LUTHIER
Hot Hide Glue
The hot hide glue I use can be made in your own kitchen for about 25 cents per batch. Yes, that is right $0.25 per batch. The solution consists of unflavored Knox Gelatine which can be found in your local grocery store on the baking isle. It is usually toward the back of the store in an obscure location. You will also need one aspirin tablet - just the cheap, generic kind. I obtained this recipe from H.S. Wake in his book "A Luthier's Scrap Book" ISBN 0-9607048-3-3 on page 111. I altered the solution and directions slightly. I added a bit more water. These directions also list a microwave for heating purposes. I actually used the double boiler method he mentions. That original method consists of a pot with water, and your jar carefully floating in the pot. The aforementioned microwave method is simpler and cleaner.
Directions: Grind up one aspirin tablet by placing it inside a napkin and beating it with the back of a butter knife. Using a small glass bowl, place two tablespoons of water in it and microwave it until it is very hot. NOTE: Be very careful! This will become hot glue which does not easily wipe off! Remove the hot water bowl from the microwave and pour in the powdered aspirin; stir. Now open on (1/4 ounce) Knox gelatine packet and pour it in the water bowl. Mix the solution completely. It should still be very hot (nearly boiling) and very thick. This is the final glue concoction and it is ready for immediate application. This solution dries relatively quickly so you need to get moving along with your repairs ASAP. Apply it where necessary, gently/firmly clamp your parts together and let it dry. Be sure and wipe off any excess immediately. This compound is very sticky and will stick to whatever it touches.
Fitting a bridge
I once purchased a bridge tool from somewhere like International or Stewart MacDonald. This tool has soft feet, an arched top, and a brass screw which is used to hold the strings in place while you remove and replace the bridge behind it. This tool is very useful while adjusting the top of your bridge. As previously mentioned, this tool has an arch on top to match the general curve of the majority of bridges out there. Unfortunately, I took the arch a little too literal and always tried to match my bridge top arch to the tool arch. MANY years later, I figured out that most all fingerboards are not the same, and therefore, the bridge must match the fingerboard and not the bridge tool. To make a long story short, I now match my bridges to the fingerboard; typically, with about a 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 4.5mm string heights (e,a,d,g, respectively) and I taper the bridge from 1.5mm on top down to about 7mm at the base. I also like to use the standard bridge blanks and remove material from the two circles just above the feet. I work the circles out and my bridges end up appearing a little more like a baroque bridge (lots of air) instead of a modern bridge (mostly wood). I have found that widening these circles give the sound more clarity and transparency. What I mean by transparency is that the notes speak clearly from the instrument and there is much less sound of the wood and the physical instrument (scratchy sound). In other words, the music predominates the sound over the natural noise of the instrument. Kind of like a good stereo speaker. I suppose it can be difficult to explain but once you alter a bridge in this manner, then compare the before and after results, you will understand my point.
Varnishing Method
In short, I use varnish from the International Violin Company. This is not a paid endorsement for them but they have good stuff so I don't mind extending them a link. I use the standard procedure of prep the white instrument, dye it with alcohol-based coloring, seal it, apply coats of color varnish (sanding and cleaning with tack rag in between), apply coats of clear varnish (sanding and cleaning with tack rag in between), pumice (mineral oil) and rottenstone (water) polishing, french polish (oil and shellac), wax (carnuba) and buff (cotton). This process takes about two months to complete and includes UV drying time in the hot summer sun. Also, I would personally recommend recruiting and training other people for the sanding and polishing steps. I now understand why the Italian masters had assistants. There is so much sanding, rubbing, and polishing involved that you will really work your forearm and finger muscles into fatigue. I couldn't imagine attempting to finish hundreds of violins by hand.
