Michael_Molnar

Fun facts are annoying bits of evidence that disrupt an opinion. Here are some more: 1) We can presume that Schleske and Brandmair were restating what they knew from their extensive experience and previous research. You are obfuscating things and undermining their expertise without evidence. This is intellectual dishonesty. 2) Greiner says specifically on P. 24 of B&G that they did not find any mineral-based fillers. Full stop. Mentioning Guadagnini is irrelevant. 3) Brandmair discusses often in B&G exposed wood areas where the wood is not clean. I suggest buying back B&G and re-reading it.

Yes, there is sometimes a bulge which I like.

Before I start on the next set of violins, I need to make some garlands. I have 4 PG forms and here is one modified with fence clamps. The corners need trimming and then I will add linings. It's important to get the ribs fitting tight on the form. The c-bout ribs are glued after the ribs are thoroughly dry. If damp, they will shrink and leave a gap. Conversely, the upper and lower bouts are fitted with very damp ribs that will shrink as the glue dries. This produces a tight fit. The lower bout rib is one piece ≥430 mm.

Pollens knows a lot more about violins than I; however, that video is dated. A lot of first class research has been done since then. Moreover, Pollens seems to enjoy glorifying Stradivari"s work with a good dose of mysticism, namely hidden secrets. Emil, Most of the varnish is indeed worn off, but not entirely and in not all cases. Some instruments were handled roughly. A lot happens over 3 centuries. Some instruments have more varnish than others. Also, I suspect that the varnish was not as tough as we like to make it nowadays.

Correct me, but I thought linoxyn was used to mull and blend lakes and pigments into varnish. The viscosity of a varnish made from linoxyn would be enormous. Right?

I do not know about shellac, but I understand that many instruments have little remaining colored varnish. Look at the uv photos for this.

Does this mean that you would want a lean varnish rather than fat?

A little wine helps too.

The color temperature of candle light is only 1500K which is very red.

I saw this sweating once many years ago and I think it was due to undercooked varnish. That is, the oil did not fully crosslink with the rosin. I imagine that you can get this if you blend too much uncooked oil into your varnish. Maybe. In any case, remove the varnish and start fresh.

I prefer gooseneck lamps with 6500K white light bulbs. Seeing shadows is key to finishing surfaces smooth and even.

I agree FWIW.

As Don said, more is less. I find that too.

Thanks. I will be showing photos over time. A problem is that photos do not reproduce what we see.

Thanks, but the jury is still out. What I see so far is that some lakes/pigments flocculate in water and form large particles in the oil. However, there are lots of ultra-small particles that almost make the oil look dyed. An issue is that low viscosity (cold-pressed) linseed oils do not hold a lot of pigment which I want. Excess pigment precipitates out. A high viscosity stand oil or a sun-bleached oil holds more pigment. I do not want to add a lot of oil to my lean varnish, so I need to get a lot of pigment into a small amount of oil. The bottom line is that mulling is needed still to blend any pigment-laden oil into the varnish. I will give results over time. So, stay tuned.