Shunyata
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Posts posted by Shunyata
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I think cleavers (a common edible weed) would be an interesting fine abrasive. The silica content is quite high, but the fiber content is relatively low. I imagine you could easily create an abrasive paste or powder from cleavers.
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My shop is in the basement, which came with cream yellow walls when I bought the house. Works very nicely to mellow LED lighting. I am moving to a new house in the nest few days (I feel your pain about trying to sell and repurchase in this crazy market!) and plan to paint the sane color in my new (bigger) basement shop.
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Danish String Quartet... especially the Woodworks album.
Anything Bonnie Rideout... especially her pibroch recordings.
Anything Tony Rice... especially the Manzanita album.
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A 22" is too large to have good control on such a small piece. My 17" works well. I bandsaw or table saw to get a straight, right angle cut... Then go to work With the plane.
Adjust to a very fine bite on your cut... you are truing up, not hogging material.
Pay close attention with a straight edge to see if you are overcutting the board ends and adjust you plane strokes accordingly. When no light comes through the straight edge check, unclamp your boards and check them... They will be perfect.
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Before taking any action I am "taking notes" to better understand what is happening with the instrument.
The last few days the G/G# wolf has virtually disappeared - although that range isnt the sweetest on the violin.
At the same time the B wolf has intensified, to a wobbly but useable note.
Humidity is lower lately.
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I am using plastic tailgut... and a Wittner style tailpiece, which I don't usually use. The tail piece seemed kind of long to me, with almost no exposed tailgut past the saddle to get 54mm string afterlength. Maybe a shorter tailpiece would be in order?
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I will try. Thank you.
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Do you think a slightly long neck might contribute to the issue?
I followed the Johnson and Courtnall bass bar dimensions.
The graduations were thinner than I usually do... 2.1mm to 2.2mm in the lungs, in an effort to get the weight down to a reasonable level.
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My latest build has been regularly played for about 4 weeks. It has two wolves, one between near G (on the G string, one octave up from open string) and the other at B nat just above. That whole range doesn't speak very well.
Both wolves seem to have developed over time.
No wolves on the other strings. In general the Gs and B-Cs throughout the violin have extremely rich color - I am guessing related to the wolves.
Any suggestions for construction or setup for managing the wolves... although the rest of the violin sounds so nice I am tempted just to learn to live with it.
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You should be able to get something nice for 5K... and only give up 2.5K if you trade it up for a 20K violin later.
At age 11 there are a lot of distractions yet to be discovered (young girls entering junior high is every parent's tribulation - voice of experience speaking). I wouldn't spend more than 5K just yet.
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Oohhh! A Menger Sponge fractal bridge. I like it!!!! Just think of the complex vibration frequencies enabled by a the fractal dimension of the sponge!
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I lined an old kitchen cabinet with aluminum foil and mounted 2 3OW LED "party" blacklight floodlights. Thoroughly dries a violin in 4 hours.
Two lamps were $35 on Amazon.
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52 minutes ago, Andreas Preuss said:
Would there a sound sample be available?
if you would provide as well technical data like final weight of the top (with and without bass bar) as well as string angle and bridge height bridge weight this would certainly contribute to the education of every one.How does one usually make a sound sample. I dont have any recording equipment, just a phone.
Final weight without bass bar 68g
Didn't weigh after bass bar, but I follow Johnson and Courtnall bass bar measurements pretty precisely.
String break angle 158 deg measured on A string.
Bridge height 31.5mm
Didn't weigh bridge. The thickness at the feet was about .1mm less than Johnson and Courtnall measurements, but the rest of the dimensions were spot on.
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I wanted to thank everyone for your kind guidance as I worked the plates for my latest violin. You encouraged me to go far lighter than I have in the past. And now that I have completed that violin, it is definitely the most mature sounding violin I have produced yet. And its ability to produce soft sounds and harmonics is amazing.
Thank you all again. I have learned so much from you all.
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I will buck the trend and suggest that you buy maple and pine from Home Depot. There is a whole lot of technique to learn and you won't cry over crapping up cheap wood.
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What you are describing is shibumi - the simple perfection of the whole that cannot be found in its parts.
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I saw it on DVD. But I think it is also on Netflix.
I grew up a few miles down the road from Daniel Houck' s residence in this documentary. It is a pretty accurate portrayal.
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See the documentary "Strad Style" about maker Daniel Houck.
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I use Ibex planes... I tried cheap Chinese planes and junked them. You will definitely need to refine the sole and blade profiles out of the box. And pick up toothed blades to go with them. It is worth the money.
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As a former environmental controls engineer for a museum, you aim for two things:
A reasonable level around whatever has been "normal" over the life of the artifact.
Tight control over the range of fluctuation and rate of fluctuation around "normal". Rate of fluctuation is extremely important.
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I don't like like fir for blocks, the growth rings can be too hard to work with easily. Home Depot poplar works very nicely, although cutting mortices for linings is a little more work with the harder wood.
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Mike, when I first started I went through the same reasoning process as you. (Whatever you do, don't confess on this forum that you are an engineer and want to apply engineering principles to violin construction.)
Where I wound up is this:
Ask as many questions as you can about technique. Better technique produces better instruments.
Follow standard measurement ranges, including all of the micro details. It helps to have a professional instrument in front of you. You will make mistakes and learn which measurements matter most.
Make a dozen or so instruments, taking measurements and qualitative notes, and play each of them for a couple of months each. Every piece of wood acts differently. Learn how you want it to act, and how to make it act appropriately (see above, which measurements matter most).
Watch Davide Sora's videos!
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From other threads I have gathered that many makers cut the f holes before completing the graduations. This naturally leads to a little more thickness around the holes just as you suggest.
I cut my f holes after graduation... but I am an amateur so what do I know?
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Thanks Don. I will move on and let you know how it turns out!
Varnish Brushes
in The Pegbox
Posted
I have excellent luck with 1" sponge applicators for the larger areas. But I use squirrel hair "mop" brushes (of assorted sizes) for the neck, scroll, edges, etc. You need a good brush to control flow in these areas.
And don't go cheap on brushes. False economy is no economy at all.