Urban Luthier

Wow I love it. This is absolutely stunning work. Even more so with those wonderful pegs. Who made this one?

ha too funny - you should have seen what autocorrect did with Guy's name originally - I had to fix it 3 times!

Guy Rabut?

show off

Not Strad, but didn't the analysis in the varnish section in the Guad S&G book find evidence of a pore filler on one or two of the violins?

for the Conte Vitale - have a look at Dextra's website. They own the viola now https://sparebankstiftelsen.no/en/instruments/andrea-guerneri/. Some very fine collection of instruments both historical and new

it appears you are correct! I traced the outline from the Messiah CT Scan PG overlay awhile back and it looks like a dead match for PG! regarding the PG vs G... according to Pollens when the PG and G are overlaid, it appears the G is wider and longer in the lower bouts. is that actually true?

I have a love hate relationship with my Tormek (Kind of wish I had gone the CBN route noted by Mark and Dave). The Tormek offers great control for shaping gouges and knives. I have a heck of a time getting plane blades to register perfectly square - quite a bit of trial and error even with their fixture. LN blades are easier as they have parallel sides. Some Veritas blades are tapered making them more difficult to register square in the jig. Personally i don't like the leather wheel as it is very easy to dub the edges of any cutting tool. Although it does a nice job polishing the ends of pegs! The Tormek is a marketed as a slow grinder - and it is indeed a very slow process if you need to remove a lot of metal (ie. changing the angle of a large plane blade.

Thanks for your kind words and advice Jim and Evan! I took the outline from the CT scan published in the S&Z book - I will have a look the the corners in relation to the bridge and may shorten. There are other issues with the model - the F-holes are too narrow to get a full sized sound post in easily. And the Arching is sooo scooped and quite thin in places

I wonder if those who strive to make exact copies rely on Strad posters as a reference? I think the errors can be problematic for amateurs and enthusiasts (I count myself in this group). if a poster has gross errors... say the width is stretched but the height is correct, or the stop length is printed incorrectly... It can be difficult to interpret the poster as a working drawing and even lead to an instrument that is difficult to setup correctly. As a whole I think the Strad poster programme has been very successful and the community is grateful for it, I just wish things were proofed a bit more carefully.

Taking my inspiration from the lovely Amati Alto Violas in Cremona and Modena...

Yep too small. From the ct scan it really looks like a g form but I could be wrong. Regardless the poster is off.

the strad poster of the Messiah outline doesn't match the CT scan.

Even the recent posers have issues - the measurements of the Guad viola published a year ago don't appear to match the printed ct scan. Many early posters the outline appears to be printed either too large or too small... What I do now is scan the poster, take the outline into a CAD app like ADSK Fusion, scale the outline to match the measurements, then trace the outline using 3 point curves. From there you can create an offset to create the mould shape. If the edges are worn you can compensate by adjusting the offset to compensate. The whole thing is a lot easier if there is a good CT scan of the central part of the rib structure.

Beautiful Dave. Looks like a grand Amati.

@David BurgessLooking forward to your initial findings based on real world usage.

I no longer use fixtures or guides either when sharpening. Working hard at getting good results quickly - seems like a lifetime of learning. A 10x loupe and a bright light helps trouble shoot.

Personally I prefer not to take a cynical view of the Veritas PMV-11 test. Regardless of where the steel comes from and how it is treated - Lee Valley has created a comprehensive product line based on PMV-11 that holds up well.

I'm sure I've seen this posted here before - http://pmv11.com/TestingIntroduction.aspx

for the last tailpiece I made i finished it with Tried and True "Varnish Oil" basically linseed oil fortified with some resin. Rub on and burnish off. Gives a nice low sheen look.

'Subjective' opinion from my own expeirence... I have quite a few old Victorian era tools acquired from junk shops. Some all of them take a keen edge and some stay sharp after considerable use (many tools marked Addis London). Other stuff stays sharp for only a few min of use. The one thing they all have in common is the considerable time required to set them up. EDIT for those interested here is one of the good ones. Not sure of the date

+1 on D2 I have a Mortise Chisel by Ray Iles I use for peg boxes. It seems to stay sharp forever.

really nice handle @Arsalan I've tried a bunch of different tools over the years - like others note above the steel nad how it has been treated can have a huge impact of the old stuff the Addis branded gouges seem to be the best of the old victorian stuff i've tried They sharpen easily and stay that way. Old tools can be a pain in the arse restoring to working condition. I paid little for mine but current prices on ebay are out of reach Modern stuff ranges - I have modern Henry Taylor gouges that look like mush after grinding - they get sharp but don't stay that way very long. I like the few Ashley Iles I have. They seem to sharpen well and hold a keen edge. I have a few Swedish gouges made from ball bering steel that seem to have the characteristics of the old victorian stuff. The very best tool steel I've come across is the Lee Valley PMV-11. It gets wicked sharp and holds an edge for ever. I wish they made gouges. Ill likely round off my half inch chisel and use it as a flat gouge

Personally I use hide glue for the centre joint (and everything else)

I learn something new every time I watch your videos. Simply extraordinary. Please keep sharing!