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Found 22 results
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Hello everyone. I'm interested in maybe in the near future trying to learn how to make a violin but have no idea where to start. I've watched several Youtube videos on it but a lot of the times Youtube isn't a great source for this stuff. I'm hoping maybe some of you know of a thread on this site that goes over the basics on how to do it? Any help is greatly appreciated.
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I'm interested in hearing if wood pore size has an effect on sound of an instrument, whether it be good or bad. I have access to a wood known as "Tornillo" (Cedrelinga catenaeformis) and it's pores are absolutely massive. Pore size ranges from 300-500 micrometers which is way bigger than any wood I've ever seen. It takes very well to turns, glues, stains, and finishes. It's around 2x harder than red pine and it's only 1 lbs/ft3 heavier than red pine. I'm considering getting some to try for finger boards and maybe top plates, though I've forgotten if top plates need quarter sawn wood or if it's fine in any form. I do want to hear your guys' opinions on woods with large pores though and how it affects the sound if you guys have knowledge on it. Cheers to woods. Tornillo Wood: https://www.wood-database.com/tornillo/
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Please feel free to post links to articles available on the internet pertaining to making, repair & restoration on this thread. Periodically, I'll move the links into categories if the number of entries gets to be a bit much to sort through. Please do not post attachments, only links available publicly... We want to make an effort to respect author's copyrights.
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Collection of Violin Books for sale. Selling as a lot. I am closing up shop and need to sell. Here is the list: Meister Italienischer Geigenbaukeust Walter Hamma The Classic Lines of Italian Violinmaking Carlo Vettori Violin Restoration first printing #392 Weissar & Shipman Arte Liutaria - Analysis of Antique Instruments and Restoraation Techniques #286 signed Carlo Vettori The Book of the Violin 1987 Dominic Gill Il Liutaio 1978 La Casa Nuziale Arnoldo Baruzzi Violin Varnishes Hammerl The International School of Cremona Two Score Years of Violin-Making Gualtiero Nicolina The Violin Paolo Peterlongo The Hill Collection of Musical Instruments 1969 David D Boyden Violin Varnish and Coloration Martins Roberts Zemitis Il Manoscritto Littario Di G A Marchi first edition 1986 R Regazzi Known Violin Makers 4th ed 1983 John Fairfield You Can Make a Stradivarius Violin 1967 Reid Italian Violin Varnishes George Fry Bows and Bow Makers William C Retford The Bow, History, Manufacture and Use Henry Saint-George Arte Liutaria - April 88 No 10 Arte Liutaria - August 88 No 11 Old Violins and Violin Lore H R Haweis The Violin and Viola Shelia Nelson Violin Making as it was and is (1978) Ed Hero- Allen Fiddles: Their Selection, Preservation and Betterment 1910 Henry Saint-George Violin and Cello Building and Repairing 1969 Robert Alton Cremona Violins and Varnish Charles Reade A Review of Ancient and Modern Violin Making W W Oaks The Violin Maker’s Guide 1974 H E Brown The Technique of Violin Making H S Wake Useful Measurements for Violin Makers H S Wake Violin Bow Rehair and Repair H S Wake A Luthier’s Scrapbook H S Wake Violin Maker’s Notebook H S Wake Violin Identification and Price Guide Book 1 Roy Ehrdardt Violin Identification and Price Guide Book 2 Roy Ehrdardt Violin Identification and Price Guide Book 3 Roy Ehrdardt Final Summary Report of Violin Varnish Research Project Louis M Condax The Materials of the Artist Max Doerner The Artist Handbook Ralph Mayer Attached is photo.
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Can someone help me also in suggesting materials required to make an electric viola. Also, I found some reviews and articles on the internet recently, so can anyone help me in selecting one among them.
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I've played violin for 4 years and recently I have wanted to try making them. I have absolutely no idea where to start and want to if at all possible avoid spending $100 just on a book. I have tried to find someone I could go and talk to about it but couldn't find anyone who makes violins in my area. Some more specific questions I had were what is the baseline for tools I would need, what kinds of wood would I need and where could I get it, are there any online or cheap resources I could use for a guide and if not what are some recommendations for good books to look into? Also just advice of any kind would be very helpful.
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Greetings, In a recent talk with a Luthier friend, he shared with me that plate tuning could get very tedious, because of the difficulties at each step to know exactly where to carve so as to obtain the desired impact on the final frequency. Reading some papers, I came across a very interesting one, by Alan Carruth, a former student of Carleen Hutchins (attached carruth1991plate.pdf). In this article, the author gives a diagram with the impacts that carving might have on several different regions on the plate. I then compiled this information in a spreadsheet, where you can input the desired final frequencies for the plates, and then feed it with the current ones. Based on this information, the spreadsheet will show diagrams with the regions that could be carved in order to achieve the final desired frequencies. My friend liked it so much, that he encouraged me to share it to the Luthier community, so I'm sharing here with you. Please feel free to post any questions, criticism, and any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for your attention! carruth1991plate.pdf
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Hi, I am in the process of building my first violin using an inner mold and would like to use allignment pins for finishing the edge work before beginning thicknessing. I've heard of a variety of different materials being used for allignment pins however I would like to use ebony. Are there any places where I could find ebony pins? If not, how would I go about making them? Any advice or good alternatives to ebony pins would be great! Thank you.
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Hello all! So, I've been really excited about trying to cook my first batch of oil varnish. I've been researching the forums on here/ various things on the internet and getting supplies for the job. I was planning on purchasing a hotplate for cooking the varnish on when I discovered a "dip coat melting pot" while cleaning out the basement of our shop. It looks like an industrial glue pot with temperature control ranging from 100 to 500 degrees F. Looking them up online shows me that they are designed specifically for heating viscous materials evenly (plastics, resins, ect.) and often come with "thermostatic control to eliminate carbonization". Seems like its the sort of thing that would be perfect for cooking varnish! Has anyone done or heard of others using these things, or just have opinions on the matter? Also, any more varnish tips/ suggestions would be well appreciated. -Marcus
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Hello Maestronet! I have quite a dilemna, as many of you know it is important to consider many things before making an informed decision. I have many questions for you violin makers out there both amateur and professional. I am 23 years old, and I am very passionate about the Violin. I currently am enrolled at a University in the Biology program. I love everything about the violin and enjoy messing around with different strings (probably have spent close to a 1000 dollars on different strings and just appreciating differences in strings and sound). I've also taken apart a few violins when I was younger (probably not very well) and just enjoy the shape of the violin also the new violin smell from a newly finished violin by a maker, you could say I have an obsessive personality. I am also looking into doing the Southern California Violin Making course as well as the American School of Violin Making. I have the neccesary tools, but lack basic woodworking skills such as sharpening. Also I have the Courtnall/Johnson book 'The Art of Violin Making' which is a good guide, but is a bit difficult to get started with just that. I also lack certain power tools that would make life a bit easier such as a band saw. I've looked around on the site for information but have further questions to ask. I have a few questions for you makers out there. 1. If you had the option to do it all over again, would you choose violin making and why? 2. Another question is, I am no longer on my own. I have a wife (in her final year of undergrad) and would like to one day have children, I am concerned with my capability to be able to provide the necessities for my family in the future. 3. The availability of apprenticeships or internships- Are they available and what does it entail? Usually how long do they last and what does life look like after graduating from a reputable Violin making school? of course there are other questions I would like to ask but these are the main questions I have been wondering about. I greatly appreciate any response and have enjoyed this board for many years. Aaron Towarak
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Happy 100th Birthday Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:30 pm Post subject: Happy Birthday, Harold Hayslett Celebrated his 100th birthday yesterday, Dec 26. He's a resident of Charleston, WVA. After retiring as a plumber/steamfitter in 1980 he began making violins, and became a well respected cello maker. In the 1990s he was awarded a Gold Medal for Cello tone from the ViolinSociety of America. This fall, he donated nearly his entire shop inventory of partially completed instruments, parts, plates, wood, tools, to the Southern Violin Association. A large part of the collection can be seen at https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AN1D02eul9dOJbY&v=photos&id=72ABB1F447C6888D%2112911&cid=72ABB1F447C6888D Some of the nicenst items will be offered for auction at the SVA annual meeting and conference April 19-21 in Little Switzerland, NC. The remainder will be auctioned on Ebay afterward. If you want to be added to our mailing list (Southern Violin Association), or if you'd like to see a particular item or group put on ebay, please email me at davidwchandler@outlook.com
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Who is planning on attending this workshop in Fredricksburg, VA? Joe Thrift is the instructor. Details are here.
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A year or more ago I remember finding an article about bow head design. It very well could have been in two parts and also discussed frogs and/or buttons, but the head part is what is sticking with me. The article compared two or three well known makers one of which was Lamy, with the original design of a modern maker. It discussed the choices that can be made in designing a head, with some photos of the bows in question that allowed you to really see the differences that can be made with the curve of a throat, nose, and footprint, as well as some other decisions. I believe it was a .pdf linked from his website, and there is a possibility it was published somewhere. I am revisiting my templates again and found it helpful to have that information as a jumping off point. I have searched online and I'm not having any luck, but if someone has it bookmarked or knows what I'm talking about, I would greatly appreciate a chance to reread it. Thank you for your help.
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Hello, I have a piece of maple one piece back for sale. It is a nicely framed maple for violin making. It's stored in the storage for a few years. Please feel free to have a look and give an offer if interested! My email is laustephen498@hotmail.com
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I've recently been inspired to design and make a new viola. I thought it might be fun to post some of my progress pics to anybody who might be interested... Here's a picture of the plate I joined last week for the viola back. I slightly undercut the notches you see to be about halfway up the full thickness of the plate so as to even out the pressure on the seam when I clamp.
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Ok, so I'm cutting the slots for the purfling on my second violin and I wasn't happy with the amount of glue seep-age I got on my first. Seemed to make the varnish not want to stick to the edges. What technique do you use to glue purfling into its slot?
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This question was sparked by a comment made by Mr. Burgess in the recent "Beginning Luthier" thread: How much time do you spend building new instruments vs doing repairs and/or sales? Which activity actually pays the bills and which of these activities do you like doing the most?
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Hello, I am trying to find much more information about bowmaking. As i don't use power tools and my method is closer to the French, i would like to know if there is any book available. Regh's bow making book, as also Henderson's (i don't have my own copies but as i know) are based to different making methods, not by hand tools. I read about the Bolander's book, that is based on the French method but i cannot find it anywhere. Is there any else good book for bow making?
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Hello all, I've decided to start this thread as a way to document my violin making adventures. I'm going to start out with my most recent trials in varnishing. I recently purchased a white violin and planned to try the following system on it: Shellac coats (various colors) to seal and ground, then IVC oil varnish for hints of color followed by clear coats and rub down. So far I've completed the shellac sealing and grounding. The pictures below are in chronological order (going from white violin to sealed to final ground coat). I would describe the resulting color as a light golden walnut. Feel free to ask questions or critique my process. Thanks The pictures go: Back, Ribs then Front. Each progression of that pattern represents another step or part of the sealing and grounding.
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Hello everybody and my best wishes to every member here. I recently started making a bow from Padauk wood. It is a very nice while working on it, nice response to bending, not heavy like IPE massaraduba etc but not soft also. The result is above my expectations. Has anyone tried such a wood for a violin bow?
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Hi, How do you get a perfectly smooth surface for varnishing when making a violin? It seems there is always a few tool marks left over when I try. Any advice on this? Thank you.
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I noticed this on ebay, just thought I'd post it here in case anyone thinks it sounds nice! Have a pleasant day. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Group-of-Violin-Making-Jigs-2-Violin-Clamps-Side-Neck-/310941774830
