an e-friend on another list told me this about his oud:
Something strange happened to my oud recently. I took it out of the
case and the strings were lying flat on the neck, still in tune. The belly seems to have sunk ...
if there's a doctor in the house, may i ask what's up ... or down ... with his oud?
- billDr. Oud - 10-23-2005 at 03:02 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by billkilpatrick...if there's a doctor in the house, may i ask what's up ... or down ... with his oud?
- bill
With the risk of making a diagnosis without even a picture, I would surmise that the braces in the lower section that bear the brunt of the string
pressure have delaminated or become unglued to the body. The force of the strings has driven the face down into the body, collapsing the structure
and the strings end up laying on the face. Not so much a catastrophe, however, especially if this happened from an accidental blow or pressure on the
face, like it was sat on because it was left on a chair or bed. If it occured without any trauma ther is a bigger problem that the structure failed to
to an improper brace design. This would require a rebuild of the face.
The repair (if no other damage is evident) is to remove the edge along the sunken portion so that the end of the braces are exposed. Pull the braces
up so that the top of the brace is flush with the edge of the body, then reglue the end of each brace to the inside of the top rib. You can use long
rubber bands or masking tape to close the glue joint, but there is a problem keeping the top of the brace flush with the edge. I use a small cleat
with a notch that raises the band above the top of the face, and sometimes some thin shims under the face to pull it up. You can make rubber bands by
cuting strips from old bicycle inner tubes. These are usually free at any bicycle repair shop. The strips can be tied together to provide the same
tension at each position.
If hide glue was used, a litlle warm water will soften the glue and a small amount of additional glue may need to be added. If the water has no
effect, the old glue should be removed carefully with a heated thin pallette knife before regluing with another synthetic glue. I'd reccoment epoxy
for this condition, as hide glue will not adhere to the remaining synthetic glue on the surface of the glue joint. DO NOT SAND THE OLD GLUE OFF! This
will remove material from the end of the brace and it won't fit the body. If the braces are found to be too short to butt against the body snugly, a
small shim may be added to fill the void. Don't use glue or a filler to close the butt joint. Now replace the edging and oila! It's done! Piece of
cake. (You're welcome).billkilpatrick - 10-23-2005 at 04:06 AM
i've sent your COMPREHENSIVE, EXTREMELY KIND and GENEROUS reply on to the poor man and his than well oud.
