Violin Maker's Shop

Recently I visited Chicago with some very dear friends.  I knew this gentleman had a violin shop there and called to see if I might visit briefly.  He was very gracious with his time and talent.  Michael Darnton is a very accomplished violin maker with whom I came in contact through an online violin making forum.  He has been a regular contributor to the forum and has been very helpful to me (and many others) regarding violin making.  While there I witnessed him carve and fit a new bridge on a viola for a member of the Chicago Symphony.  A very valuable lesson indeed!  I took this snap of him before I left.

Jimmy's Violin Restoration

This very old violin was owed by Jimmy's wife's mother, who received it from her father when she was a young girl.  It is a Czechoslovakian Antonio Stradivarius copy. 
When I received this violin, it was in very poor condition. The rib seams at the area of the end block were wide open having come loose from the top and bottom plates.  Several other areas of the top and bottom plates had open seams.  The end pin was half out of the violin and was bent in the shape of macaroni.  It had bent the rib up and away from the belly and back plates because the strings were still on the violin with significant tension on them.  The end block had completely separated from the top and bottom plates and was only held by the ribs.  The violin had a bent bridge - another indication that the it must have experienced significant humidity and heat to be in this shape.  It appeared to have been hung on a wall because it had a ribbon attached to the fingerboard that was used to hang it up.  The fingerboard was not ebony and had serious grooves from many years of playing. The sound post was missing.  I enjoyed bring this fiddle back to life so that it could continue to be passed from generation to generation as a playable instrument.