is soon ready for the next stage, which is that of removing the dark glue and other foul matters from the irregular surface.