Jim Bress

I have a cheat sheet with David’s gel times for tasks taped to the wall next to my bench. I’m always surprised when the glue:water weight ratio is way off. You’d think an ecologist would notice seasonal changes without the gel times suddenly changing.

Cool graphics Mike. If not in mm then what, braccio? -Jim

Dang it. My fourth suit this year, and it’s only January.

Have you tried using slaked pop? I do not find that transparency or chatoyance is reduced in any way. If it does, it may due to the varnish not being a good refractive match to the mineral ground. My preference is to mix the pop directly into the varnish for the ground application.

I saw the pics initially, and thought I also saw openings near the ends of the top plate as well. However, when I went to look at them again the pictures were all blank.

I would cut them and re-join. 14 - 16 mm arch keeps you in the "normal" arch height range. There are some good threads on joining plates that describe how to leave a slight concave shape along the joint line. Swelling along the joint is more pronounced toward the center than the ends, which is possible how your gaps occurred. -Jim

Outstanding work.

That would make a great coffee table with a glass top over the drawer.

If it dissolves the shellac flakes it will work. However, with the proof this low I would worry about the finish being cloudy.

Hi Andrew, Here are my thoughts on the lion-dog. While dogs vary quite a bit, cats alway look like cats. Your tracing and carvings have a lot of mastiff characteristics. The pipe lion's head is a better representation. Try seeing the differences in proportions of the stop (forehead rise from muzzle). muzzle length and shape, amount of exposed nose leather, and cheek bones. Ear position can also provide a sense emotion, i.e., forward ears looks more alert and assertive.

Thanks for the edge numbers Nathan. That’s approximately where I was going, but hadn’t settled on specifics yet. My purfling shelf is at 6.0 mm, which is where I planned on leaving the corners.

Thanks David and David. 2.75 mm seems very reasonable. Cheers, Jim

Hi Folks, I've been keeping notes for a couple of years now on cello construction methods from MN members and other sources. However, I haven't been able to locate the thickness of wood left under the purfling (and I'm ready to start the purfling). For violin and viola I've been leaving 2.0 mm under the purfling channel. In the cobwebs of my memory 2.5 mm comes to mind for cello. Unfortunately, wherever I may have come across that reference I did not write it down or the source where I heard/read it. For cello makers, what thickness do you leave under the purfling channel? If it makes a difference, I'm building a P.G. Rogeri model. Thanks

Nice color.

Or the opposite. When discovering something that works really well and potentially gives that maker an edge over the competition (real or imagined) they clam up to not give away their 'secrets'.