Button Grafts

November 7, 2007 at 11:09 AM · It won't effect anything if it's done halfway right. When I get a quote, I divide it by a reasonable hourly wage and think about it that way. Sometimes instrument repairers will give you a high quote because they don't want to do the work. Sometimes that's because they have difficulty with that job, or have never done it before, for that matter. So a high quote doesn't always translate to the extra good-looking result it might imply. Here you've got $50/hr x three solid 8 hr days = about $100k/year (hr'ly wage x 2 x 1000 is the usual fast estimate). Why would it take up three whole days to do it...and so on.

November 7, 2007 at 11:46 AM · I think the price is ok. It's a time consuming job and may envolve:

1 - removing the neck;

2 - removing the back;

3 - dovetailing a new piece of wood under the button;

4 - covering the new wood with a "veneer" made with the original button;

5 - perhaps adding an ebony crown to disguise the job;

6 - gluing the back to the rib cage;

7 - cleaning the mortise and the neck root and preparing it to be reglued;

8 - reglue and aligne the neck;

9 - perhaps some varnish retouch;

10 - perhaps a new bridge;

11 - there may be more things to do too.

Just my two cents.

November 7, 2007 at 01:22 PM · Most likely what you are having done would more accurately be called a button patch, the difference being original wood being reinforced vs a graft where new wood altogether is used. As Manfio suggests, it is a large job, at least the way most people do it, and the estimate seems about right to me.

November 7, 2007 at 03:16 PM · Costs will vary depending on your location, but if the repair, as Andy suggested, is a "button patch" AND the cost includes resetting of the neck (which is most likely required as well), the estimate actually seems rather cheap, IMHO. I'm more than willing to admit it could easily be nearly twice the high estimate in my shop depending on the damage. As Manfio mentioned, the repair is a sizeable one. A patch requires removal of the back, repair of the button, a cast of the area, installation of a patch, re-attachment of the back, a neck reset, touchup and possibly some setup work.

If you are insured, I would think you were probably covered?

In the case of a button patch, the use of a chalk fit patch rather than a dovetail would do away with requirement an ebony crown....

Jeffrey

November 8, 2007 at 09:57 PM · I notice a lot of online estimates for button grafts ( and you're right, btw - it is actually a patch - the button is intact) include a new bridge, as does Luis' assesment of what might need to be done. Why would that be necessary?

The shop is in Santa Fe, and the luthier is a longtime friend of my husband's, so that might account for the low estimate.

I hadn't gotten around to getting this instrument insured...I will now - but does insurance pay for accidents which are essentially my fault?

November 8, 2007 at 10:07 PM · Why a new bridge?

Since the instrument will be apart anyway, it's a good time to make any needed neck angle corrections.

Also, even if they attempt to keep the neck angle exactly the same, it's difficult to anticipate exactly how much that might change once string tension is applied. Final bridge height is determined with strings up to pitch. There's some chance that it won't need a new bridge.

November 8, 2007 at 10:37 PM · "I hadn't gotten around to getting this instrument insured...I will now - but does insurance pay for accidents which are essentially my fault?"

The key word is "accident", and yes, a good policy should cover damage caused by an accident (no matter who had it).

November 9, 2007 at 04:00 AM · IF you don't play professionally, this accdent may be covered under a homeowner's insurance policy. Of course if you have a $1000 deductible, it's not worth bothering with.

November 9, 2007 at 06:52 PM · I do play professionally - so it's not covered by my home owners insurance...oh well. I plug in, so I have a baggs bridge - a little more expensive than your average bridge, even though baggs gives me an artist deal...I hope that the bridge doesn't need to be replaced - it'll be a pain to have a new 5-string bridge cut, unsolder the old connections, re-solder new ones, etc....

November 14, 2007 at 02:31 AM · Hello all,

I'm new to this site, an adult re-learner of the violin. My question is about ebony crowns-Is this always to disguise a repair? Could this also disguise an entirely new neck/scroll? Or would it not be necessary in that case? I am considering an older violin with a "crown" and am just wondering...