An old violin, ca.1800-1820, Saxony, Klingenthal, Markneukirchen or possibly even Tyrolean

A violin from the 1800s, where chinrests were still not yet in fashion. Take a look at the wear of the varnish, all natural and the great patina associated with this old violin. This violin is likely to have been made in Saxony/Kingenthal region of then Germany i believe. It's gonna be a lot of work to restore, some things to do on the checklist of restoration and repair:

1) Remove neck and reset neck angle

2) Replace fingerboard

3) Cut a new nut

4) Repair and secure rib cracks(2 to 3 of them)

5) Color match bridge area wear of violin

6) Cut a new bridge

7) Mend the sides which were chipped off

8) Re-bush peg holes/repair neck

9) Protective wax coating

10) Install and cut new soundpost

............think that's it for nowww!:)

A shot of the violin after i removed the fingerboard. The neck seems too thin and will probably require replacing so that future warping of the neck is minimized.

The interesting thing about some old violins like that of Stradivari etc, if i am not mistaken, were also varnished with the fingerboard on the instrument, hence we see there is a strip of varnish which is 'missing'.

Take a look the the bridge wear!! Nasty, but thank God there are no post cracks! In addition, admire the close grained spruce, extremely fine grain and of a beautiful quality. The materials used in the construction of this violin are indeed top notch!

Some wear caused by the fine tuners of the tailpiece hitting the belly of the violin=X

A close-up of the bridge wear! The bridge has been digging into the violin belly, past the varnish, ground and all that's there is bare wood!

Take a look at the overall patina of the instrument! Looks gorgeous to me! This photo also betrays the 2 sides which will need repair and replacing.

A close up of the side which needs repair. The sides are usually worn off over time.

Take a look at the hole near the neck of the violin. This hole was originally a pin marker used to centralize the belly and the back to the top and end blocks! Some replacement wood will be necessary!

A bad knock to the front bass side of the top caused this ugly mark. Thank God, no cracks again!

Take a look at the exceedingly fine flamed maple used in the construction of this violin. The ribs show awesome flaming and the one piece back is a beauty! The pictures do it no justice! I shall try and get some better lighting and take some more photos of the violin!

Here, a piece of close grained spruce is being fitted to the side for repair.

After the initial planing and measuring, a smaller piece of repair wood is to cut to be glued to the side.

Planing of the side surface of the wood to make it a flush fit. Extra care was taken to ensure that the purfling was not planed off!

Some freshly made hide glue awaiting a glue joint!