Hey all. I feel like this may be blasphemous, but I intend to take a crack at restoring this violin. I believe it to be a fairly inexpensive student instrument about 30-40 years old. I do not play violin, but will certainly give it a go if it if this turns out ok. I dabble in every instrument I can get my hands on, but am more of a hobby instrument technician than a player. I repair things for a living, and have picked up building guitar kits as a hobby, though I realize this is a different beast.

I acquired this at no cost. My brother used it in high school 20 years ago and my parents were cleaning out the basement. I intend to fix it up and offer it back to him in playable form. If he still isn't interested, I'll add it to my giant stable of instruments. Wish I took a picture of it before I took it apart, but I have all the pieces, though I intend to buy replacements of almost all the plastic bits, because I want less plastic and more wood. It had 2 strings on it and sounded fine to my non violinist ear.  I have a few specific questions, but welcome all advice. While, "take it to a luthier" is correct advice, it isn't an option here since  it's more important to me to have the tinkering experience than to wind up with an instrument that is in good enough shape for the playing experience.

First, the finish looks mostly good and while I'm tempted to strip it and refinish from scratch, I'd like to work with what's here for my first go. It's pretty chewed up all around the out l edges and I do want to cover the exposed wood around there. Is this almost definitely lacquer or could it be some type of poly? I want to make sure I'm choosing a compatible finish. I was even thinking about just trying to  use tru oil or Danish oil to cover the chips if that might work.

Second, the fingerboard looks super dry and faded. What type of finish or oil is that usually treated with. Is there a product I can apply to freshen it up? 

Third, if I change the tailpiece, is the original bridge likely to still be "right"? I'm not sure I can pull off cutting a bridge properly, so if the one I have (which appeared in good shape) just won't work, I'll prob need to lean on a pro for that.

Finally, the wood is separating around the endpin hole. Is there something specific I should do to remedy that? 

I'm willing to spend money on parts and tools, and don't mind putting in more effort than this particular instrument seems to be worth, but really want to get hands on with the understanding I might just make a display piece. Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

Hobby restoration