Jim Bress

I met Mike at a violin workshop in 2016 (I think). A group of us attended every year until Covid. I enjoyed our friendship very much. Myself and his group of friends from the workshop group were lucky enough to say our good byes to him on Saturday. You'll be missed Mike.

Love the model. On mine, I've had some complaints about the lower corners when playing close to the bridge. I'll probably shorten the corners slightly on future iterations.

Very well done as usual. I really like the outline and f’s of this model. N. Amati?

Are your stones flat? You should know whether your blade is sharp or not. If you’re not comfortable shaving hair from your arm it’s probably best to test using a different method. I often use the flat of my thumb nail. If the blade is sharp it should stick to your nail instead of sliding. Or you can try cutting paper.

Lots and lots of ribs

Hey Jordan, You know that when we were taping plates we were mostly just trying to look good while resting. I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing your viola when it's finished. -Jim

1. Fresh edge on plane iron 2. Plane sole flat and plane properly set up. 3. Clamping the plates as shown in picture can distort the plates. You can use a shooting board, or only clamp one corner of the plate to not introduce distortion during planing, or clamp between two bench dogs. Probably a few other ways.

Love the frog and button. My first thought was that it was some kind of stone, like agate. Until I read your post.

An article from my "dark arts" folder. Historical linseed oil colophony varnishes formulations.pdf

Go Aubrey! Gold for viola and cello!

Thanks John, that was very helpful.

John, for your tests you describe zero, mild, and long term. What were the ammonia concentration and durations of the mild and long term treatments? Thanks, Jim

Happy b-day Mike. Keep doing laps around the sun. Your works not done yet. Cheers, Jim

Great pics John. They definitely tell the story. Thanks for sharing these! -Jim

+1 to DB. Copper tubing is what I used for the gouge handles I’ve made.