Below is a violin by Carlo Fernando Landolfi from 18th Century Milan. It was brought into the shop for restoration.

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The peg box had been fitted with plastic peg bushings by another violin shop. Traditionally when the peg holes are badly worn, the holes are filled with wood and fresh holes are redrilled. In this case the plastic peg bushing has caused the neck graft and old repairs to come apart. I suspect there was a conflict between the wooden scroll expanding and shrinking with the seasons and the rigid plastic.

An old repair on the side of the peg box had come loose. After discussing with the owner, we decided to redo the old repair to give much needed strength to the pegbox.

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The old repair was removed and new wood was fitted in. When fitting the new piece of maple, I avoided removing any more original wood other than what was necessary .

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After varnish retouching was complete, new peg holes were reamed for the pegs. The scroll may need a new neck graft, but for the time being it seems stable. The violin is now in use everyday.

Years ago I had photographed this violin before the plastic bushings were done by the violin dealer. It was very useful for the owner and I to be able to compare what had actually broken loose over that time.

Note: This Landolfi violin is now part of the University of Ottawa Instrument Collection.  Visit: here for more information.

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