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Thread: De Mureda Ressurrection

  1. #51
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    Currently it seems solid, but that is without the strings to cope with. The next step will be to strengthen the basic structure of the head. I need to re-veneer the front anyway to cover the hideous scars there.... (I don't suppose that proffusion of inlay could any way have been original???) and I have the lee-way in the height of the tuners to do this without removing the original inlay. The rosewood veneer I have is about 0.5mm so will not add much thickness, but will help create a lamellar effect that should strengthen the head.
    First I have to fill those craters.

    More to follow, Dave

    Its gone very quiet out there?!?
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  2. #52

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    Quote Originally Posted by
    "Its gone very quiet out there?!"
    Only because we are all too enthralled to speak.
    It is not man that lives but his work. (Ioannis Kapodistrias)

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by (dave17120 @ Oct. 11 2006, 14:48)
    Its gone very quiet out there?!?
    Still watching!

    Fliss

  4. #54
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    Ok, today I worked some more on the head, and made a start on re-gluing the back, split along at least 6 seams.

    First of all I needed to fill the 'excavations' in the veneer of the head, prior to re-veneering.....
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  5. #55
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    I was then able to glue on the rosewood veneer to the front....
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  6. #56
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    And drill....... the small clamp is holding a repair to the worn side of the neck/head in place while it dried.
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    Meanwhile, I glued a couple of small pieces in the back where the head had been chiselled out to take the tuners, as the rebates were well generous, and I needed to strengthen the central spar, as it was at its narrow bottom end that the head split. I've checked and the tuners still fit!
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    I may look at veneering the inside of the rebates to improve the lamellar strength, if there is space.
    Meantime I have also been working on the back, to re-glue the ribs.... one at a time, using the system visible here.
    Hopefully tomorrow I will look at re-assembling the top after several sessions working to remove the old glue. At least it looks to be a good shape now, and is drying out well.

    More soon, regards, Dave
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  9. #59
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    Thanks for the photos, Dave. Sorry to have been out of the loop, been sick all week.

    Will the neck have to be reset or is it in good geometry with the top?

    Any other reinforcement planned for the headstock splice?

    I've got more questions (naturally) but will wait for the proper sequencing.

    I feel like I'm in a high-tech version of one of those operation-room viewing galleries from old Thomas Eakins paintings....

    Mick
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    Hi Mick, hope you are feeling a bit better.... I know I'm ill when I don't feel like working on the mandolins!! Now is that sad or what?

    Anyway, with regard to "Will the neck have to be reset or is it in good geometry with the top?" simple answer is no. Because the neck and neckblock are one piece, it is very hard to re-set the neck in these old Italians. You have to separate the neck heel from ther bowl (tricky?!) and then re-shape (even trickier!!). The least problematic way is to pop a shim under the fingerboard.
    As to this one, I don't know yet what the neck-top orientation is going to be like until I've got the top back together....... its progressing slowly. AND I've practically decided to make a new f/b anyway, (filling is really only an option for minor damage) so this means I can either tailor the f/b to the right angle, or put in a shim. When the top's on I'll know.

    Must sort some more photos out, regards Dave
    PS if you could see me sometimes with my scalpel and my face mask on, those Thomas Eakins paintings are not too far off the mark.

    And the head?.......... well it went back together very cleanly once cleaned up, and I do have enough room to laminate the inside of the tuner rebate, just for the added strength.
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    After a few days outside cutting the conifer hedges, I'm now back in the workshop again......

    Work on the head has progressed. I did have enough room under the tuners to re-enforce the underside of the rebate with some veneer. Hopefully it should be strong enough now.
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    And just to be on the safe side, I tried tham to make sure.....
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    The advantage with the instrument being in several bits, is that its much easier to work on different jobs concurrently. I have also been working on the back, repairing several major separations, and on the top.
    Here the top pieces are being re-glued prior to being re-fitted to the haole. The piece missing from the top was actually in four pieces, 2 large and two small.
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  14. #64
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    That was yesterday evening, so today I managed to glue the whole piece in to the gap. I haven't glued it to the top bend side yet, as I want to repair that all together, not in bits. Clamps come off tomorrow.
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    Meantime, I have remved the fretboard from the neck, as it is so badly beaten up..... it came off a dream with a little head and a scraper. I have left the other half for now, until the top is in better shape...... I will decide whether or not we need a shim, once I have the top back on.
    That's all for now, Dave
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    I have now glued the missing piece in, and glued the bend back together again. It all went together quite well considering.....
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    The powder is spruce dust, to try and reduce the glue lines visible..... we'll see if it works or not.
    I needed to construct a special crack clamp to set this up, as the two pieces are at an angle.
    Here is a photo of the front after gluing, seems to have worked quite well.
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  18. #68
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    And cleaned up, not looking too bad.....
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    Meanwhile I have also been working on the neck.... I decided it would be useful experience to re-veneer it, as it had several hole s in the veneer, besides the badly set MOP pieces.
    I have cleaned up the neck, tried to level it all, and give yself clean join lines to butt up against at the top and bottom.
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    I haven't removed all the veneer, so hopefully, once I fill the MOP holes, the new layer of veneer will again act with the old, to improve the lamellar strength of the neck. I now have to make a paper pattern to cut the veneer, and decide the best system for gluing it on.
    Hopefully also, tomorrow, I will be able to re-enforce the newly assembled top, particularly along the repaired bend.
    All for now, more in a day or so. Dave
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    Right then, the neck is veneered. I decided to make a paper pattern to allow me to fit the shape exactly, then using the pattern I cut it out from the rosewood veneer. I left the sides a little long so that I could level precisely to the level of the neck after gluing.
    The problem was, how to apply even sustained pressure to the curved surface of the veneer while the glue set. I finally decided on a block, spot-glued to the top of the neck, to give me a surface to tape on to. So, with the block in place, I held the veneer in place with masking tape. The first photo shows the newly veneered neck all taped up.
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    And here is the finished result, rather pleased with it I have to say.
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    I am currently cleaning up the front, and I must decide what to do with the excavations either side of the f/b where inlay had been added.

    The back is just about done, all the splits and holes repaired, I just have to re-line the interior. It looks a bit hideous with all its 'bandages' visible.

    I have started on a new fingerboard in ebony. It will be impossible to re-use the old one, as the piece on the top came off as badly as the neck section came off well. So the upper frets are now a crumbly mess!!

    And finally, once the front is re-built, I have to decide whether to use it or not. Its now in one piece, but what will it sound like? Is the front going to be too scarred to make it worth using? If I build a new top (useful experience?!) what will the effect on the instruments provenance be.......? Here's an old Mureda with a brand new top?!? Hmmmmm?
    It may be decided for me once I finish the top, perhaps.

    More pics soon, Dave
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    Well, I'm back. Nothing for a while because I have been agonising (but not too much to lose sleep over!) how to deal with this problem....
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  25. #75
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    Either side of the fingerboard on the Mureda, has been chiselled out to take pieces of MOP decoration. Trying to bring the top back to some kind of respectability, I needed to do something with gouges.... re-inlay, or remove. I decided on remove.
    That left me with the problem of how. Filling was not really an option, because it always looks hideous. grafting 'new' old wood into the holes was a distinct possibility, but getting a good match is nearly impossible too. I could sand down the top until I got to the bottom of the gouges, but that would leave it painfully thin. I decided on option 3, and figured a re-enforcement below would combat the thickness problem, and still leave the top looking as authentic as possible.
    Here is the plan.
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