David Burgess

Do you remember the "underpants bomber"? No violins or violin cases were involved. The bottom line is that no underpants should be allowed on airplanes.

Unless you make fiddles for a living.

If one uses uses "quaking" wood in the construction of an instrument, might that reduce the vibrato burden for the player?

Has there ever been a shortage of voodoo ideas and imaginary effects in the fiddlemaking realm?

A few things about that violin are pretty far from a high-level setup, but if you aren't having problems playing it, it's probably sort-of okay.

The small sample I brought home from a VSA Convention is quite black.

The Sonowood compressed beechwood fitting are gaining some traction among makers and repair people, partly because they will supposedly hold well using conventional hot hide glue, since they are not made of plastic resin, nor are they resin infused (like the ThermalWood Obsidian Ebony and some other ebony substitute products). https://www.thestrad.com/accessories/products-november-2021-swiss-wood-solutions-sonowood-black/13770.article They're pretty pricey though compared to some other ebony substitutes. The US distributor: https://www.vermontviolins.com/sonowood/sonowood-fingerboard-nut-amp-saddle-spruce-amp-maple-violin-44-k4xw5

FiddleMkr, substances will often soften or dissolve in solvents which were not a part of their original formulation.

You have employed some very creative euphemisms (like provincial and artisanal) for what I described as amateur work which was later FUBAR'd (uhm, Fudged Up Beyond All Recognition) by subsequent work. So I've got to give you credit for that much.

Even a Harley-Davidson dealership, for those of us who are fond of antique farm machinery . What's the date?

You seem to be quite the optimist! A fiddle looks like any other fiddle purdy much, don't it?

I might ride my cart to the bar out back of the shop first. No worries should I over-imbibe, just toss me in the back of the cart. My horse knows the way home.

Would a primitive wooden cart be anything unusual in Tecumseh?

I see. Wasn't Stradivari an artisan?

It looks to me like an amateur-made instrument, which someone later heavily modified.