Don Noon

Maybe I should ask them to crank up the voltage on the pacemaker.

While the VMAAI competition is still happening very soon, I will be missing it for the first time in 12 years. Bummer. But it has been preempted for me by seeing a heart specialist for an annoying arrhythmia issue. And I haven't finished a violin, which I have been (mostly not) working on for nearly 2 years now. Getting old is not great, but better than the alternative.

Not just expansion/contraction, but the shrinkage with age would undoubtedly be much higher for slab-cut (although I didn't look too hard for references to prove it). I think most important is the rupture strength issue... slab-cut is significantly weaker than any other cut. Combine this with the higher shrinkage, and you're asking for trouble. From this paper, table 3: https://www.scielo.br/j/mr/a/sY9sKL86jCd9tBzvFBbsCwf/?format=pdf&lang=en Radial: 10.3 MPa Tangential (slab): 5.2 MPa (factor of ~2 weaker!!) 45 degrees off-quarter: 8.2 MPa This is NOT stiffness, but breaking strength. Off-quarter would be the lowest stiffness.

You'd need to have a slab cut straight through the middle of the tree to get fully quartered orientation at the flanks; I think at best you'd get somewhere between slab and quartered there, which is less stiff than other cuts. I have no clue about the off-quarter cracking potential. Agreed. I think it would be in the noise. Quartered or slab is the main thing, bark in or out... probably not worth worrying about. Sure, there are slab backs that don't end up cracking, and that's probably most of them. But theoretically and from what I have observed, you're more likely to get a crack with a slab cut. Quartered is a safer bet.

Probably near nil. Opinion, no proof.

It is useful for depressing (or saddening, dimming, darkening) a color that's to pure and bright, as long as it's done in moderation. As for the other questions, I made up a 1:1 Gilsonite (asphaltum) varnish, which is extrmely dark and useless on its own. Then I use a small amount of that to adjust the main varnish color. The amount is determined by what looks good, and you can make any size batch you want.

The internet (MN included) can be a tremedous time sink, and prevent actual productivity. I know.

I would suspect that most of those folks aren't following Maestronet very closely. At one time in my mid-career, I took a leave of absence for a few months to see how I could do at lutierie full time, and considered quitting my high-paying job if it looked promising. I found out that I had more time to spend money, and the income (I don't recall if there even was any) didn't cover it. Back to the dayjob. Presumably our young friend here is not paying rent, food, etc., and might not grasp on the budget of in a decade or so with mortgage, spouse, kids, house, car, insurance, etc. It might be enlightening to ask your parents about this, and work out a budget. This should be taught in school: money and life.

Definitely a "usual", with the usual plain back of a low-level violin. At least the fingerboard appears to be ebony instead of dyed pearwood. Money-wise, it would cost more to restore it than it's worth. For sentimental reasons, only you can judge what you're willing to pay. If you do it yourself for fun or practice, that's another thing. It might sound OK... but generally beginner instruments would need a ton of work to get the sound optimized, and even then you never know what wood quality is in there, tonally speaking. But sound does not have that much impact on what you could sell it for.

It is a relief that those who have not yet been through one of these multiple threads on this topic are now burned out, and we can get down to the much more entertaining comedy, insults, and ridicule.

So I'd suggest finding an occupation that is least unlikable, and work with people that are likeable in a decent company that pays well, so you can mess with woodworking and instrument repair/making on weekends and evenings while the dayjob pays for rent and food (and tools). If it pays well enough and you save/invest well, you can retire early and play wih woodworking as much as you like. Or you can marry into money. I took the former path, and after 10 years of retirement and violinmaking, I'm at the point where I believe I could make an OK living (but with no benefits) at this... if I worked a solid 40 hour week. But I don't feel like it now.

Oof... that's even too nerdy for me.

The crack-prone tangential direction I don't think is helped significantly by either orientation. As Nathan decribes it, the post crack weakest direction would only be a few degrees different under the post, which I don't think would be significant in terms of preventing a crack. Also probably a minor issue: bark-in (assuming there's appreciable curvature of the annular rings) should be a bit less stiff toward the edges of the bouts. It's probably not a huge deal, as the cells aren't the regular large-ish rectangles of spruce. I have seen some 1-pc back violins cut way off-quarter (should be the least stiff), and they were fine. I have seen too many slab-back instruments with cracks, so I won't make any. But if I did, I'd decide on orientation based on how it would look.

Not gonna happen. We have gone around with this several times before, and I think it's bonkers. I have taken advantage of the "ignore" function on Maestronet, so as not to waste more time on his posts.

What the owner will allow to be done... if it's in conflict with what the player wants. Usually not an issue with modern instruments.