Urban Luthier

Thanks. it looks like the bulbs are 2700K - closer to halogen bulbs perhaps?

Hi David I can't find the link to the exact ones I bought -- they were in the 'now or never' bin at $9 CND each - (about $2 US after exchange). @tsummerville posted the a link to the US site for the IKEA TERTIAL work lamp above. I've seen these - they look similar to mine but the key difference is the on off switch on the new version is a rocker type on the cord itself. I think this is a real disadvantage from a usability standpoint. The version i have has the switch on the lamp itself - similar to your lamp. The IKEA ones are well made from stamped metal parts, real springs - and mine at least have a real ceramic bulb holder. The bushings are plastic however -- I've only ever had to tighten them once. The plastic mounting bracket is useless. -- The Lee valley lamp bushing is far better option for a bench top mount. Chris

Thanks for the photo and the reference to the bulbs. I'm going to try these I adopted a similar setup for my shop - two overhead lights (same sort of fixture as yours but from IKEA) and two IKEA task lamps on either side of the bench a-fixed with these handy lamp bushing from Lee valley. Plus a central ceiling light When I built the studio - I wired things so I could turn the main overhead light and overhead bench lights on/off independently. The IKEA bench lamps are the old style ones with the switch on the top of the lamp. (these are much better as you turn them on as grab them). So all lighting adjustments are within arms reach of my bench and can be adjusted based on the task at hand.

Some times we get so hung up on the weirdest stuff. I have a hell of a time telling the difference between violins (most sound similar to me with the biggest difference being the person playing the instrument). Violas and cellos are a different story. I've made a few violas after the Strad Archinto (which had its ribs lowered unfortunately). in all cases I used normal or higher than normal rib heights - no loss of focus or dynamics - if anything they sound better.

Hi Mike, Likely free for non commercial use for some time to come. Licensing options here. PM me if you'd like more local colour. I'm ex ADSK (actually started at Alias). I've played with Fusion since the very beginning - Fab tool. But I will say (and Mike and Don will confirm) the effort for setting up a digital fab shop is extraordinary if you don't have a background in machinery and software. Much harder than working by hand! Chris

yea it takes forever to grind back a damaged blade on the Tormek. I haven't figured out how to polish with Tormek leather wheel. Don't know why but I find i wind up dubbing the bevel edge of gouges. I Keep a leather strop and Lee Valley Wooden Sharpening Slips on the bench and touch up every few min.

Would you be able to share the STL file?

+ 1. Thanks for the warning - I was looking at one of these as well

Thanks for posting HoGo. Where did you get the CT scan of the Kreisler?

I know this is a really old thread but it is worth noting that there is 1:1 ct scan of the rib garland on the Plowden poster. That will give you the most accurate outline. It also shows where the blocks were placed and their dimensions.

always a good day when you post Christian! Stunning work

nice to see the 'nursery' shots mike! very cool

wondering how many of you use what some woodworkers call the 'ruler trick' when sharpening plane blades? i.e. honing the face of the blade by placing a thin ruler at the opposite end of the stone so only the very edge of the blade is honed.

The one disadvantage of the PMV11, is that one really needs to monitor the edge while you work. The PMV-11 stays sharper loner than anything I've tried. I frequently use the tools with these blades longer than I should - even to the point when the edge starts to fail. At this point it is back to the grind stone.

all of the home-made honing jigs above look really cool. The best investment I've made (and the most painful one) is to learn how to sharpen everything freehand. With a bit of effort i'm now able to get results as good as i used when using jigs, the benefit is that I can work much more quickly. Like John and Jim i use the Tormek jigs for grinding.

Konrad Sauer (A plane maker friend of mine) uses O1 Hock blades. I have a couple of his planes and I can get the blades sharper than anything else I've tried. The A2 blades in my Lie Nielsen's (scrub and 102) seem to be more durable and stay sharper longer than the Lee valley A2 equivalent. I now only use A2 for high angle toothing blades. I use the Veritas PMV-11 in my LV planes now. PMV-11 seems to be the Goldilocks blade - I can get it quite sharp (not as sharp as the hock for some reason) and they stay sharper for longer than anything else i've tried.

When doing this joint i also bevel the ribs very slightly by a half a degree or so. That way the outside face of the two ribs buts together tightly when glued. No matter what one does, in a hundred years joint will separate slightly anyway!

Useful info here on the size and shape of baroque bass bars. See toward the end of the article https://www.roger-hargrave.de/PDF/ViolinMaking/Fitting_a_Bass_Bar.pdf

Yes this is what i was referring to above. The CT data is super accurate! However S&Z were unable to produce an + - .3mm accurate resin based copy from the data (they were using an additive fabrication process with resin not CNC). When I spoke to Andrea, he wasn't 100% satisfied with the results and decided to cancel the 3d print option originally offered with the book. It is too bad -- even at these tolerances, I would have been happy. It is near impossible for amateurs to get a hold of plaster casts for study purposes.

Trouble with 3d printing from CT scans (CT->STL) is the accuracy of the resin print. S&Z ran into issues with this with the Tuscan Strad publication. They simply couldn't get the accuracy they were looking for + - .3mm was considered too great a margin of error.

Second this - the cost of the tools needed to fix up an old Stanley + the time to do it can be more than buying a new LV or LN plane. Makers today are very lucky - there is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to tool selection and availability

This is my favourite tool (and I think probably the best block plane Veritas Makes). The ergonomics and machining are first rate. There are two versions: a low and high angle. I like this one better than the fancier one.

+1 I've used violins.ca several times. I live close to downtown Toronto and it isn't as easy as you'd think to get the exact string you are looking for. Try walking in to a shop and asking for Piastro Golds for cello and see what happens. Eudoxa's sometimes - Golds - forget about it.

I spent the bulk of my career working at Alias / Autodesk. I even worked with the fusion team for a bit on the rendering software. Benefit of Fusion is that the CAD and CAM are integrated into a single package and for personal use it is free. For folks in our industry looking at CAM -- you couldn't do any better. If you want to experiment with generative design, it is also worth having a look at Rhino / Grasshopper.

Nice ground Dave. I really like your viola model!