That would be great! I'd love to contact him.
The great thing about messing with old instruments (and I work withviolins from the late 1800s) is that they can be taken apart at will,old glue cleaned off, and reglued because of some wonderful stuffcalled hide glue that dissolves in hot water, yet holds wood in a tightbond until dissolved or shattered with a sharp blow. It's been used formany centuries, and is still used for all reputable repairs. So if any"experiment" doesn't work...the glue is dissolved and the whole thingis back to its original state.
Coooool.....
Anyway, it had so many hairline cracks that Igently broke andreglued so it will bear the weight of strings. My main task has beenremoving old faulty bonds with hot water and gluing cracks. It's in twopieces right now, waiting to be reglued.
Making a top involves a bit of detective work and some fine carpentry.What was the maker's intent? Are there clues in the body of theinstrument as to the shape of the piece? How is it supposed to beplayed? How are the pieces attached? How will it sound? How manymillimeters thick should it be? The answers are all in the instrumentitself!
It's an old and amazing craft, lutherie! Violins (and their odd relatives!) are fascinating.
Thanks for your detective work!
Rose