Major Repair Example 2

After separating the piece from the block I was able to rejoin the piece to the treble side rib using masking tape to pull the seam together from both sides and a counter form (padded blocks that fit the contour of both the inside and outside) on each face to ensure a perfectly flat surface. The results were satisfactory as you can see in the picture below.

The line from the break should essentially disappear after some touch ups. The back surface of the rib I reinforced with a material that I like to use that is strong, thin, and lightweight and should last the life of the instrument. The block glued right back in place and the rib glued to the block with the material in between. I simply feathered out the edges so the ribs joined perfectly again at the center of the block.

The top is also moving along with the large touch up areas. I sanded the areas with a very fine grit paper to feather out the edges so that when I start applying the color I get an even and invisible transition. If the feathering is not done, the color builds up on the broken edges of the finish producing a dark "line." After the sanding I applied a very light ground color, then applied a coat of very thin varnish to re-seal the wood. I can now begin layering color in thin layers with layers of varnish in between to get back to the original color. You can see the progress in the picture below.