His Beautiful Violin Fell Apart!! Doubling Button on 260 Year Old German Violin

What happens when you leave an 1760's violin hanging on a wall? Especially when you are stuck 2,200Km away during COVID lockdowns...
Nothing good...
Actually... It just falls apart.
Watch Olaf as he doubles the button on the back to bring stability back into the neck of the violin.

00:00 Introduction
01:23 Removing the old button
03:33 Gluing button back on
05:50 Making a counter mould
07:30 Removing wood ready for doubling
12:32 Fitting the wood for doubling and gluing
15:00 Cutting back the area ready to close violin
19:36 Gluing one more crack before closing the violin
20:06 Gluing the back onto the violin
22:27 Gluing on fingerboard and cleaning underneath
23:36 Fitting in little slithers of wood on the ribs
25:10 Cutting back all the wood to the right shape
27:38 Preparing the area for varnish and putting on first coat
29:30 Retouching the area
33:22 Polishing and finishing the violin
36:33 Putting on the strings and first sounds
38:55 Conclusion

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[Highlander]

We rarely see button repair videos because it's a very expensive, time consuming repair that few can afford, especially on lower grade instruments. Many thanks to Olaf for showing us the huge amount of work involved in this kind of repair.

[shubus]

Had to STOP watching this vid, and make some coffee. Now with a hot cuppa in hand am already to enjoy this amazing repair. Thanks, Olaf!

[mellissadalby]

Hi Olaf!
How's it going?
I carved my first bridge (for my old student violin). It turned better than I expected. Still a bit thick, but the instrument is more playable and sounds better, so I think I did something right.
That's the most advanced violin type thing I have done so far.
I'm not looking to makie violins or work on anyone else's violins, but it is good to better understand how to do these things.

[salossi]

Ha! My main violin was built by August Geipel / Stettin. Beautiful instruments!!! My Geipel is called "Marianne", and she has some of the most beautiful maple, particularly at neck and scroll, that I've ever seen on a violin.

[ssbq]

Hi Olaf, I'm really surprised that there aren't a number of crack repairs on such an old instrument.

[markuswx]

One of your more in-depth repair videos, and much appreciated. You’re right; a button inlay is not a job for a hobbyist luthier.

[alfabsc]

Thanks for documenting your repair of the beautiful old instrument. You are an artist!

[robinengland]

Excellent video, enjoyed watching your quality workmanship.

[SWAMPTTHING]

LOL, thanks for sharing the Holiday 😏

[FJSerranoLV]

I don't particularly love the violin... BUT, I like the passion and the love you put into your work...
And I'm also learning English.. 😂
Good videos..
Saludos desde España..👍👍

[bohopper]

You did a beautiful job on the repair and the video. Thank you for sharing!

[LaskMaestro]

At the beginning of the repair, the instrument looked so impoverished. By the end, just WOW. You are a miracle worker! I just love to watch the progression of your repair work.

[gryffynda]

I opened my Ludwig Aschauer violin some years back to find that the neck button had popped 😢. I took it to be repaired by an extremely skilled luthier but it has never sounded the same since.

[stanjohnson]

Absolutely breathtaking beautiful repair. I have an old timer French fiddle made before 1736 looks dark like this one.

[RelaxationMusic]

This sound is amazing :o thank you for saving it for more than 160 years )

[edmiller]

Another outstanding restoration you’ve done, Olaf. It’s amazing what you are able to fix on an instrument a century and a half old ! Skill, patience, and a bit of artistry. Bravo !

[zacktaylor]

Thanks for showing the button repair but why was the fingerboard replaced ?

[racl]

Incredible repair. Real Artist you are. What is the cost of a broken button and neck separation repair such as this ?.

[BrianTimmonsTX]

Olaf, at 22:42 when you clean the area under the fingerboard, what do you use for that step, and how long does that usually take? I imagine that decades or even centuries of accumulated gunk would be difficult to dissolve and remove without also damaging the varnish somehow!

[WhiteDragon]

Olaf, you always have such interesting repair videos.