Emilg

Glad to hear he is OK! ... so Edi, what exactly was Stradivaris secret?

Looks just like torn out varnish to me, sticking to the bridge feet.. the bridge seems to have had at least different 3 positions in a range of 2cm? I would not go against Jacobs advice, ... but i did sand and shellac such spots on my own violins

The Pegbox is known for its resurrections

I checked and it seems to be Osier Willow (Salix viminalis) what ive been using. I took some 12-15 cm wide logs, wide enough for neck and tail blocks. havent measured the density yet but i think it's close to spruce at .40-.45. And blimey, there are indeed loads of willow species...the things you need to know as a violin maker

Comparing violins will be difficult but there are some research papers on changing of wood properties due to natural aging. I did a quick search, but always find myself lost in the amount of information.. 2 quotes seem interesting though: So i guess you're right, even the science shows no consensus .. could even be density of spruce increases because of cellulose crystallisation?

good to know Yes, didnt the wood lose 5-6% weight by degradation in 300 years? Makes about 20-24g on a 400g violin. The willow i use bends and cuts very nicely, so unless it's turns out too heavy i will keep using it or try poplar for a change ..

So you think Strad used poplar rather than willow? Willow is what everyone seems to mention. I have been using willow from my parents garden, so mainly for sentimental reasons Never bothered to measure the density though, will do this and compare to spruce.

But didn't Strad use willow, or is this different from black willow? Do you know the densities of willow?

Cool Andreas, you the one with the beard? And I finally got to see the DG Sainton! i have been using this model from the start (from de EHA book), but never saw clear images.

Sounds like some sort of calcinated bacterial growth, like it happens on theeth (tartar?).Can get quite hard as we know. Perhaps careful rubbing with vinegar could help?

Or at least an important part of a 300 year process...

I can't find much info on that, but do you know if any Strads were regraduated too as Stewart Pollens claims? Did they also regraduate the DG's?

I can't find that specific table with data of Strads and DG's right now, but here's an interesting graph Don posted in de 'Strad concept' thread https://maestronet.com/forum/index.php?/topic/340165-stradivaris-secret-was-a-concept/page/2/&tab=comments#comment-798854 this paper also mentions a few DG and Strad median top densities of 0.34 to 0.38 (see figure 4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2438473/ Edit: Melvin, what makes you doubt those low numbers?

DG and Strad didn't seem to mind using lighter wood: DG's was 0.38 on average, Strad average 0.39 but varying from 0.36 to 0.45 if i remember correctly. Probably the wood was a bit denser when used though..