To Cleat or Not to Cleat?

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

I am wondering what the advantage and disadvantage of cleating when repairing a crack. I was under the impression that repaired cracks should always be cleated, but the last couple of repairs I had did not involve any. The crack was just glued shut. Is there any disadvantage in not using cleats? And are there any limits to where and how cleats can be used?

Thanks in advance.

[Dobe]

I suppose it depends upon the location & extent of the crack. I'm a big fan of cleats, but if the crack is closing up nicely & hard to reach, maybe none needed.

I recently did a similar repair to this on a Cello in need
Check out the cleating action here:

http://www.devonstrings.co.uk/german_cello_repairs.html

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Dobe - that's an amazing feat of restoration on your site. Yes there are quite a few cleats - probably the most I have seen on one instrument. I guess it really helps when the top of the instrument can easily come off. I wish they had done that on the mandolin.

I am particularly impressed by how you patch in a piece of new wood on to the 'wing' section of the bass. From a side view, it looks like the grain of the wood in the new piece almost matches up to the old grain perfectly:



Great work, and thanks for your feedback on the cleat question.

[Michael Lewis]

generally if the crack is fresh and fits together well hot hide glue will make it stronger than the original material and should hold nicely. If the area is likely to be stressed or doesn't fit perfectly then maybe cleats are called for.

[Big Joe]

It used to be standard practice for many to use cleats on just about any crack. With a proper repair, and modern adhesives as well as good hide glue it is really not needed that often. We are currently restoring an 1880 upright bass that is a hand carved German bass. It has had numerous bad repairs over its life. We have removed well over 100 cleats from this bass and have had to reglue many of the cracks but have not had to use a single cleat. It is holding very well and we have no expectation of having any issues in the future. Cleats can be an asset in those cases where the extra structural support is needed, but they will also restrict the movement of the plates to a certain degree and the more of them you have the more it will impede the original output. If it can be repaired without the use of cleats then that would be my recommendation.

[Dobe]

FYI, those pics were not from my restoration, simply a guide for me on a Cello which needed the same repairs (aint' the internet great!). Came out nicely though, $75 CL score that had obviously taken a bad hit to the top- Came from an impressive shop out of New Mexico, check out some of the high coin wood these guys have :

http://robertsonviolins.com/index.ph...olin-inventory

Only part that bummed me out is that I can't play Cello for squat. Went to a nice young player who was ready to move up to a 4/4. He sure made it sound good !