I had the same thing happen to me last weekend. My uncle gave me a fiddle with a stad. lable in it. It was his aunt's fiddle said it was from the 1930's. I took it home and cleaned the old rosin off the strings and tuned it up. It sounded pretty good but I noticed a crack in the back at the bottom and also below the pin the tailgut attaches to. I loosened the strings and took it to a luthier last Tuesday, he is going to charge me about $45 to fix it. Can't wait to get it back.

I got my fiddle back today. It looks great. He played it for me before I left and it sounds good also. Right now it has some old steel strings on it that need to be changed even at that, the sound is nice. I will be getting some better strings for it latter.

He reglued the block and the ribs above and below the end pin. Clamped the seam in the back but the wood had shrank and couldn't close it completely. He has a substance he filled it with (not wood filler) something he mixed up with the glue to prevent it from spreading apart again. He also reglued it to the block.

His name is Clinton Grosz he is a member of the Louisville Orchestra, in Louisville Kentucky . He restores and repairs violins. He also gives lessons. If any need a luthier in the Louisville area he would be a good one.