Jim Bress

Nope, I don't check for dispersion. I believe the dispersion method uses a drop of turpentine which I have to avoid. I use this varnish because it is solvent free. I just do what works, and has been working for people following this method for a long time. I do the string test because it's easy and gives me something to do, but I don't really care if it pulls a string or not. After I have filtered and cooled the varnish I test the varnish on glass and rib stock. If there's something about the varnish I don't like I can put it back in the pot to make adjustments. I use this varnish because it is solvent-free, and I like the end result. It is thick (viscous) but can be applied very thin, and has a long open time. I think it's important to follow one recipe or method and work with that. Mixing methods could have you chasing your tail a bit.

Wow, too much narrative without paragraph breaks for easy digestion, so I broke out your initial questions. After that you kind of lost focus and I don't have time to chase all those squirrels. I do make and use this varnish. It works fine for me, but other folks seem to have had a hard time with it. I think varnish making, while chemistry, is a lot like cooking. Caveats, I learned to make this varnish from Joe Thrift, Joe learned to make it from Roger, and neither of us is Roger. I also remember Roger stating that he changes his varnish as often as he changes his underwear. I hope that means he changes his varnish a lot. Which is to say that this recipe is bit flexible. Here are my (not Roger's) responses to the above questions. 1. The proportions are what's important. You can make smaller batches. 2. This part is a little flexible. Joe and I both melt the rosin (uncooked) first then add warmed linseed oil to the pot. Bring temperature up to 200C for 2 hours. Why 200 for 2 hours? 2 hours at 200C should be sufficient for the varnish mixture to turn into a compound. But the real reason is that it works. 3. Cool the mixture to 100C to prevent boiling off the mastic. Continue at 100C for 1 hour to incorporate mastic into varnish. 4. The above does not include cooking rosin for color and adding it to the varnish. I think cooking for color is in the bass blog as well.

Very nice!

Oops!

Nice work. It looks like your practice sound post grain lines are parallel to the top’s grain lines. For your next sound post you should make the grain lines perpendicular.

Thanks Chris!

Almost ready to sing. Carving the bridge is next.

No, any cloth is fine.

For swelling wood closed or indenting wood in new making I heat a pallet knife on a hot plate till the metal changes color. Dampen a piece of linen and place onto the wood. Pressing the hot knife against the linen should steam the wood closed.

Mike and I have said it to each other, and I still say it every year that “each day I learn things that are worth the weeks tuition”. Just to say, it’s worth the cost if you are able to attend.

Elkin is a very safe, walkable small town. So you don’t need a car once you get there. Joe teaches throughout the year to new students through the Foothills Arts center that doesn’t require new students to purchase their own tools. In other words, all the tools to make a fiddle are available to borrow. So you don’t have to worry about packing up your whole shop, just your favorite work horses if you’re flying in. I pack everything I think I’ll use, but I’m driving not flying. I have a two bedroom AB&B for the two weeks and the second room is currently still available, so that lodging is an option. Are you feeling more tempted?

I think the travel record distance goes to @James M. Jones, but you might be a contender depending on where in Texas you’re from. I know folks travel much farther for conventions. Only you can say if the time spent will be worth the knowledge gained.

Hey Folks, I just heard from Joe this morning. His workshop hasn’t filled up this year so there are still benches available. A bit about Joe. Joe was a classmate of Roger Hargrave and they’ve been best friends ever since. Joe and Roger have a lot of techniques in common from their years of collaboration and spending time in each other’s shops. A bit about Joe. Joe’s personal focus is Del Gesu violins. He also makes a Del Gesu style 5 string that Joe and Roger developed together. Even if you’re not into Del Gesu, it’s great having someone with a trained eye point things out to you that you haven’t learned to see yet. Last two things. If Joe doesn’t know something he’ll say so. If he does know, he will share it freely. He doesn’t hold back any secrets. Oh, one more thing. If you’re a fiddler, expect to participate in some jam sessions. Here’s some pictures from last year. My first day and last day pics. I got a lot done! And one of Joe’s fiddles that was just strung up for the first time. IMG_6923.mov

Hi Folks, Joe Thrift’s has dates for this year’s workshop. I’ve been to every one of these and always learn a lot. From Joe’s instagram post:

One cello. I’m finishing the setup now. They are more work for the obvious reason of more wood, but also, in my opinion, more difficult because you have to be more precise than in violin construction. Everything you’re trying to make straight, has to straight for a longer distance with a cello than a violin (e.g., fingerboard, joining plates, setting the neck, rib miters etc.). But it’s also a blast making a cello. I’ll make more, but nothing compered to Nathan.