DIY balalaika repair

Hello friends! They asked me to repair the balalaika. Rather, to make her beautiful - as a gift. But once you do, then do it right!

Balalaika - born in 1979. It was made, apparently, as a souvenir, as evidenced by the inscription on the deck. But apparently not destiny .. worked at the School of Music. Time, of course, did not spare her. The deck is in cracks, the rivets also diverge in places. The varnish is almost peeled off

At first I just wanted to separate the deck, glue it, make new springs and assemble. But as they say - appetite comes with eating.

Deca opened

Hooks and backs - disassembled

I figured it out pretty easily with hot water and a knife.

Further, checking, and adjusting where necessary, glued the rivets back. Then he glued the backside. It's the deck's turn. He glued all the cracks, cleaned off the old coating, cut in the decoration of the voice ring

Glued new springs, having previously asked them the desired dome

I glued the bends to the body and processed them

Well, everything seems to be ready to close the case

CLOSE!

After drying, we process everything. We prepare the edges, adjust the grooves for them and glue them. We cut the decorations into the corners of the deck. Align the fretboard, set and process the frets. This is followed by processing, preparation for painting and painting itself.

Then we cook and glue the shell. We make a new stand and nut. The bottom one is glued together with the piping.

We put the strings. Setting up! Well, that's actually what happened!

Such is the Russian mulatto. I played the balalaika for the first time in my life. Guys, we shouldn't have forgotten this folk instrument. I want to play and play!

Apparently, having heard my thoughts, my friends brought me another find. Also a Leningrad balalaika, but only with a plastic case.

Recently they brought a balalaika for overhaul - the instrument is badly worn out by daily heavy use. The tasks were as follows: replacing worn-out frets, replacing mother-of-pearl markers, making a new stand, replacing a plywood shell with an ebony one, completely over-varnishing with transparent varnish.

We remove the strings from the balalaika, carefully remove the frets - the main thing is to save the fretboard from chipping. Ebony is very fragile, and with inept actions, small (and sometimes large) pieces of ebony are gouged out. Of course, chips can be putty, but the presentation of the tool will be lost.

Further - the shell, here the former master decided to fix it unconventionally - to nail it down. This is not worth doing - metal and wood are too different materials. Over time, the nail begins to corrode, and gradually loosened from vibrations, it ceases to hold the shell.

The tuning machine turned out to be completely clean - no lubrication! The mechanics in the balalaika must be lubricated at least once every six months, then it will serve for a long time. We also remove the nut for a while.

When the fretboard has no frets, we change the old mother-of-pearl points to new ones. Using a bar with a skin, we go over the lining, remove the remnants of the glue and the protruding mother-of-pearl. We check the absence of irregularities with a ruler - the overlay on the balalaika should be absolutely straight.

Now we drive in new frets. I always put the frets on the glue, so they sit more securely in their grooves, not reacting to changes in temperature and humidity. Another important thing is that glue is an additional conductor of sound from the fret to the fretboard. I put frets from stainless steel, they are more durable and stronger than their cheaper counterparts from nickel silver. It remains to align the entire fret row, roll up the flat tops of the frets, achieving the original semicircular profile. We will also process the ends of the frets with files so that we do not injure our hands when playing.At the end, we go through all the frets with a sandpaper, starting with the large one and ending with the smallest one. I will definitely polish the frets to a mirror shine - then it's a pleasure to play! I never neglect such a trifle as to close the gaps between the fretboard and the end of the fret. It is aesthetically pleasing and practical: less dirt gets in - fewer fret problems.

Having done all the previous operations, let's start with the shell. With a sharp knife, we will outline the contours of the future workpiece, then with a jigsaw we will cut out the shell itself with small allowances. Cut out new spacers connecting the shell to the deck. We carefully adjust everything to each other - there should be no gaps.

We remove all the old varnish from the body and head. This is a long and painstaking procedure. Of course, we do not forget about health: a respirator will protect the lungs from dust, which is inevitable during grinding. I don’t save money here - the professional respiratory system from ZM works as it should!

Before varnishing, we seal the cracks and pores in the balalaika body. Next, we apply a primer, it evens out the surface of the wood, has excellent adhesion and dries quickly. The primer does not have time to penetrate deeply into the pores, thus, does not bind the deck. After sanding, apply varnish.

Dry, grind and lash again. Then we sand with a sandpaper, gradually reducing the grain. We polish to a deep gloss. I use ZM abrasive and polishing pastes, this is a professional line of materials, with which a high quality of the finishing layer is achieved.

Let's not forget to lubricate the tuners.

We fix the shell, tighten the strings.

The owner of the instrument asked to install a pickup on the balalaika. The AKG 411 contact condenser microphone was chosen from a wide range of options and attaches directly to the deck using a sticky compound.

When the owner came to pick up the instrument, he did not recognize his balalaika: the balalaika looks like new, and it sounds much better.

It is better to take a violin sensor, because the dimensions of the bridge are more consistent. There, as a rule, it is not a piezo that goes, but an electret film is substituted under the bridge support.

Sancho said correctly about the magnetic sound. You can, of course, wind your own in the size 1/2.

put in the neck and in the bridge and switch in series / parallel.

I would bring the piezo to a separate socket by installing the built-in buffer, from there - to an external preamp.

Where is Peter with his eternal "Put X2H and not steam mosk"

Serebrov, but did not think to make double strings. If a custom, then in full.

> Sorry for the lamer question: is it possible to make a passive pickup (humb or single) with an active piezo? So as not to make two different outputs from each sound.

There is such a thing. As I understand it, it was made for guitars by Tom Andersen, who asked to mix passive pickups with a piezo.

BUT!
What for? To save wires? Ideally, the sound from the piezo should go to an acoustic combo, and from the magnetic sound to an electric guitar combo. With two outputs, there are many more possibilities for wiring sound. You can hang a delay on a piezo, for example, and put a magnetic one through a drive or tremolo for a surf-style sound. In this case, the wires are used standard guitar, not stereo, which then xs, where to stick.

1 MANUFACTURING AND REPAIR OF BALALAYAC 1

Fig. 3 1. Six-riveted balalaika: 1 - closed-type head mechanics; 2-headstock; 3- nut; 4 - handle; 5-pad; 6-dice; 7-springs; 8 - shell (bend); 9-deck, 10-stand; 11 - back; 12- lower nut; 13-back; 14 - wedges on the back; 15- lining on the back; 16, 17, 18-body wedges; 19 - the heel of the bar; 20-cover of the tuner; 21 - strings; 22 - fret plates, 23 - points; 24- cover on the deck; 25- shell; 26 - socket; 27 corners; 28-buttons 3

4 Balalaika-prima is tuned like this: Balalaika-second is tuned like this: Balalaika-alto is tuned and sounds one octave lower than the written one: Balalaika-bass is tuned like this: Balalaika-contrabass is tuned and sounds one octave lower than the written one: 4

5 Making the neck blank The neck handle is made of hardwood: beech, walnut, mahogany, rosewood, ebony, etc. It is believed that the heavier the wood, the better the neck is. Well-dried wood is used for neck blanks. The blank of the prima balalaika neck handle is a bar measuring 300 x 60 x 25 mm. After processing, the handle of the neck 1 (Fig. 2) at the end has a slight reduction in section. The heel (3) is glued to the handle with skin glue through a spacer (2), which is cut from birch or walnut veneer with a thickness of 0.5-0.8 mm. If the heel material is the same as the handles, then the spacer can be omitted. It is desirable to maintain the arrangement of layers in the workpiece as shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2. Blank of the neck handle: 1 - the neck handle; 2- gasket; 3-heel; 4 - a set of 3 sheets of veneer The blank is often decorated in the following way. Saw the handle with the glued heel along the centerline and swap the halves. Detach the planes of the future gluing. A set of three sheets of veneer (4) is inserted between the halves of the neck handle: two dark and one light, or two light and one dark. You can limit yourself to one sheet of veneer. The color of the veneer is selected depending on the color of the wood of the neck handle. 5

6 Fig. 3. Marking and sketch of the dice: a - marking the heel of the neck for the dice: cuts with a fine-toothed saw; b - a sketch of a glue; 1, 5-cheeks; 2-contour of the outer part of the glue; 3- contour of the inner part of the glue; 4, 7-cuts; 6 - the upper part of the glue; c - the outer contour of the glue After the glue joints have dried, the heel is marked for further processing (Fig. 3). At a distance of 17 mm from the edge of the heel, draw a line along the contour. Along this line, with a fine-toothed saw, cuts from 1 to 6 are made to the depths shown in Fig. 3, a. To the left and to the right of the heel, maple crackers with dimensions of 16 x 16 x 50 mm 1 and 5 are glued (Fig. 3.6). The layers are directed along the blocks. The upper part of a glue 6 is obtained by sawing off the heel to a depth of 3 mm. The processing of the glue along the contours 2 and 3 is carried out with a chisel, while the outer contour is strictly maintained (Fig. 3, c). They try to undercut up to the inner contour 3. With cuts 4 and 7 (see Fig. 3, b) to a depth of 7 mm finish the pre-processing of the glue. 6

8 Manufacturing of body elements The slab for making wedges should be 2.5 mm thick after finishing planing. Many hardwoods are suitable for making wedges, but maple is preferred by craftsmen. In addition to its peculiar pattern, this breed has good plastic and acoustic properties. The discrepancy in the pattern is especially noticeable in the two center wedges, and this should be taken into account when choosing a set of wedges. Rice. 5. Sizes of balalaika-prima wedges The set is prepared from six boards. They have one plank in reserve in case any wedge breaks. On the planks, the contours of the templates are drawn (Fig. 5) and processed along these contours with a chisel and a plane. Particular attention is paid to the accuracy of processing the wedges on the side from which the vein will be glued. The same side of the wedges has a bevel: for the first wedges 20, for the second 15 and the third for the left 10. The third right wedge is processed only with a chisel, leaving a margin of 3 mm. On the side faces of the wedges with bevels, veins are glued, the color of which depends on the color of the wood of the wedges. As a rule, veins are cut from dyed birch veneer with a thickness of 0.8 mm and a width of 8

9 3.5-4 mm. Glue is applied to the lateral edge of the wedge and the vein. The vein is rubbed with the nose of a metal hammer. If the vein does not stick, it is screwed to the wedge with threads. Rice. 6. Dimensions of the back of the balalaika-prima The back is made of two glued or one whole spruce planks 10 mm thick (Fig. 6). Solid intergrown knots with a diameter of up to 10 mm and located at least 20 mm to the edge of the back are allowed. The back contour is obtained from the template. Each of the six small edges has a bevel angle of about 10, which is sharpened to the required during assembly.The bottom edge also has a bevel of about 20, but in the opposite direction. The back must be well dried and carefully trimmed off. All corner points of the rear contour should be checked for symmetry about the central axis. 9

10 Assembling the balalaika on the template and its subsequent processing On the template 1, fix with a pair of clamps the blank handle of the neck 2 with a prepared glue (Fig. 7). A distance of 280 mm should be maintained from the beginning of the dice to the edge of the back 3, which is also attached to the template with two clamps. When installing the neck handle and the back of the neck, carefully monitor the alignment of the axes of the parts to be fastened with the central axis of the template. The assembly begins with the preparation of the first left wedge 1 (Fig. 8). For the sake of simplicity, the clamps are not shown. Rice. 7. Preparation of the balalaika template for assembly: 1 - template; 2-neck blank; 3 rear Fig. 8. Fitting the first left wedge: 1 - the first left wedge; 2-vein of the first left wedge; 3 - the top of the dice facets; 4 - dumplings; 5-back; 5 - the top of the edges of the back; 7 - pencil line of temporary nail joint The narrow part of the wedge is inserted into the corresponding socket in the glue 4. For a more tight fit of the end of the wedge to the socket, a chamfer is removed on it. The wedge is adjusted in width so that vein 2 glued to 10

15 On the previously stitched back, mark the location of the wedges with a pencil. To do this, connect the vertices of the edges of the back with the center A (Fig. 14, a). The wedges are made of the same breed as the body wedges, choosing a thickness of 2.5-3 mm.Wedge 1 is processed perpendicularly to the face with a plane, adjusting it according to the markings on the backside. and a wedge of the case. The surface of the back is processed with a rasp or zinubel, as well as the reverse side of the wedge. The wedge with the applied glue is pressed into place with several boot nails. The fit of the second wedge is the same as the first. At the time of gluing, a vein of the same color as on the body is placed between the first and second wedge. The vein is immersed in glue before installation. With the fingers of the left hand, remove the excess glue into the oilcloth. Press the second wedge on only two sides, as shown in fig. 15.6. The fifth and sixth wedges are also fixed on both sides (Fig. PO, c). In the area of ​​point A, where the tops of the wedges converge, they clean the area with a cutter and seal it with an insert on the glue. Rice. 14. Scheme of backbone body 15

16 Fig. 15. A set of wedges on the back: a - installation of the first wedge: 1 - wedge 1; 2-shoe nails; b - installation of the second wedge: 1 - vein between the first and second wedges; c - installation of the sixth clia: 1 - platform for insertion Fig. 16. Gluing glazing beads on the back: covering beads; 7 - body wedge; 8 - back; 9 - back wedge If the back wedges are fitted neatly, then between their ends and the ends of the body wedges there will be an angle close to a straight line. If the back wedges do not follow the contour of the body at an equal distance (about 3 mm), then this defect is corrected with a fine-toothed saw, with which the wedges are cut along the length. The dihedral angle formed by the ends of the back wedges 9 and the wedges of the body 7 (Fig. 16) is recommended to be cleaned several times with a tetrahedral file for metal with a large notch. This is how a nest is prepared for the glazing bead lining. The glazing bead is adjusted in the following sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The ends of the glazing bead are cut "on the mustache" with a chisel with an emphasis on the workbench. Glue the glazing bead in the sequence 1, 6, 2, 5, 4, 3. The third serves 16

17 "lock", that is, it is adjusted when all the others are already glued. The glued glazing beads are pressed with a rope according to the scheme (see Fig. 16). For greater clarity, the contour of the back is distorted. For a better fit of the glazing bead to the socket, one of its edges is not made at a right angle. Rice. 17. Placing the back on the backside The dried glazing bead from the side of the back is cut out with a reversible plane flush with the wedges of the back, and from the side of the wedges of the body this operation is performed with a file for metal. The noticed cracks and defects are putty with wood sawdust of the corresponding color with skin glue. After thorough drying, the back is cut out and sanded with sandpaper. The backside is cut into the back (Fig. 17).First, the back, previously sawn out of a dyed birch veneer with a thickness of 1.5 mm, is placed on the wedges of the back and outlined with a sharpened pencil. Along the resulting contour, cut with a cutter to a depth of 1-1.2 mm and choose a nest. The back is glued in (with skin glue) and rubbed in with a hammer. The contour of the butt is recommended to be kept in the dimensions shown in this figure. The shape of the back can be different. 17

Fig. 20 21 Preparation of springs a and - notching with an ax, b-cutting with a knife, c-dimensions of the preparation of balalaikiprnma springs; g-spring, cut according to the template Fig. 22 Bonding springs 1 - deck; 2-spring; 3 - bench press, 4 - clamping ruler Glue the springs with skin glue in the following sequence. On the inside of the deck, thin pencil lines mark the position of the future springs 2 (Fig. 22). Begin gluing from the spring 1. Glue is applied to the arcuate edge of the spring and put the spring in its place. On the front side of the deck 1, put a pressure ruler 4 made of spruce with a section of 25 x 5 mm and set the presses 3. For the best performance of the presses, the edges of the springs are cut off "to the mustache" before applying the glue. At 20

10 meters. The body of the balalaika 6 is fixed on a workbench (Fig. 24) using a clamp (2). In order to prevent the bar handle (3) from sliding on the surface of the workbench 4, a piece of coarse sanding paper is placed under it, folded in half with the grain outward. Glue is applied to the bends, dumplings, spring nests, backside. Deku is put in place. At the same time, exercise extreme caution with the corners of the deck. Using a spacer, 1 pair of shoe nails press the top of the deck against the dice. Putting the pressure ruler 5 on the deck, press it with your left hand to the back. With the right hand, put on a nail driven into the dice, a loop (mm) and, passing it under the body, lead it along the deck to the second nail. Having turned around the second nail, the rope from the bottom of the body is taken out to 21

23 options are shown in fig. 25, b. The corners are cut in the same way as the outlet. The pattern of the corners is selected taking into account the pattern of the outlet. Rice. 25. Cut in corners: a - cutting the deck with an edged thickness gauge; b versions of corners 23

Fig. 29 31. Preparation of sockets for fret wire: 1 - clamp; 2- scale template; 3 - overlay; 4 - bar handle; 5-case Fig. 32. Processing the bar handle: a, b - preliminary filing of the heel; c - treatment of the heel and handle of the neck: 1 - initial profile; 2 - profile after processing with a chisel; 3 - final profile of the neck and its cross-sections 29

32 Manufacturing and installation of saddles and carapace The first cut on the fretboard (Fig. 35, a) is finished to the depth of the fretboard. The resulting nest is cleaned with a chisel and a block of ebony or other hard rock with dimensions of 6 x 8 x 35 mm is glued into it. After drying, the nut is processed with a chisel along the profile shown in Fig. 35, b. Rice. 35. Scheme for installing the nut: a - preparation of the socket for the nut: 1 - fingerboard; 2 - marking the cut under the sill; b - a drawing of the nut with an indication of the main dimensions Fig. 36. Installation diagram of the lower nut: 1 - deck; 2 - staple; 3-back; 4 - back wedges; 5 - back The saddle should also be made of hard rocks. The nest for the nut is prepared as shown in Fig. 36. The carapace for the balalaika is made of a polished plate of painted hornbeam or pear 3-4 mm thick. For these purposes, you can also use three-layer birch plywood without knots. The first part of the AGF carapace contour (fig. 37) is cut out with a jigsaw or a thin bow saw. Chamfer with a rasp and file. The broken line ABCDEF in the figure shows the second part of the contour 32

33 shells. It is obtained by attaching a blank board to the body of the balalaika and tracing the body and the end of the lining with a pencil. The cut in the plate of the BCDE carapace for the overlay is made 2 mm narrower and 4 mm shorter (thereby giving an allowance for processing). Rice. 37.Sketch of the shell blank (bottom side view) 1 - sketch of cutting the shell blank; 2 - section of the shell; 3-section of the glued gasket with veneer From the bottom side of the shell, glue overlays 3 made of veneer with a thickness of 1.5-2 mm. The 15 ° bevels on the BC and DE sections ensure a tight connection between the shell and fingerboard. Section CD is connected to the patch using a shoulder (fig. 38). The shell is connected to the body with glue through a gasket 6 with several wooden studs 10. Nests for studs are pre-33

34 is pierced with an awl or drilled with a drill with a diameter of 1-1.5 mm. Approximate places for the installation of studs are indicated in Fig. 37 asterisks. Before installing the shell in the gluing area, remove the varnish from the instrument deck. Pay attention to the fact that the surface of the carapace with the lower part of the lining must match. The cracks between them are putty. Rice. 38. Scheme of attachment of the carapace: a - placement of the cross-sections; b and c - transverse and longitudinal sections: 1 - shell; 2 - fret wire; 3- pad; 4 - dumplings; 5-deck; b - a lining under the shell; 7 - piece; eight

bend; 9-wedge body; 10 - wooden carnation Fig. 39. Sketches of the workpiece and the support a -za-otovka of the support; b - stand 34

35 Fig. 40. Scheme for determining the height of the stand: h - the height of the stand; A - the distance from the nut to the 12th fret. A blank for a string stand (sometimes called a filly) is made of maple, beech, less often birch (Fig. 39, a). A gasket made of ebony, rosewood or other very hard wood is glued to the upper edge of the workpiece. The final dimensions of the stand are shown in fig. 39, b. The height of the stand in the middle is determined according to the diagram shown in Fig.

The stand is an integral part of the balalaika. It serves to support the strings, transfer their vibrations to the soundboard and limit the length of the working part of the string. The stand must be rigid, i.e. capable of resisting deformations and having on its working part a bone plate for free sliding of the string when playing vibrato. It is made either from radial sawing maple wood with large, pronounced pith rays, but not having a "wave", or from ebony. The shape of the stand and the material for its manufacture are selected individually for each instrument. It should be slightly tilted back and fit very carefully.

The following factors will affect the properties of wood:

• penetration of soil into the pores of wood, which, apparently, upon drying, somewhat compresses the surface layer of wood
• type of material used for coating
• cover thickness

It follows from all that has been said that compliance with the basic rules for the storage and care of high-quality concert balalaikas, however, as well as for all instruments, not only affects their acoustic qualities, but also prolongs their life.

These are the rules:

1. It is necessary to store the tool in dry, heated rooms with an air temperature of 15-30 ° C and a relative humidity of 50-60%. It is best if the instrument is kept in a case.
2. The place of storage of the instrument without the case should not be closer than 1.5 m from the heating systems, and when placed in the case - 0.5 m.
3. Monitor the cleanliness of the instrument.
4. Make sure that the tuners are always oiled.
5. When bringing the instrument from frost to a warm room, do not remove it from the case immediately, allow the temperature of the balalaika to become equal to the air temperature in the room gradually.
6. Handle the instrument with care, do not drop it, protect it from impacts and remember that balalaikaLike any musical instrument, it is a complex thin acoustic device that is made of fragile materials and any damage or impact can lead to misalignment of the entire acoustic system of the instrument or breakage of its individual parts.

As already mentioned in the previous section of the abstract, some excellent Nalimov balalaikas were ruined during repairs by few professional craftsmen. Strict adherence to the rules for the maintenance and use of instruments greatly reduces the possibility of defects. However, their appearance sometimes depends on factors such as air humidity, conditions in which the tool is used, transportation conditions, so it is impossible to completely eliminate the appearance of defects.

In addition, there are many accidents, the result of which can be breakage of individual parts of the tool or its complete destruction. There are also defects that appear as a result of prolonged use of the balalaika: abrasion of the frets, the appearance of backlash in the tuning mechanism, abrasion of the lacquer coating of the instrument, weakening of the elasticity of the soundboard. In order not to deteriorate the acoustic and playing qualities of highly artistic concert balalaikas, repairs should be entrusted only to highly qualified master restorers who have experience in repairing unique instruments. Unfortunately, very few of the modern masters have high artistic demands on their work, even in musical instrument factories they are not very high.

The exactingness of the members of expert commissions to the artistic and aesthetic level of the adopted instruments, to the modernity of the design and form, the quality of the material used, the selection of colors, the harmony of proportions and stylistic unity is insufficient. Even if the members of the expert commission are highly professional, their opinions are subjective. For an objective assessment of the sound and playing qualities of balalaikas, devices and stands are needed. This means that modern tool making must be based on scientific design principles that ensure high quality. These developments are only within the power of musical instrument factories. A wide range of research projects in this area is required. It is necessary to know the dependence of the objective properties of sound on the physical and mechanical properties of wood used for the manufacture of instruments, the thickness of the soundboard, dimensions, construction, location of springs, stands. In other words, you need to learn how to make high-quality concert balalaikas based on scientific data, and not on the subjective assessments and knowledge of solo masters.

1. Petukhov M.V. V.Andreev and a circle of balalaika players. - "Bayan" 1888, No. 11, p. 99;
2. Babkin B. Balalaika. “Russian Conversation” 1896, no. 3;
3. Government Gazette. 1915, May 6;
4. Sokolov F. Russian folk balalaika... M., "Soviet Composer", 1962;
5. Ilyukhin A. V. V. Andreev. Materials on the course of the history of performance on Russian folk instruments. M., GMPI them. Gnessin, 1959, no. I;
6. Vertkov K. "Russian folk instruments". L. "Music", 1975;
7. Gorlov A. Production and repair of bowed musical instruments. M., "Light Industry" 1975;
8. Peresada A. Handbook of balalaika player M. "S.K." 1977;
9. Unpublished materials from the archives of V.V. Andreev, B.S. Troyanovsky, P.F. Pokromovich, stored in TsGALI;
10. Photos were taken from the originals stored in TsGALI (Nos. 2609, 2684, 2445, 1937, 2580, 2388), as well as at the Glinka State Central Metallurgical Museum (Nos. 15659, 8680, 24957, 26422, 25331, 25327, 13593);