Players, builders and repair Luthiers all are very important, very necessary and equals in my view in making what we do important, fun, and fruitful. How's that? Diplomacy was never a strong suit for me.

Over time I have evolved my techniques so that I can use animal protein glues exclusively. I don't know that this makes any meaningful difference, but it's a fun challenge and has a kind of "old time" feeling that I enjoy. It also seems to have made my own efforts at fixing mistakes somewhat easier than they might have been otherwise.

Most of the 'affordable' student violins these days are assembled with white glue. Repair shops consider then to be throw-aways. The stuff is the equivalent of bubble gum; it won't hold anything, but you can't get it apart easily either.

Care to share your process for putting the top / back onto the rims?

Crank up the heat and work fast. Alternatively, you might try experimenting with fish glue.

Care to share your process for putting the top / back onto the rims?

For me personally, I'm going to stick to the hide glue for now. What is meant by heat and moisture in this case? Is it as simple as a damp rag and an iron, similar to taking off a fretboard or steaming a dent out? Or are we talking about a steam machine of some sort? Is there integrity issues with a reheated joint compared to a joint done in a single step?


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One of my recurring mental projects has been a router spinning a thin slitting saw to just slice off the tops and backs of those dang things. If it could be done in 5 minutes it might make saving some of them worthwhile. laminated basses too.

What about a 1/16" slotting bit. Should be able to fit a binding jig, or in this case a debinding jig.

'Cello maker Jim Ham sizes all of the top/back ledge, block, and liner surfaces with HHG and allows it to dry. Then he dry clamps everything in place, getting the overhangs just right. Once that's done he removes a few clamps, uses steam introduced with a basketball needle to reactivate the glue, and replaces the clamps. This keeps everything lined up, minimizes glue squeeze out, and goes pretty fast.

Don Warnock used to glue in solid liners by painting them with glue which was allowed to gel, but not dry. Then he'd clamp in the liners using a wide caul of fairly heavy dead-soft aluminum on the outside. Once they were in place he'd use a small alcohol torch to warm up the aluminum where it stuck out below the clamps. This is similar to the method Torres is reputed to have used gluing on backs. In his case. working on a solera, the back braces were inlet into the liners and arched, and the edge of the rim dressed off to the appropriate angle all around. The braces were painted with glue, and the back was glued around the edges, using string to hold it down. Then he'd paint the area of the back where the braces were with a little bit of alcohol and set it on fire to warm the glue. They know this in part because of the way the glue squeeze out dripped. Sometimes he used too much alcohol and scorched the back wood a little, leaving a stripe across it that could not be scraped out. I've used a microwave oven to warm up hide glue when the shop was chilly. The list goes on.

'Cello maker Jim Ham sizes all of the top/back ledge, block, and liner surfaces with HHG and allows it to dry. Then he dry clamps everything in place, getting the overhangs just right. Once that's done he removes a few clamps, uses steam introduced with a basketball needle to reactivate the glue, and replaces the clamps. This keeps everything lined up, minimizes glue squeeze out, and goes pretty fast.

What about a 1/16" slotting bit. Should be able to fit a binding jig, or in this case a debinding jig.

I really cringe when I hear the stories about instruments made using the old milk based Cascamite glues... Where they found out that the stuff turns to powder after about 20 years....