Value of a good restorer

[testore]

Brought to me 2 weeks ago an otherwise semi-valuable violin in an unsellable condition cosmetically speaking. After a $900 fix, his free(it was a gift) $12,000 violin is back in fine condition. Never underestimate what properly trained restorers can do to the value of you investment, and just the opposite. These six shots show the violin when it arrived. The first 2 with walnut wood stain rubbed into the pores of the maple. The next 2 show the scratches washed and ready for retouch, the last two are finished.

[theCOOP]

ouch!

ERM~

WOW!!

So is it an entirely new finish, ora patch/sand/polish kinda deal? Looks beautiful.

[Big Joe]

Beautiful! One of the things we like most is taking something that we are told is unfixable and putting it back together and making it like it should be. The look on the owners face is worth more than the money you get for the job. You still need the money, but that is another story . We have seen grown men cry when they see thier "baby" back together and playable. I guess that is like applaus to the entertainer.

[Benski]

And well-deserved applause it is! Awesome.

[testore]

COOP, it's only a retouch job of the damaged area. Refinish is a bigger no no in the violin world than fretted world, so it should never be done. I only washed out the oil stain, for about 2-3 hours then applied color and varnish in the damaged area. Big Joe hit it on the head. The look on the owners face was priceless. I actually ran into the owner at the post office just before they picked it up and was able to show them the pics on my cell phone. It was a real joy listen to her say,"wow....it's gone!"

[PollyCymru]

Beautiful job on a lovely old violin

OH repairs violins as well as making them.

He returned one yesterday which had had a big split up the front, other splits, a missing saddle and damage under the soundpost. The Owner couldn't believe that it was his violin until he saw all the photos - he reckoned OH is a magician

It's lovely to see their faces but we always have a box of tissues handy as some get really emotional when they see their 'baby' restored

[Barry Smith]

That is beautiful work.

[theCOOP]

COOP, it's only a retouch job of the damaged area. Refinish is a bigger no no in the violin world than fretted world, so it should never be done. I only washed out the oil stain, for about 2-3 hours then applied color and varnish in the damaged area. Big Joe hit it on the head. The look on the owners face was priceless. I actually ran into the owner at the post office just before they picked it up and was able to show them the pics on my cell phone. It was a real joy listen to her say,"wow....it's gone!"

Well, that's even more impressive.

I think I've found the type of work I really want to do. I'm autobody-trained, I cooked in many restaurants for 9 years and currently work in a big-box home improvement store for the last 9 years.

But this type of wrk is something that could be really fulfilling.

[SternART]

Bravo !!!

[testore]

Coop, yes it is incredibly fun to do. Not difficult to learn or do just very time consuming. It took 10 hours to do which was pretty fast. I once spent a week under goggles retouching 95% of a violin top with a 000 brush,(very small). But there again, extremely rewarding. Art , Thanks

[Brett Byers]

That's a mighty fine repair job. Doesn't get much better than that.

[ISU Trout Bum]

Beautiful work! Thanks for posting the pics. That looks really nice.

[Bill Halsey]

Hey, Gary -- good goin'!

That used to be my game, and I really miss the challenge of it. And you're right -- the customer reaction is worth everything when they start looking for the old wound...

[PollyCymru]

Of course what Gary is too modest to say is that Retouching the varnish can be a real challenge. Getting the colour just right and matching the varnish type is a real ART

where's the 'hat' smiley when you need it?

[sunburst]

Beautiful job Gary, thanks for the pictures!
Is that an American violin? Looks like eastern American maple, probably red(?).

[Skip Kelley]

Great job, Gary! I think the work is outstanding!

[testore]

Thanks everyone. John, I thought the same thing about the wood. Although I have seen some French maple with this look. It is in fact a French violin made by Dioedonne in 1927.

[tree]

As a non-builder who enjoys reading the Builders threads, I'm curious how you washed out the oil stain. What was the solvent?

[jim_n_virginia]

After a $900 fix

It took 10 hours to do which was pretty fast

$900.00 in 10 hours thats $90.00 per hour to fix a scratch on a piece of wood.

Hmmm I think I am in the wrong line of work!

[testore]

Jim, No the 900 included set up,new bridge and soundpost too. The retouch was almost 600.
Tree, I used hot water first, then soap, then "The Masters" brush cleaner soap(art supply stores) my knife point to lift some of them tougher to reach specs, then bleach. It was 2 hours cleaning.

[testore]

Just about finished with this incredible violin. Brought to me about 10 months ago. Here are a few shots of before, during and after. Very challenging but very worth it. Built in Tourney Belgium in 1742, the earliest known violin of Ambroise DeComble. Last purchased at W.E. Hills in 1892. It was dropped and badly fixed in 1942. Today it was played for the first time in probably 60 years. The added value to proper restoration is worth it. This restoration added about 1000% to its pre-restoration value.

[Skip Kelley]

Nice work Gary! That’s as nice as it gets!

[Dale Ludewig]

Beautiful work. People that don't do this kind of thing don't realize the amount of talent it takes, which took many years and hours of concentration, with valuable others' people's work in your hands to learn. Really nice work.

[J.Sloan]

Nice work indeed!

[j. condino]

$900.00 in 10 hours thats $90.00 per hour to fix a scratch on a piece of wood.

Hmmm I think I am in the wrong line of work!

No, no, no. That is $900 for 30 years effort making $4 and hour to get to the point of where he can do this level of restoration work....Nobody gets rich doing this; it is a labor of love. $900 invested to bring it back to a $12,000 instrument is pretty fair.

Nice work Gary.

I'm pretty sure that most folks don't understand the W.E. Hill significance- they are possibly the finest violin shop in the world and have held that title for three centuries- yes, centuries. They literally wrote the definitive books on Stradivari & the iconic masters' work over 100 years ago.

For folks that don't follow Gary on facebook, I highly recommend it. His posts and political commentary are as raw and honest as his fine restoration work!