chiaroscuro_violins

I think @uncle duke does

I recently worked on a violin that had chalk on the belly where the soundpost fits. I presume this means the person who installed it did a chalk fitting. I'd never heard of it before, but maybe I'm just naive. Assuming chalk is a viable way to fit a soundpost, I imagine the presence or absence of an end button hole is inconsequential. On a similar note, I've noticed a slightly burnished look on the soundpost ends where it makes contact with the plates. I primarily fit with mirrors, but I think I can use that to confirm I am indeed getting 100% fit. Do experienced luthiers ever use that trick? Is it just a red herring? If it is a valid method, then I suppose chalk wouldn't be necessary at all.

I should have said the blade needs to be in plane with the axis, not parallel to it. I didn't mean to imply a cylindrical peg but I see why it was easy to read it that way.

The edge of the blade, obviously. If the plane of the blade is not aligned with the axis of the peg, you won't get a very accurate taper. It'll take more off in the middle leaving you with a curved "taper."

Making a peg shaver isn't too bad. The important thing is that the blade is parallel to the axis of the peg.

Would this be the same as Wilhelm Ernst Martin?

Looks like it's had an edge doubling in the upper bouts. See if you can notice it from the outside. I think I see the seam in your photos, but it'll be easier for you to see it in person.

Is something wrong with the pegs it came with? What do you see to suggest that?

Is the objective to end up with a quality instrument, or to learn how to do repairs? In my opinion, this is a good project for OP. Unless I'm missing something, it needs a lot of common repairs which have not been complicated by epoxy or warpage. The instrument is not valuable at all, so if she screws it up (pun lol) it's no great loss. However, it does have a better chance of turning out nice than the cheapest of the cheap VSOs. My first couple repair projects were extremely similar and I think it's a good way to learn.

A neck graft may not be the most difficult job, but it's darn near the most critical. If you don't get an absolutely perfect fit, it isn't going to hold. I don't know what kind of experience you have, but I'm not an expert in a place to judge. Good luck, and don't take off too much wood at once.

1. It's free 2. It's fun to use 3. You can say you didn't use sandpaper I personally find equisetum easier for burnishing without changing the shape of the arch. It seems to smooth the wood without taking any off. But that's based anecdotally on my limited experience building 7 instruments, on all of which I used equisetum. Maybe I just suck at sandpaper.

One of my teachers owns two violins by Marten Cornellisen. He is not the type to talk about his violins but it is clear how much he loves them. As an aspiring violin maker, I count myself lucky to have been exposed to the Cornellisen as much as I was. There are no defects in the workmanship, and I could listen to even just the open string sound for days. As yet, I have only admired the fiddles from a distance. I also played in a jazz ensemble with his neighbor, a trombonist. He will be missed.

As an American maker, you'll just have to accept that in 100 years nobody will believe you ever put a tool to wood.

No need to comment on the corners. On a separate note, you have done a really nice job cutting the purfling channel cleanly and evenly. Have you done the top plate yet?

I don't have an opinion on the violin beyond whom I choose to believe in this thread. But the case being made for a markneukirchen origin is reasonable and thorough. It is always better to form conclusions based on evidence, than to speculate to serve a preferred conclusion (yours or someone else's).

When an unsuspecting repairman tries to take your top off, it'll be the wood doing the moving, not the glue.

In no way does aftermarket antiquing preserve varnish. It is pretty clear what happened here: exactly what Wood Butcher described.

Great color and texture! I love it!

You're not supposed to use Titebond for the neck set or gluing the plates on. I would think you'd want to practice using hide glue for every glue joint so you can be proficient when it comes to the necessary joints. If working time is a concern for you, make sure your shop is relatively warm and practice dry-clamping every joint so you know how fast you can work.

I've never done this, so it's really more of a question. But couldn't you steam the corners apart using the same bending iron you shaped them with? It seems wasteful to cook it and disassemble entirely when all you need is the upper and lower bout corners.

Why is there friction with sandpaper but not with pumice? It seems there would be if it is abrading anything.

Please don't cut the rib corners back... Listen to Mr. Smith!

I don't know if it is equal to "perfect pitch," but it is possible to learn really good pitch memory that is effectively the same thing. I think that the reason we can hear the difference between different keys in the same mode is because we subconsciously "know" where a G or a Bb should be, even if we couldn't consciously synthesize that information on the spot. People who are not musicians have not thus developed their ear, so they would have no clue unless they were born with natural perfect pitch.

Bass bars are not exactly hard to come by, but keep in mind that the more wood you carve away, the harder it will be to get usable bass bars out of it. Out of curiosity, which super glue did you use?

You might get 6 bass bars out of this. It's not a waste even if you can't use it for a top.