Dwight Brown

It could also be that the particular chinrest in the picture had been altered slightly for an individual player. I’ve worked on some of mine a bit. DLB

A lot of companies have gone in and out of different parts of the music business. A lot of famous names are just names now that are applied by other companies that bought the name. I grew up near Elkhart, Indiana which was a center for woodwind and brass instrument making. I don’t think much is left now. I got a great tour of the C.G. Conn factory when I was a kid. They made almost everything in house. They had machines going just making screws and other hardware for instruments. DLB

Last week when I watched the Queen’s funeral I could see that part of the abbey where Newton, Darwin, Rutherford, and now Hawking are. I have been there myself a couple of times and I loved that they were all together. DLB

Yeah pretty good joint. Newton and Rutherford and all! “ In science physics is everything, the rest is stamp collecting “ Lord Rutherford DLB

This! DLB

There is a company called King that is mostly in the brass instrument business. They might have tried marketing violins at some point. DLB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Musical_Instruments

Both useful and yummy! DLB

I have some soaking in water right now. They are a bit small to try and work. DLB after a couple of hours in water the pellets disintegrated. I would say they are not a good analog.

My reasoning behind the idea that lignin reactivated is rather an odd source. I have a pellet smoker for making the most holy of Texas BBQ that is the magnificent brisket! The pellets are made from just wood with no added glue by compression. The makers of the pellets say that this is the mechanism. All Hail The Great and Merciful Brisket, DLB

I remember some years ago This Old House put down a wooden floor made from compressed pine they called Diamond Pine. It could be the lignin in the wood acts like a natural glue to hold it together? DLB

As I understand it the owner of Taylor guitars controls much of the African ebony supply. He told the cutters that he would take any trees they bring in. They used to just leave trees that were not almost completely black just lie where the fell and rot. Evidently just because it has brown in it doesn’t mean it’s not hard and useful. Eric Meyer has been using mountain mahogany for years. It works very well. I have a viola with some of his pegs. I don’t think boxwood is in any danger and I would think camel thorn would work well for fittings, it makes a nice bow. My Curtin ultralight Viola has a fingerboard made of compressed wood over a core of spruce. It seems just fine. I know the clarinet maker Buffet does not let anything go to waste. They make what they call Green Line instruments using Grenadilla powder mixed with epoxy or some such glue. They are in pretty big trouble as Grenadilla is the same genus as Brazilian and other protected Rosewoods. DLB

Home made folk instrument. A person wanted a fiddle and could not afford one so they made it themselves. I have great respect for them. It is probably not worth much money but if one knew the story behind it that would be priceless. DLB

Typical weight for any violin bow is 60 grams and 70 grams for a viola bow (give or take) I’m surprised that your Codabow is 67 grams. I don’t have a lot of experience with them but I do have a Codabow GX viola bow and it weighs exactly 70 grams. DLB

I don’t know if they are strong enough but empty shotgun shells would offer some bigger ones. DLB

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/workshop/tool-maintenance/30021-brass-ferrules Robert Sorby HF16B Set of 10 Each 16 mm / 5/8 Inch Solid Brass Ferrules for Custom Lathe Tool or Chisel Handles maybe this? DLB sorry, I didn’t get the LV in your original post.

I was a science teacher. All science is taught in metric (SI) here. American Customary Measurement is a PITA! I wish we would change. Only the USA, Myanmar, and Liberia are left, and I think Myanmar uses Imperial which is different again! Would you believe that most American made cars use Metric fastenings. My Chevrolet Corvette is all metric and I know all of Tesla is Metric. DLB

Heel to chin, 127.5 mm Nut to end of neck 167mm Nut to bridge 365mm (vibrating string length) if you want the dimensions from the top of the nut for the last two add 10mm This instrument is a Brothers Amati Model with a length of back of 408 mm. measurements taken with a Mitutoyo vernier caliper or a Starrett metric tape measure DLB

If you can tell me what to measure I have a nice 16” Whedbee here. DLB

If at all possible the best route is trying out the bows in person. There are some articles about picking out a bow. https://stringsmagazine.com/a-guide-to-buying-a-bow/ This is just one, there are lots. If possible get a more experienced player to try them out as well or if there is a teacher have them try the bows. DLB

I'm sorry I cannot reply to you in Italian. The number may be a catalog or inventory number from a violin dealer. I would not hazard a guess as to who. DLB

Thanks! I have always been interested in the Stradivari violas. Viola stories have always been that they are not that good or rather other instruments are better but I’ve always figured that a lot of those stories were repeated by people who never played them. DLB

https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/cozio-carteggio/the-kux-castelbarco-stradivari-viola-of-c-1720/#Introduction I woke up to this! Can anyone spare me $15,000,000.00??? I wonder how it will do. I imagine someone has seen it or played it as it was on loan to a school in London for a while. DLB

Yup! DLB

Nickel silver or German silver is an alloy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver DLB

Yes, It's a Curtin Ultra Light viola. I don't think that system could be retrofitted, but I thought you might like it. It's a 16" viola he made for me about a year ago. The chinrest is one he made to match one that I had modified from a Flesch with a hump. DLB