David Burgess

Is that the Michigan Violinmakers Association?

I have used something like that with reasonable success for marking, but my preference is to use only one blade in the marker, enabling it to cut to the full depth of the purfling. Then, one can reposition the blade to cut the other side of the purfling channel, or keep a separate marker/cutter, also with a single blade, which is already set up to do that. The one I have found most useful only costs about 85 bucks, so about 170 bucks for two, if that's preferable to dinking around a lot between inside and outside cuts. I also prefer a marker/cutter which is gripped below the plate (as Davide's appears to be), so that a big-ol' hand gripping the marker/cutter from above the plate doesn't impede the view of what's going on.

I was thinkin' a booth at a VSA Convention.... At Oberlin, they often use a vacuum pump when making plaster casts of tops or backs. For this other purpose, that would be cheating.

Oh no! Are you suggesting that Maestronet's "Plaster Caster" is actually Cynthia Albritton, now moved on to memorializing the tallywhackers of those in the violin trade?

Please forgive me for failing to comprehend what you are trying to put across. Would you be willing to re-state it in more concise language, to better communicate your idea to all the nerds (like me) who are here?

Agreed. There is nothing stopping a wolf note from being either on a note, or anyplace in between notes. And the exact location or pitch can change from season to season.

A perfect fit on an older instrument, including every little divot and irregularity, might make it difficult to knock the feet sideways a bit... something I like to do before removing string tension, to release any adhesion which has formed between the bridge and the varnish. Without this, some varnish can be pulled up when removing the bridge, sometimes with bits of wood from the top attached.

Yup. Once upon a time, two Texans were "relieving themselves" from a bridge over a river. One said, "That water sure is cold, aint it!" The other replied, "Yeah, deep too."

Yup. I've had some quarter-cut one-piece cello cello backs, but they did cost me an arm and a leg. Or maybe a kidney.

Yeah, but it would be hard to get the contemporary viola makers on board.

Anything can stay around for a while, with enough repairs.

That's a tough one. Maybe you could cuff his hands behind his back, and he could yodel the viola part?

Not for longevity or durability.

It might be tough to tell if the bridge is in exactly the right position, with epoxy squished out the sides Maybe it could be loosely clamped to a device like Mat's to make sure it goes in exactly the right position, and stays there until the epoxy sets up?