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I have several Blue Chips but my go to pick for the last several months has been Clown Barf.

Kay debuted with that pear-shaped mandolin type in 1939, so that is the oldest it can be. The Venetian shape type began earlier. Kay did change the headstock shape for third parties such as Spiegel...

Usually you would confirm the suspected date using the tuners but these have been changed to modern tuners. Stromberg-Voisenet became Kay in 1931. Kay pretty much standardized a few different...

https://www.guitarandbanjo.com/ Leonard and Kennard can be a bit cantankerous, but they are legendary. By appointment only, I think.

You can remove the major mass of CA or any other glue using a single edge razor blade as a scraper. I fold over one or two layers of masking tape on each side of the blade leaving about 1/4" of the...

I wouldn't use any solvents on the finished portions of the instrument.

I use a small cabinet scraper with all but the center portion of the cutting edge masked off to remove glue. Go to...

I’m recently rehabbed a similar bowl back.
Acetone (a very safe solvent) is the only reliable way to remove CA (superglue). However it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to use it in such a way that...

Just cleaned the frets & fretboard on my Calace, so I'll share this: I carefully removed all the grime in between the frets with wooden toothpicks and an old toothbrush in combination with the...

Pretty much early years of the 20th century. That catalog was from around 1912 or so. By the end of that decade most companies stopped making bowlbacks.

I have some silicone pads I have used for bending wood. Anyone use them for their instruments? there are all kinds you can wire some in for adjustable temps.
for example a quick search pulled these...

I bought one of that type a few years ago, and it has worked fine in occasional use. That said, mine is wired for 230 volts at 50 Hz, and it requires a transformer. (An oversight on my part, having...

I look at these pictures and see what could actually be a wonderful instrument regardless of its market value. If its 50 years-old or if its 100 years-old, The quality of the wood is superior to any...

A pre-cut, pre-shaped fingerboard of moderate quality costs $15. Plain pegs start at $1 a piece. The unmarked European bridges are $5 a piece and are generally of good quality, considerably better...

That violin is worth about $20. You could pay to have a new fingerboard put on for about $200, and then you’d have a $220 dollar violin. Those tuning pegs look like they were carved with a...

Information comes quick and easy on the internet. This job is far too hard for an inexperienced violin repairman.
Guitars and mandolins are 'another animal' altogether. Which is what gets people in...

To me, this looks like an opportunity for the OP to learn a little about the art of repairing and setting up violins. Remember, he has some mandolin building experience.

Those grooves look like...

From the pictures it looks like a fine quality instrument of value. I do a lot of violin repairs but am not a properly trained violin master. I limit major repairs to student level instruments with...

without knowing the measurements its hard to tell. but it is possible that if it is thick enough you may just be able to plane down the fingerboard, tricky at best , but it takes me about 3 or 4...

Bridge height is critical to the tone quality of a violin, and must be taken into account when repairs are performed.
The accepted figure is 33 mm. between the violin and the top of the bridge at...

Replacing a violin FB is more complex than it might appear. There are a lot of criteria to consider when planning and executing the replacement. I highly recommend you read these two articles....

This may help, the centre two strings get raised a fraction to the outers, some people like to hand carve the feet, I don’t have time for that stuff so I just use sandpaper.

Steve
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Henry Strobel's useful measurements should have anything you need. Just make templates fro the drawings.

I found these step-by-step instructions: https://trianglestrings.com/carving-a-violin-bridge/

One possibility in any case.

Typically VAT will have to be paid but you can claim a refund when leaving the country - assuming that your destination is outside the EU.

Check to see if there is a VAT. It’s pretty high for sending instruments to Ireland. I am not sure if there is one for taking them out.