Urban Luthier

...and if you want to see the deviation between the forms themselves and instruments built around them, the Strad publishes many posters with CT scans. The Dancla was likely built on the G form

As a community I think most of us would agree that contemporary makers provide valuable solution to musicians looking for a bespoke product As for factory output... 1.5M / yr... geez. Violins are like cars - there are too many of them on the planet already.

really nice work Michael! - Guarneri Conte Vitale inspired?

My favourite clamps.

Really nice work Mike. Love the ground. Both front and back are very fine.

Thanks AD, Jim and Tets for your kind words. Yes mostly working off the poster, and a couple of conversations with the fellow who drew up the poster. Not a slavish copy - I’ve tried to leave a personal footprint inspired by the brothers Amati over (what is most likely) a Girolamo II grand pattern. The surprising thing is that the arching is actually a little lower than the average Strad at the break points and the front and back are quite similar with an attractive but subtle scoop through the waist which is less pronounced on the top. next time I’ll arch a bit differently, Roger basically stated that the scoop and recurve were finalized with the box closed and defined by the tools used. I was also told to proceed with caution as the recurve on many old Amati’s have sunk below the purpling due to stress and age… all good fun

+ 1, love the ground AD. Nice to see colour in the flames and pores without burning - very tastefully done and difficult to achieve i expect

Wow, I llove the look of that cello Tets. I think I would be very happy playing it!

Amati 1666 inspired arching & f holes front and back

having trouble uploading photos. anyone else experiencing the same?

I'm one of the other members who uses Fusion regularly. As @Don Noon notes above, it isn't the easiest programme to learn and things have become far more complex of the past few years (and demanding) as it inches closer to Inventor (Don refers to it as (con)Fusion. The real advantage of Fusion is the CAM integration. Fusion has become a bit of a resource hog over the past year so I'd recommend a workstation with a good i7 processor with a high clock speed. the other thing to note is that while fusion is FREE to us as an enthusiast, you can't print anything with out purchasing a subscription. Yes a bit of a learning curve but easier than most other CAD apps. Rhino is an alternative. But i expect the CAM connection in Fusion is more robust. Both have very good community support. If you are not familiar with Solid modelling workflows, it would be a good idea to learn the basics as these skills are transportable from app to app. I worked at Autodesk and Alias for most of my adult life. It has been an interesting journey to watch the development of some of these programmes. these days i use Fusion for the design of forms and fixtures, I posted a bass bar clamp here awhile back. Also use it for drawing outlines for 2D. Faster for me than ACAD.

Looking forward to the third volume! Mike - I bought the latest Bergonzi strad poster - it just arrived and it is a very fine. The CT scans are excellent and appear to be accurate. However the verso the printing is a little too red and pink and IMHO does not give Jan Röhrmann excellent photography of the instrument its full due. The digital shots mentioned above may be closer to what we will see in the book. Stylistically - I find the work of Carlo Bergonzi very simpatico. The poster and article do a find job of illustrating his personal style (from this period at least): Bold edge work with thick purfling well set in from the edge, deep fluting and long corners, simple mitres Low but full arching Higher rib garland with little taper Longer c-bouts, slender outline, slightly shorter body length (but with modern stop!) Wonderful scroll that seems to foreshadow later del Gesu work in some respects Stunning wood and varnish (sadly I've only ever seen one Bergonzi Slightly thicker grads compare to an average strad I have the Reuning book mentioned by Jeffery and it is a very fine book. Worth the investment. i'm sure other members can describe his style more eloquently but i find the poster (and whole poject) a worthy addition...

Nice video. Love the sound of sharp tools. Wonderful texture on the back of David’s violin.

And there is a book on the way from S&Z featuring the Knoop and Kreisler

Regarding imitating old masters, I agree with you Don. Tools for visualizing Class A surfaces can help with the initial shapes but isn't the best solution for visualizing the type surfaces left by hand work. I think this image (Guarneri tenor) says it all. I expect you'll find a way to set up a CNC template to get you 90% of the way there. Pun about Fusion noted ;). I notice the software slows down with each passing release...