b'I didnt need to worry much about damaging the top, so I concentrated on keeping the sides intact, hoping that the top would hold together enough for the next stage. I wasnt prepared to attempt a violin makers repair of keeping all the splinters and matching them under a magnifying glass. No patience, thats my problem. Repair is a destination, not a journey. Particularly when you forget to take photographs! To be a fair to myself, that type of repair wasnt an option anyway, as so much wood was missing. Inside, there was the usual debris and horrors from a hard working life. Most repairers will have seen similar. Well, some might, the older ones, Ive seen worse. The original jack socket had been wrenched out at some point, taking a big section of mahogany with it, and repaired by a metal worker with long thin arms but poor spatial awareness. Im not complaining. It was probably due back on stage half an hour later, and needs must! So far, so good. With the bracing removed from a section of the soundboard, leaving the other areas alone in order to stop everything falling apart, I made a sacrificial patch to fit the cleared area, and glued it in place with the top held against a flat board, using as much pressure as I could possibly apply. 215'