Fiddle Cracks

1. Headstock
2. Top
3. Sides
4. Seam
5. Back

Notes taken from an article in "Fiddler" magazine by Tom Culbertson

This is an American magazine so my price conversions should be taken as very aproximate.

HEADSTOCK
1 Hairline cracks coming from out of the pegholes.
If fixed correctly will have bushings around the pegholes. To repair - around £20 cost per hole. Doesn't necessarily devalue the fiddle except for the cost of the repair. 2 Grafted on headstocks.
Can indicate that the fiddle is very old - early 1800's or older. If the join is very slick it could be a fake repair! This was done, even on commercial violins to make them appear older than they are - not a damage problem.

TOP
1 F hole or wing cracks.
Devalue the instrument because they look nasty and stand out to eye but are not a great problem to the fiddle.
2 Saddle cracks.
They come from the stress the tail gut puts on the saddle and are often hidden underneath the tail piece. If they are small - less than half an inch - then they probably have been stopped by the end block holding the top inside the instrument and this is not too serious. However with longer cracks the top may have broken free from the end block and this is more serious. the top will have to be removed to fix it. That's not a big deal to the repairer - but it costs money all the same.
Sound post crack On the treble side of the top running with the grain, a thin crack where the soundpost has pushed at the top. An expensive repair and considered serious to the value of the fiddle. The same applies to a bass bar crack which is in a similar position but on the bass side of the instrument, roughly in line with the bass side edge of the fingerboard.

SIDES
(Fiddle makers call the side of a fiddle the ribs.) Not considered a big deal except that they may look nasty.

SEAMS
It's not uncommon to see the back or top of a fiddle coming away from the ribs. This is not a big deal as long as no one has done an amateur repair job. If it looks clean it can be fixed fairly easily. In fiddle terms taking the top of a glueing it back on is no big deal. (Some makers will do this even when it's not actually necessary simply because they want to see how the fiddle was made in the first place.)

THE BACK
This is a biggy - a sound post crack on the back. The back has been carved out of maple and should be very strong, if it cracks then something's wrong and it is difficult and expensive to fix. Even well fixed the instrument is considerably devalued. It may not look bad. "It can't be that bad." you say. Well, brother it is.