The bane of my existence these days is a viola. It arrived quite innocently a few days ago, and I felt instant pity -- for the child playing it as well as for the viola itself. It is large, it is red, it is ugly. The fingerboard had deep grooves worn into it. The pegs looked like they had been gnawed by rats. One of them was clearly splintering and had been inexpertly repaired with epoxy. The bridge also had the look of having been designed and crafted by rats. Nothing on it worked.
I started work on the pegs, and only a few minutes into this I realized that a) I wasn't going to be able to refit the pegs it came with in a satisfactory manner, b) I didn't have another set of pegs big enough and c) I had not brought any peg bushing materials. I felt quite strongly that I couldn't possibly hand the viola back in its now unplayable state -- what to do?
It was then Anna remembered some dowels lying about the room she is staying in. We fetched the dowels, and I received the first set of blisters shaping them into peg bushings.
I started work on the pegs, and only a few minutes into this I realized that a) I wasn't going to be able to refit the pegs it came with in a satisfactory manner, b) I didn't have another set of pegs big enough and c) I had not brought any peg bushing materials. I felt quite strongly that I couldn't possibly hand the viola back in its now unplayable state -- what to do?
It was then Anna remembered some dowels lying about the room she is staying in. We fetched the dowels, and I received the first set of blisters shaping them into peg bushings.
It was a little clumsy working like this ... the other problem was the fingerboard. Once I had planed the grooves out, it was bright white maple, and pretty soft at that. Desperate times call for desperate measures. It might not always be easy to come up with suitable paints or stains, but you can count on the universal female wish to be pretty. We purchased a bottle of black nail polish and I set to work.
The worst part was the smell!
When I was touching up the peg bushings, mosquitoes (who seemed to be attracted to the smell of the alcohol in the varnish) would land on my hands. I'd shoo them away, they'd come back and sit on my face, or neck. I'd put down Big Red and the varnish brush and wait patiently for them to land again, so I could smack them. They'd disappear. I'd pick up the viola and brush again, only to find the varnish had dried out in my palette and the mosquitoes were back in force.
The soundpost had fallen over, but unfortunately, some helpful person (or maybe another rat) had glued the endpin in place, so I can only hope I set it back up somewhat straight.
When I tried to put the setup back on, it turned out the ugly bridge is now too low. The only other viola bridge I have is used and there isn't enough foot on it to fit it to the arching. I am still trying to work out a solution (make a bridge from scratch??).
I received the second set of blisters cutting the pegs to size.
When we took off a couple of hours (the first time off all week) to go to the beach, we were caught in a tropical downpour. I gave up the day as a bad job and took a long nap.
Tomorrow we start teaching, but I guess I will have to find time for Big Red somewhere in there. (Shim the bridge, maybe?)
When I was touching up the peg bushings, mosquitoes (who seemed to be attracted to the smell of the alcohol in the varnish) would land on my hands. I'd shoo them away, they'd come back and sit on my face, or neck. I'd put down Big Red and the varnish brush and wait patiently for them to land again, so I could smack them. They'd disappear. I'd pick up the viola and brush again, only to find the varnish had dried out in my palette and the mosquitoes were back in force.
The soundpost had fallen over, but unfortunately, some helpful person (or maybe another rat) had glued the endpin in place, so I can only hope I set it back up somewhat straight.
When I tried to put the setup back on, it turned out the ugly bridge is now too low. The only other viola bridge I have is used and there isn't enough foot on it to fit it to the arching. I am still trying to work out a solution (make a bridge from scratch??).
I received the second set of blisters cutting the pegs to size.
When we took off a couple of hours (the first time off all week) to go to the beach, we were caught in a tropical downpour. I gave up the day as a bad job and took a long nap.
Tomorrow we start teaching, but I guess I will have to find time for Big Red somewhere in there. (Shim the bridge, maybe?)
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