French Bass Brace advice

[Adrian Levi]

Still on topic with the bass in this thread , I am in need of some more advice if possible ...

I have started cleaning up the ribs which are in pretty good shape with the exception of the one lower bout that I cleaned up in part today.
I removed a veneer that was epoxied on by using steam to help loosen it.The
rib is now very weak. There is still epoxy residue on the rib which Ill remove when the rib is dry again.
Attached are a couple of before and after pics, there are a lot of cracks etc.

I've had to now clamp the rib with flat pieces of wood on the inside so that it keeps its original shape.
Any insight on the next step to saving the rib would be great ....?

[Matthew Tucker]

How has the original doubling repair failed?

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

How has the original doubling repair failed?

The original doubling was strong enough , but had holes cut in it to accept long glued pieces of wood . Also it was a cheap type plastic wood mix kind of thing, and in my opinion did not belong on the bass.If I put another real wood veneer onto the rib it would regain its strength but I was thinking of perhaps using thin willow or spruce strips with linen strips in between from lining to lining ?

[Pino Cazzaniga]

I prefer willow or poplar or spruce strips than veneer.
I would glue the linen strips a bit on the linings too, to prevent cracks at their inner edges.

[Matthew Tucker]

I think if you can be assured of a good glue joint them a veneer doubling would be strongest especially if the rib is badly damaged. So effectively you have a new rib but with the old rib becoming a decorative veneer itself. And if you're going to replace the linings then the doubling can go edge to edge.

But getting a good glue joint on such a large surfaces is tricky, it is much more practical to fit and clamp softwood strips and/or linen Ã* la Bollbach

[Thomas Erickson]

Japanese paper?

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Thomas Erickson

Japanese paper?

Tell me more ???

I've seen brown cardboard box type paper being used before but have never been able to find out much about it .

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

I think if you can be assured of a good glue joint them a veneer doubling would be strongest especially if the rib is badly damaged. So effectively you have a new rib but with the old rib becoming a decorative veneer itself. And if you're going to replace the linings then the doubling can go edge to edge.

But getting a good glue joint on such a large surfaces is tricky, it is much more practical to fit and clamp softwood strips and/or linen Ã* la Bollbach

Matthew , that link you sent was kind of what I had in mind , that repair looks
super stable.

[Matthew Tucker]

Stefano Sciascia told me the ribs of his cornerless bass (the one I copied) are lined completely with linen from end-to end. The bass still sounds beautiful.