Geigenbauer

Now with soft box screen installed and slightly shifted light positions to minimize shadows.

I still had everything set up so I tried to illustrate Michael's point regarding shadows. The first image was taken with the same setup as before for the back. For the second image I removed the front screens from the soft boxes essentially making the lights a bit more focused. The shadows are getting more pronounced I think. This is the light kit I have (unfortunately a bit more expensive now compared to 2018 when I bought it): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C27QB1G/ With soft box screens installed: Without the soft box front screens:

Thank you

I must admit that I really don't have much experience with violin photography specifically. This was my first real attempt. I have only two lights so I'm not sure whether a third one would help with the flames. Sounds like something worth a try! I had to play with the position of the light to minimize reflections on the surface. The stands were definitely helpful for that. I didn't mount the camera on a tripod and played with the position of the lights and the camera until it looked okay. I ended up with both soft boxes above the violin and pretty "far out" (i.e. almost on the same plane as the violin). I use a Fuji X-T10 with a 35mm (50 mm full frame equivalent) 2.0 lens from Fuji. I read in an older thread that generally a longer focal length would be preferred. So I am sure there is room for improvement! I initially had some issues with reflection from the white table covering showing on the lower back. I ended up putting the violin higher up on two acrylic stands and that helped.

Yes, using two soft boxes which came as a set (the price was for the set of two lights, stands and soft boxes in a bag). Background removed with Photoshop.

Reading this made me curious and I just had to try the lights I originally bought for family pictures for a picture of my violin. I bought these (LED) lights as a set with with stands and soft boxes and paid ~$100 at the time (2018) on Amazon. I think they are a bit more now. I cropped the picture and did an auto tone correction in Photoshop. The stands are a bit flimsy but I am quite happy with the purchase.

Maybe helpful...

When I started I purchased several of the "bent shaft" roughing gouges (see picture). These have the bevel on the inside like corner block gouges which makes them more tricky to sharpen. I recently switched to regular gouges (with an outside bevel) and find them much more pleasant to use. At least for me it is much easier to follow a precise contour with them (by changing the angle of the handle vs the workpiece). Of the two larger Pfeil gouges I tried the 7/35 is my favorite. I also bought some longer handles but kept the originals on for now. Hope that is helpful.

I just wanted to point out that Brobst Violin Shop currently has a Jacob Stainer (c. 1655) for sale. You can listen to sound samples on their webpage: https://brobstviolinshop.com/instruments/jacob-stainer-absam-c-1655/

They come in various sizes. I have a very small unit that sends the produced ozone through a small hose into a water glas (for example). I tried to use it for wood staining (running the hose into a plastic bag with wood) but it didn’t really work for me. I think the unit was just too small. Or I didn’t wait long enough...

I have no clue whether this would work for a violin but I had to think of ozone generators. I believe they are used to eliminate odors in cars for example. Maybe something to look into.

You mighty find this video helpful regarding tools. The authors also has a series about making a new violin that could be a good start to get an idea about the process. You might also want to take a look at the book "The Art of Violin Making" by Johnson and Courtnall.

I am trying to get better at hearing/describing the different tonal qualities of instruments, so I find this to be a very interesting discussion. Thank you donbarzino for sharing the paper from Michael. It would be helpful for me (and maybe others) to be able to listen to some examples of the qualities Michael describes to make sure “nasal” (as an example) means the same for me as it does for others. I am therefore wondering whether some of the more experienced players, makers, and connoisseurs here on the forum would be willing to post examples of recordings (freely accessible on the web) that they find to be good “learning examples”. https://brobstviolinshop.com could maybe be a source since they have many recordings for their instruments from the same player and we can all listen to the same thing. Or maybe youtube? Are there examples that showcase a strong “nasal” quality, very uneven sound across the different strings, a very harsh sound (maybe vs a very smooth one), a lack of clarify etc. A bit short of a PhD thesis but maybe helpful anyways…

Happy Birthday David

The flattening part is what I find most interesting about the 12 in jointer (plus working on cellos later on). I am not sure I would invest in a power jointer for the center joint only. Weight, floor space and cost being the main issues. I currently do my center joints with a Veritas low angle jack on a shooting board. Works okay I think.