TJ Fuss

I wonder if "Bloxygen" would work. IIRC, it's argon gas used to displace oxygen in partially used containers of paint or varnish.

Thank you! I was already set up to photograph some paintings for a client and since I had the stuff out, I shot the violin as well. I use an X-Rite Passport Color Checker when I want to get accurate color.

Thank you! I used the three different color varnishes to minimize the color differenes from front to back. Before varnishing, the front was more red/brown and the back & ribs were more amber/blonde. The front looked more like old western red cedar than spruce! I used the additional color layers to intensify the color without adding the thickness it would have taken with just the varnish. I also wanted some variation - a little bit more color around the edges. Next time around, I'd be more generous with the color glazes.

The drying time wasn't too bad, the color layers took longer than the varnish. I have no UV box yet but I can see the benefit if I were to do more of this. Trouble is, the next refinish on my list is a double bass (it's already lost about half of its original finish). That would be one really big UV chamber! BTW, I've done french polishing but on a guitar. It took a while to get the feel of it but I was pleased with those results also.

Back in another thread, Rue asked if I would post about my attemp at re-varnishing a violin so here goes... Okay, we've already established in the other thread that revarnishing kills an instruments value. This one had little value to begin with. Sorry, I do not have the "before" photos. That's because I started this project 15-20 years ago and it sat down in the basement waiting for me to muster the time and motivation to resume. It really was a sorry mess with a thick, tar-like glop brushed all over the poor thing. It's also one of those cheaply made instruments with a very roughly carved inside the top plate. Yes, I realize that the crack repair could be better - that was part of the work I did so long ago. Anyway, there was a decent ground remaining so I skipped that step. I initially tried brushing thinned spar varnish but it was still going on much too thick. I sanded that back until it was just a thin seal coat and switched to wiping on Joha oil varnish from International Violin (golden brown, red brown, dark brown). In between layers, I tried a thin wash / glaze of transparent oil colors. Lacking the confidence to go with bold coloring / shading, I kept that fairly subtle. After a final coat of clear varnish, I've rubbed it out with rottenstone to subdue the harsh gloss of the varnish. I'm fairly pleased with the result and will continue with the set-up and have a friend give it a go. Hopefully, it's a better result than sending it to the bin.

I'm not in a position to offer much help but an estimated value range of $400 to $10,000 stikes me as pretty vague.

I played with one of the photos in PhotoShop, manipulating contrast, saturation, hue and such. It looks like there's another letter on that word in the lower right. Gothad / Gothed / Gothod... can't quite make out the 5th character. Or maybe the 6th character is an "o" with an accent? I'll try some other manipulations and the other photos a bit later.

"Resurrected Rubbish"... I might just have a new tag line!

Finally got around to making the plaster cast and fitting the button patch. Tricky work and not absolutely perfect, I'm glad I don't have to answer to a customer (or a boss) for my time. Much respect to you folks that make a living at this!

I thought some here might like to see these three items: two viola molds and an article about Louis from the estate of Phil Condax, his son. I never met Louis but had the pleasure of working with Phil in The Photographic Historical Society here in Rochester. The outside mold length is 16 inches while the inside mold is 16 1/4 inches and the profiles are quite different. The inside mold still has a rib garland and blocks attached. A search of old threads showed 5 pages of discussion over his research into violin finishes but precious little about his instrument making.

Excuse me a moment... I need to go talk with my publisher.

Pittsford to Santa Clara, that's quite a change of venue! I'm a transplant from Michigan but after 39 years here, I guess I'm from Rochester now. Thanks for showing your customer's violin, it definitely shows similar edgework.

"Japanned" is the name used for the black ashphaltum finish typical on older handplanes like Stanley. It's not a drying paint, but more of a thermoset finish. It was a very tough, durable finish that "imitated" Japanese lacquer thus "Japanning" or "Japanned".

The 52 is particularly good for endgrain and miters. Of course, it makes jointing a long-grain seam really easy. That said, I ran out of arm power trying to square up four end cuts in 2" x 11" solid walnut! Mine is just the plane, no chute board portion yet so I had to fabricate my own board for it. At the last tool meet I attended (Nashua, NH), opinion seemed to be that the collector value of the original Stanley 52 had fallen in recent years due to reissued versions (Veritas and Lie Nielsen).

Okay, forgetting the wood question... does anyone recognize the name "Link" as a maker? Or would it be just another ficticious marketing device?