Thomas Coleman

Hello and welcome Shane. Shellac, excretions from the lac bug, is not a very durable finish. It is prone to chipping. I'm of the opinion (not worth much) that violin varnishes would not be very suitable for a knife handle. Unless you're trying to recreate an historically accurate look I would think an epoxy finish would be your best bet.

You could possibly pierce the back of the pegbox, similar to a viola d'amore?

Well said. And like @Bill Yacey I would not trust gorilla glue for anything short of a kids science fair project.

Awesome baroque! Is the neck nailed? Nice work as always.

I'll soon start a baroque guitar, Stradivari, using plans by Jan van Cappelle. One of the daunting parts was the rosette so I decided to do some practice. Here is my first completed rosette. Not as nice as the laser cut ones you can buy but I'm pleased and confident that I'll be able to make something halfway decent. I'll make the actual rosette about 3mm larger than this one. Here I used pearwood and archival cotton paper (used by many contemporary makers). I'd still like to try actual parchment as I suspect that it'll be tougher than the cotton paper. I'm still researching and practicing but hope to start on the guitar ,in earnest, in the next coupla' weeks.

I totally agree.

Two votes for Matt's layout.

My latest violin. I don't antique instruments in general but for several reasons decided to do it on this one. The last photo looks like there is white wood in one of the scars but that's just a reflection. Lots to learn. Excelsior. I'm very pleased with how it sounds.

Nice! There are so many instruments that I'd like to make but a Strad style guitar is very high on the list. Good job.

Looking good Dmitri! What's been your favorite task so far? What has been the hardest?

There is no prescribed distance that the corner length should be. It is an aesthetic and practical consideration. As Nathan mentioned, too long or short can look awkward. Too long and they can be easily damaged or possibly affect bowing. How did you derive your garland outline? If it was reversed from a photo or plan it is easy to make the corners too long. A remedy is to redraw the outline on paper, tracing your new template and then using a washer or some such to account for rib thickness and overhang. Also draw in the rib miters. This will give a decent approximation of what the corners will look like. Like Nathan I would recommend trimming down the rib corner a bit. If the endgrain of the mitered rib starts to get too wide/thick you can use a fine file to thin the thickness of the C bout rib a little to make it visually pleasing making sure to blend it nicely. Not a lot but a little.

Looking good Stephen. Is someone teaching you or are you using books/internet?

I used this book and plans from Hana Lima along with Guitarmaking Tradition and Technology by Cumpiano https://hanalimastore.com/products/hana-lima-ia-ukulele-construction-manual I've made several guitars and so approached the uke as a mini guitar. The book is well worth the money in my opinion.

I Always appreciate your thoughtful comments Davide

Lots of good info here https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/cozio-carteggio/beethovens-quartet/