Brian in Texas

How are those carved? All tiny gouges and chisels or do you also use rotary tools? Very impressive work, either way.

Thank you. And yeah, the background is just the plywood floor in my shop.

I wonder who fitted the pegs on that, because I have questions for them.

Here is violin #1 after the 3rd coat of varnish. The last coat left a nasty drip under the treble f-hole.

I really want to achieve a darker color, and subsequent coats should help in that regard. Of course, I didn't see this crack until after I brushed on the first coat of varnish. I believe it's a drying check from being in the UV box and possibly overheating. Whatever caused the crack, it doesn't seem to be too bad. There's no buzzing when I tap the violin, hopefully it's just superficial. I really, really, REALLY don't want to remove the back (again!) for a repair, so I'm just proceeding as is. If that's a mistake, oh well, chalk it off to experience. Wouldn't be the only fatal flaw this instrument has, what's one more at this point?

Regarding the playing, everyone loves a good progress montage.

Looking much better, Mike! Is that color sample on bare wood? It kinda looks to be the case. Maybe with a deep gold ground coat, the bright red won't appear so severe.

I noticed that, too. Super weird. Maybe the result of some kind of AI "upscaling" algorithm.

All the young players that have relied on decent quality, reasonably priced Chinese made instruments are likely to be priced out of buying if this keeps up. Thinking about all the kids that play rental instruments when they begin, and then progressing to the point of needing a better instrument without their parents being able to afford one just makes me sad.

What Urban Luthier said. A Moxon vise wouldn’t be very useful for violin making. Consider a quick release, wagon vise, or a leg vise.

While going through a bunch of old family documents and photos, my Mom, who's interested in our genealogy, came across the sale contract for my great-grandfather's cello from 1961. Just in case anyone needed a glaring reminder of inflation and all that... My great-grandfather was a cellist like me, but undoubtedly a finer player than I'll ever be. He died decades before I was born, so I never had a chance to know him. But by all accounts, he was a fun and really interesting fellow. He served as principal cello in the El Paso Symphony for decades, were he reportedly never relied on sheet music during a performance, having memorized whatever part he was playing for each concert. Apparently, this allowed him to keep a closer eye on the conductor, as well as checking out the ladies in the front rows. The family lore is that his cello was attributed to Nicolas Lupot, but not 100% confirmed to be his work. Then there's the casual mention of a Tourte bow being included in the sale! If genuine, that bow alone is probably worth more than my house today. I know there's the inflation factor to think of, but also that the value of antique instruments and bows have exponentially increased over the last few decades. But the idea of the cello and two bows (and one of that quality) selling for $1500 truly boggles the mind. I paid more than $1500 just for my bow, and that was almost 25 years ago. Upon his retirement from music, my great-grandfather's cello and bows were sold here to his star pupil, who went on to be an acclaimed soloist performing around the world. The story sadly ends in Montreal, where my great-grandfather's former student was on tour and met up with some friends for dinner. He left the cello in his hotel room while they went out, and upon his return, he found that it had been stolen. That always sounded like an inside job to me, and that perhaps one of his "friends" was anything but. So just in case anyone has a time machine and $1500, let me know. I swear, I'll pay you back.

So, one piece backs are a no-go? Interesting. Granted I'm a beginner, but I haven't come across this particular stylistic aversion before. I'm guessing in your experience, they're more prone to issues in the long term?

Oh dang! Yeah, that's pretty rough. I hope things shape up for you soon. Silver linings, indeed.

You lucky dog!

WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE F***?!