Thomas Coleman

You have to stir of course. But there is stirring and STIRRING. I've used Joe's varnish many times and I like it. I pour a small amount (enough for what I estimate to be one coat) into a small dish, then add a few drops of whatever concoction I'm messing with at the time, whether that be Joe's Linox, his color concentrate or drops of turp. I use a palette knife to mix it all up and then apply. It gets stirred.

That's great news Davide. Your work is very inspiring to me and I have really enjoyed your videos for several years now.

Excellent stories Andrew! The axe is awesome and I love to think about how many other stories it could tell. I also really enjoyed seeing the bowl and piglets. Really nice work.

Thanks Ken. Paper was very challenging for me too, which is ironic because I thought that it would be easier than parchment. Paper was too "mushy" and despite being high quality thick cotton paper, I was worried about it's longevity. I got calf skin parchment from Talas. I ordered two pieces and they were very different in thickness. Sorry I can't remember the thickness exactly and although I used the thinner of the two (maybe .4mm?) I suspect that I could've made the other one work too. Thanks for the kind words @Three13 and @David Stiles

A little bit of progress on the baroque guitar. I changed the final parchment design in order make it fit better in the allotted space. This guitar is based on Jan Van Cappelle's plans (but not the rosette), based on Stradivari patterns as opposed to an extant instrument, and the rosette is smaller than, for example, the Sabionari, making the parchment design that I chose very tight on space. Also, finally wound up using actual parchment as opposed the the cotton paper that I had been using. It tools SO much better, is more authentic, and is much stronger so that was a win.

The first shouldn't be an issue...It'll open by itself. It's called "creep" and is well documented with joints under stress that were glued with PVA. The second...good luck. I don't mean to be flippant and by all means, if you doubt me, please confirm (or not) these things for yourself.

Excellent advice. Is the suspected D peg crack that white line we see in the photos? If so, I doubt its a crack. A magnifying glass or your smartphone camera on zoom should help in determining whether or not it is. I suspect that it is either a mineral deposit in the wood or something similar.

Love it! Classy, simple and a hint of personality.

@chiaroscuro_violins@ShelbowThanks for the kind words. @J.DiLisioThanks! Not a specific maker but rather a Brescian Frankenstein. I think it turned out harmonious and congruent, at least I hope it did. I really had to force myself to leave the arch puffy and take it all the way to the edge. Not something I'd really done before. Cheers!

Still working on the baroque guitar but between working WW's and two violas that recently left the shop, one showed here, progress has been slow. Hopefully I can give it greater attention now. Here is a brescian style viola. 15 5/8 back. Very interesting what lighting can do to the color of an instrument. I think the last two are more accurate, color wise.

Excellent! You did a great job. Ready to start the next?

Love the baroque fiddle. Very nice work.

Korinthia Klein, Robyn Sullivan, Andrea Frandsen, Aubrey Alexander, Ada Quaranta, Hannah Fenn, Shelby Martignacco...Many many talented women in the field.

Ute Zahn, Marilyn Wallin, Ruth Obermayer, Marianne Jost, Bianca Cordero, a fraction of the well respected female luthiers I can think of. Sarah Peck, MJ Kwan, Sara Deliberato, Kristin Siegfried, Henne Hahn, so many more... Sigrun Seifert...

That's lookin' real nice Urban!