Evan Smith

You can use any angle for cutting edge if you like as long as it is sharp. I like 90 most of the time. You can put a burr on a knife edge, but it will be super aggressive, and that would be overkill for spruce. But no matter what angle you use it needs to be as sharp as you can possibly get it preferably even polished. Then when you roll the burr, the edge of the burr is also very sharp and clean. If the initial edge doesn’t start out perfect the burr will not be perfect. I just scraped the top of a nice old solid, walnut desk and refinish it. I left the edge of the scraper at 90° sharp and polished, and it does an excellent job of putting a super fine finish, it removes plenty of wood and just the right amount, about like 600 grit sandpaper. If I were to put a hook on the very same scraper, it would leave the finish rough and cut not nearly as smooth and that’s not what I want so I leave it at 90 but sharp. At this point I could still roll of burr on this large scraper and it would work excellent, but it would take a piece of carbide because this is a very large hardened steel scraper. I laid a scraper. I normally use for my violins next to it so you can see the difference in size.

You make a point here, in that almost anything reasonable will work to turn a burr on a scraper. For years, I just used chrome Phillips screwdrivers, even a chrome square shank screwdriver, which has an extra small radius on the corner can work quite well. The issue here might not be the burnisher itself, but I would dare to guess it’s the improper preparation of the scraper itself before turning the bur . The 90° angle if that’s what you’re using that intersects the side in the cutting face is a scraper. Should be sharp enough to cut you before you even roll a burr. I’ve cut myself many times on the backside of flat chisel’s because they were sharpened so flat and square on the edges that they will slice you like a knife. A scraper needs to be prepared just as carefully before any kind of a decent burr can be obtained. I will often sharpen the scraper and use it for quite a while before I even put a burr on it, once it quit skiing quite so clean lane. It’s pretty easy to put a burn on at that point because the edge is still sharp enough. But you’ll never produce a nice cutting burr on a scraper unless the edge is in really good shape. I will use the belt sander to clean up the edge of a scraper to fresh material all the way across and then hand flatten the sides and remove any bars, left from the belt, sander and hand lap, the sides, and the face and finish it up on an Arkansas stone charged with Munro oxide, which leaves it highly polished, and you can get a really nice per if you start there, and you have a nice tool to roll the burr with. yeah, I’m gonna leave this be as is, I think it’s rather quaint, sounds like maybe I live in northern Mongolia and I’m using a really bad translator, as in do not over tighten or blade is to break. If you don’t get the idea now, then forget it, fur FUR get GIT it. ha ha ha ha, it’s asking me if this is English what do you think?

I’ve tried everything I could find, chrome, plated, screwdrivers, chrome, steel files that are polished, and I was unsatisfied with all of them including the famous red handled burnisher. I still have that. What I don’t like about all those as you can feel the friction between the metal kind of a gauling sensation, even on soft, steel scrapers. So,,, As I really like thin spring steel for scrapers,Solid carbide rod is absolutely wonderful. It is smooth leaves a really nice edge and there’s nothing too hard for it to master. I have purchased a number of these and sent them to my violin, making friends, yes, I do have an occasional friend. They need to be perfectly straight these curvy ones to roll the burr for you are nasty. You can never tell what you got. I like to do the angle of my own burrs I like about a 3/8 inch diameter 12 inch long, solid carbide rod. It feels good in the hand, nice and heavy, and it’s great to swat flies with. I think those are about up to $100 apiece now. First one I bought they were around 20 bucks. Oh how time flies. I was refinishing some kitchen cabinets for someone, and my carbide rod just vanished, what a drag, had to buy another one. If I don’t have my solid, carbide rod, then I just don’t have a burnisher. Evan, never an opinion whatsoever.

It would probably help if you would throw up the picture with the measurements of the billet. Trying to visualize all of that and the numbers in the billet, and on the billet, and the stars in the sky, as the moon flies by is giving me great mental anguish. Or just patiently wait, and wait

Note No. two. I realize the really only correct way to set the neck is using a 158 angle gauge, 27 mm projection to the bridge, along with the proposed saddle height, and that will cover the bases. If a person makes the same models and same arching height over and over, you can use the same numbers over and over. I’m just being lazy, tired, old and grumpy, and wondered if somebody had taken notes so I don’t have to dig out my angle gauge, I don’t take notes,,, so take note of that!

Just a note here, I realize it’s all going to be in relationship to the total arching height of the top, so say what would it be with a 15 mm top arch, 16, 17, what is the relationship?

Is the neck over stand measured from the plate edge, or from the Perfling? I have always heard the numbers of 6.5 to 7 mm, and I’ve also heard discussion of from the plate edge or from the purple. I have personally done 6.5 from the plate edge for years and have never noticed a problem. However, upon considering this issue, I realize that depending upon the style of the plate, and which number you start with, there could be quite a large discrepancy in the final result. Just looking for a little clarity here or some opinions. Thanks, Evan

Yeah, I’ve done this a few times, if you start scraping on it and messing with the wood, it’s gonna really show, because after it’s been stripped and wet and cleaned and washed, the grain will be fairly fluffy, you start scraping on it. It’s gonna leave a scar everywhere you touch it.. it’s been a while, but I think I used to scrub it off with acetone after citrus strip, though I think they’ve changed the formula so it might not be the same as it was, used to be rather slimy to get off. I don’t remember if it was the older version or the newer version that was better but if you wanna scrape on it when you get done, you’re gonna need to throw some more ground on it. Take it back off. You have to do something to make the wood look like it hasn’t been messed with. A light thin ceiling with something like damar, resin and a very, super dilute coat of transparent watercolor can give a really nice even darker color for the ground. as you know, there are literally thousands of ways to do all of this stuff, and I could go on and on, and on, and on, and on about all the variables, but you have to be careful with the scraping and messing with the wood because it will show easily, and you’ll have to deal with that some lie and hydrogen peroxide mixed together, and do a light coat scrub it with a soft brush after you scrape it and mess with it will bring it pretty much back to one color if you do it too much the major raise in the maple will actually all bleach out white and then the wood starts looking rather plain so you don’t wanna overdo that but, good luck, glad it’s not me.

Be sure to seal that spot completely before you try any type of color. I personally like damar resin, I solve it in a little acetone and maybe a touch of limonine. Or if you want to use hide stop what glue or something, just make sure it is completely sealed before trying any color..

Will just so you understand, there’s a lot of great things about your fiddle, they’re truly are. But with the attitude of the entire fiddle, a carefully touched up, flaw in the corner is perfectly acceptable. what I mean by that, is your fiddle looks very healthy and solid. It has good lines. It holds together nicely, and I wouldn’t just say that. Many first or or early fiddles often have a disproportionate out of sorts look about them that can make them rather unattractive. Yours doesn’t look like that at all. It has good solid lines. You’ve done a good job copying your form. Your scroll looks good. It’s just a lot of little details, that could be improved. everything just takes time and practice, and a certain point is good enough is good enough for now.

Hey, Will, It looks like you’ve been having a lot of fun making that fiddle and working hard. I really think removing that corner because of that little scar would be a major mistake. The amount of work and touchup required to even make it look close to what you already have would be next to unimaginable at your level of experience. Just scrape a low spot over the blemish, take a thin slice of wood, glue it over the area, scrape it back level and use something like damar resin to completely seal it, then use some watercolor to match your ground, seal it again with some varnish and or resin, then start matching your final color with super thin coats, rubbed out smooth with your fingers. Getting hyper focused on such a little scar Can be a bit distracting. I say this with all the love and respect that I have, but there are literally hundreds of things that could use a lot of critiquing on your violin, and that little mistake is one of the small ones. You’re a great guy with a great attitude and you’re willing to learn it’s obvious. Just like Jackson often says the main thing is to have fun and learn and grow, ,,,,and from many years of experience, a better use of your time would be to make another fiddle and relegate this one to the annals of history. Many of us have a couple of early ones that we now look at in disbelief, at a loss for words, and just kind of go wow, that looks a little weird!

Probably a real Strad.

Here is the jig that I use. My kids call it the whale, go figure. It goes beside the neck after the fingerboard scoop on the side has been finished, so it touches at the nut end and the large end of the fingerboard and projects to the endpin. If the glue joint is truly the center line, then I use that to project my measurement to. I use it on one side then the other. I have a little green line at about 37 which is the center of the projected board to the endpin. Using this you can also see where the upper F holes lie in relationship to the board and also you can make marks on the top where the bridge will be located, so if the base bar is installed correctly, then everything will lineup perfectly at this point. The gizmo under the fingerboard is what I use to set the projection of the neck when I’m gluing the neck on. The further you slide it back under the fingerboard the more it raises the projection, then I draw a line on either side, and that gives me a visual to glue the neck perfectly straight without having to muck around, trying to measure a bunch of stuff, I really don’t like chaos and just dinking around with things, so I make jigs so that mistakes are nigh near impossible. So obviously, I use this when installing fingerboards also to get an idea of the lay of the land.

I'd bet John Tepper is out of business by now, I was at his place decades ago. Wide grain in big leaf is by far the most abundant, as it is a fast growing tree. But it can also range in color from bright white to chocolate brown. The texture can appear like red maple, or some bright white tight grained euro species, though less common. There is nothing wrong with the wide grain per say, as it can be strong enough. At times, but not always,,,it can lack some longitudinal strength, especially the shell, or bubble big leaf, which can be quite soft. A carbon fiber insert will remedy that if one is determined to use it. It you put up pictures of what you have, a suitable match might be found. The choices are just too great to hazard sending something blind.

The red diamond strad suffered the same fate, no? Yet, it too was successfully put back together. While I don't believe that casein alone had everything to do with being able to salvage them, it might have been related to, but not exclusively the ground that accomplished this. I have never heard if the center seam of the top separated during this disaster. Does anyone know?