Is it possible just to glue the thin lath back on to the bottom of the wooden chin rest, then tighten the metal with a bent paper clip so it grips the violin? I am presuming one should not glue anything to the violin itself? Obviously I would normally go to a violin shop but I am new to this area and I don’t think they’d be open in lockdown anyway.
I played my fiddle this morning without the chin rest (but with a shoulder rest) and it was okay - not as secure or as comfortable, but okay.
Would it be best not to do anything myself but just wait till I can get someone experienced to either mend this chin rest or fit a new one?
My fiddle (though I love her dearly) is not an expensive one, and I have another to practise on if need be.
Doe anyone have experience of refitting a chin rest that fell off?
I’d be very grateful for any advice, even if it’s just ‘Leave Well Alone’!
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More recently I have substituted rubber for the cork on all my chinrests (4 violins and 2 violas) with great benefit to the tone quality produced by all the instruments.
This is the product I purchased from Amazon for this purpose although, unfortunately they do not stock it at this time:
Neoprene Rubber Black Self-Adhesive Sponge Strip 5/8" Wide x 5/64" Thick x 33 feet Long
The blade of a small screwdiver, such as used for eyeglass repair, can be used. A minimalist tool for chinrest-hardware tightening is usually provided with each chinrest and a fancy tool can be bought for about $4.
Mollie,
I did have several chinrests fail/break down on me. I glued the cork back on my chin using superglue in the past. Since I am paranoid about leaving a mark on my instrument, I let it dry for over a week before putting it on my instrument.
In one case, I started using a piece of smooth leather instead of cork like Paul. I didn't use any glue, I used the chinrest clamp pressure to keep the piece of leather in place instead of using any glue.
For screwing the clamp on and off, I used a small chinrest "key" that normally came with a new chinrest when I order one.
Any damage should be less than "skin deep." Certainly no worse than other normal surface damage our instruments suffer from regular use over a lifetime. I'll let my heirs worry about it.
Besides, any luthier should be able to neaten any damage of that type.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure my shoulder rest feet left some permanent dark/black marks on my violin. I put it on the exact spot each time and I don't think there is anything I can do about it because it turned contact points dark and it isn't coming off.
It gave me the confidence to effect a repair, which I hope will last.
Best wishes,
Mollie
Andrew is using neoprene, which is not the same as natural rubber, and is pretty resistant to the ravages of time. I use the same stuff, on his recommendation, and it's pretty stable (more than cork).
In fact, I have a lot left over, if anyone in the US is interested, PM me. You can send me a stamped, addressed envelope and I can send you half a foot of the stuff, should be enough for multiple chin rests.
So there’s no right or wrong choice. You just have to experiment and be open to the results. The “Guarneri” design chinrest has been ubiquitous to the point of being “standard” for many years, and many players have never tried anything else. I think that they should try different designs. They might be surprised and pleased with the results.
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The little screws on the chin-rest clamp can be tightened by any piece of thicker wire. I take the little wire handle off of small (1") black binder clip and the end fits perfectly into the hole and it's nice rigid metal. Obviously you have to avoid poking any piece of wire through and scratching the rib of your violin.