French Bass Brace advice

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Matt, the work looks good.

Adrien, being that you can see the bass in person and we can't you have to decide the method of attack. Personally, I think a complete re-joint of the center with an even strip in the middle would look best and be the safest way to go. This way, you can trust the joint you made. If not and it fails again where you didn't touch it, then it's back to square one again. Do it once and do it good.

Thats exactly what Ill do , a complete re-joint .... Ill start early January and post pics etc

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Adrian Levi

PS-is Warne really making a comeback ?

dunno. I'm not into footy much.

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

dunno. I'm not into footy much.

Matthew please tell me that you're kidding
An Ozzy that equates Shane Warne with footy

( I guess that this qualifies as a total thread derail )

[Thomas Erickson]

Originally Posted by wayne holmes

now that you have this to my level- I will post

Hello, you'te on basstalk with Bo and Pluck the Fidler brothers--don't play like my brotha and don't play like my brotha.

Hi, This is Tootie from Fruitland. My bass is an old upright and it has a footy smell to it. Bo-Geeze, I don't know, why don't we pose the question to our listening audience- Pluck- good idea Bo, go ahead- okay- has anyone out there ever had their bass smell footyly?

That was ten years ago and no one since has ever heard of much less smelled of a footy bass, until today on the Ken Smith forum. Will Footy and Warne ever get back together, will Warne make a comeback-we hope so and we hope the best for Footy too.

Hey Wayne - I bet if you were interested in making a film about double bass repair that Tommy Chong would be willing to produce it...

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by wayne holmes

now that you have this to my level- I will post

Hello, you'te on basstalk with Bo and Pluck the Fidler brothers--don't play like my brotha and don't play like my brotha.

Hi, This is Tootie from Fruitland. My bass is an old upright and it has a footy smell to it. Bo-Geeze, I don't know, why don't we pose the question to our listening audience- Pluck- good idea Bo, go ahead- okay- has anyone out there ever had their bass smell footyly?

That was ten years ago and no one since has ever heard of much less smelled of a footy bass, until today on the Ken Smith forum. Will Footy and Warne ever get back together, will Warne make a comeback-we hope so and we hope the best for Footy too.

OMG, Wayne, must you turn every hint into a complete Circus. Please tell me this is a rare occasion and you will stop the silliness.

Maybe I have to go back and clean all this up now. Someone PAY ME!!!!!

[Anselm Hauke]

ken, it´s your forum, you are the boss.
but sometimes i think the forum (and maybe you too) would benefit if you could expand your comfort zone regarding humor a little bit.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

ken, it´s your forum, you are the boss.
but sometimes i think the forum (and maybe you too) would benefit if you could expand your comfort zone regarding humor a little bit.

Oh, I'm comfortable.. lol.. I just don't want the main topic to be buried by circus animals.

50/50 would be nice. Make a comment on topic and throw a joke in. Jokes alone are childish after awhile. Adrien is doing his best to bring basses back to life in an area that doesn't have people he can visit to help. This Forum is basically his life line. So, 50/50 I would say is a comfort zone.. for the most part..

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

So, 50/50 I would say is a comfort zone.. for the most part..

i agree

[Adrian Levi]

BTW , whilst taking the back off and cleaning it up I found that by using cotton wool soaked in dark vinegar dissolved white wood glue , and very effectively as well .
Here is a pic of glue removal on the one rib of the bass that we are discussing that had a been doubled with veneer and Gorilla glue.
The vinegar also seems to lift stains/dirt.I'm not sure that it would be a good idea to leave the vinegar on for too long though in terms of possible wood damage ....

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by wayne holmes

Our 50/50 bonus
Puzzler of the week---what is or who is a footy? Is it something that Ken has, maybe Arnold has one. Would Ken need or want one? How much are they, maybe I'll get him one for Xmas. If he doesn't like it can he exchange it for something more hanty?

Though to most folks, 'Footy' is Australian Rules Football at our house we always refer to these as footies. Or these...

Ken would need to decide whether they're for him...

[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 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.

[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

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.

I've experimented with gluing linen into wood to see how much punishment it can take and found that it is incredibly strong. Seeing that it shrinks a bit after drying it seems to hold cracks together very nicely. The weight to area ratio also makes sense to me ,it weighs a fraction of what wood does and is simple to get near perfect gluing contact.