MeyerFittings

I guess we know what is not hanging low in that picture.

Rue Dear I would never ask a lady her age, but how are you going on the developemnt of cataracts? Did they notice anything forming? How is your distance vision?

I may be remembering it wrongly, but I recall Robert Lundberg telling me that Sellas was more likely a dealer than a maker. I mean thing probably haven't changed much since the 17th. One could probably tell by the size of his house on the canal.

I've always been curious about that Medici fingerboard, perhaps it's been discussed here before. Is that center wood snakewood? Is it a veneer, certainly money was no object. I would assume that the maple border was added to the interior wood and the ivory and black purfling was built aound the center. In that case the maple binding would be two long Ls joined at the center bottom insted of a three piece set joined at the corners. Interesting way to do it kind of makes the maple look like a Continuous border which is sweet. I also see he spruce grain lines going through the (crack?)BTW

I don't know much about fingerboards but i spent quite a bit of time looking at the fittings on the Ashmolean instruments. Most were made by the apprentices and workers at Hills. The Brothers Amati viola has old pegs but not original for the time. The tailpiece may be. I tried to find out just what you are asking and had to work pretty hard to get info. If you show me the instrument you are interested in, perhaps I can help. Fittings were never given much importance in the history of the violin family as a rule. Some of the pegs made by the Hills workers are amazingly tasty.

Close enough, why don't you sell it to Bass Clef?

Is the end button a bit skewed? Can you take a photo of the butt ?

What is the deal with the ivory "bridge pins" ? Not something you see every day on old tails. Is the underside cracked or just the ivory. Repair?

Very cool button. Got a larger photo of the tailpiece?

Is that not a one piece slab cut Back? Or am I missing something?

Actually I was going to say something about home distilling and inherent danger. I had an acquaintance who tried to do it in his kitchen and died in a pretty awful fiery way. Not kidding. The still that I have is a contained system with and interior heating coil and lots of steamcocks so the pressure can't build to a dangerous point. Open flame near alcohol in very problematic.

You can, I do.

Thanks David. I am a Romantic. At least too romantic to try to "do it" in two minutes.:)

We drove South about an hour and a half on the backroads to get past the traffic to see the totality. Giant tulip farm with mowed field and hundreds of campers in tents. I was kind of ho-hum about going just to see the totality but wow was I wrong. For about a minute you can look without the glasses. It went way too quickly because there were so many things to see besides the corona. The birds went nuts and a hawk was crying in alarm. The light on the surrounding hills surrounded the giant shadow like the gilt rim of a huge bowl. I missed the shadow falling across the ground because I was looking an some other aspect and trying to have my glasses on when any of the sun was exposed. You are so aware of your placement in Creation and the Universe, literally that it is hard not to be Spiritual. No one was not effected and affected and the assembled watchers went nuts all through the totality. I'm so glad Susan talked me into making the journey South. It took us two hours to get home to avoid the watchers going home all at the same time but we saw some amazing scenery and found some new roads we didn't know existed. I once sailed though a rainbow that went from the point of Europe at Gibraltar to the Coast of Africa and was filled with the same sense of wonder and delight, and the sense of exact location and relativity with the World. Awesome and powerful.