This violin came into the shop with a loose saddle, something that is usually a quick and routine repair. Normally the old glue is cleaned away, the saddle is refit if necessary, and it is simply glued back into place. In this case, however, the saddle had apparently been reglued several times without first removing the old glue or broken ebony fragments. Years of accumulated glue and small shards of ebony had left neither the saddle nor the mortise with a clean, flat gluing surface, making it easy to understand why the repair had repeatedly failed. After cleaning away the old material, I reshaped the bottom of the original saddle to restore a proper fit. Since the saddle was already off the instrument, I also decided to rebuild a small missing corner before reinstalling it. The following photographs document the repair and show how the original saddle was preserved rather than replaced. - Remove the Saddle: Carefully remove the loose saddle from the instrument.
- Clean the Mortise: Remove the old glue and debris from the mortise, then clean the sides and bottom of the saddle.
- Remove the Old Ebony Shards: Clean away the accumulated fragments of ebony left from previous repairs so both gluing surfaces can be properly prepared.
- Rebuild the Saddle Bottom: Form a small dam around the saddle and cast a hard filler onto the damaged underside.
- Shape the Saddle: Trim and file the repaired area until the saddle has a flat bottom and a clean 90-degree corner for a proper fit.
- Repair the Missing Piece: Since the saddle was already removed, rebuild the small missing section beside the mortise.
- Prepare the Repair Area: Mask the surrounding varnish with tape and fill the missing section with repair material.
- Shape the New Material: Allow the filler to cure overnight, then trim and shape it to match the surrounding edge.
- Reglue the Saddle: Fit the restored saddle back into the cleaned mortise and glue it securely in place.
- Finish the Missing Section: Refine the repaired corner so it blends smoothly with the original wood.
- Add Grain Detail: Scribe subtle grain lines into the repair and darken them with a brown colored pencil to imitate the surrounding wood.
- Apply Touch-Up Varnish: Finish the rebuilt area with matched varnish so the repair blends into the surrounding surface.
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Note: At first this looked like a simple loose saddle that just needed to be reglued. Once the saddle was removed, I discovered years of old glue and broken ebony fragments that had prevented it from fitting properly. Rather than making and fitting a new saddle, I rebuilt the original one. It turned out to be much quicker than making a replacement, allowed me to preserve the original saddle, and let me keep the repair as a simple, inexpensive fix for the customer. |
