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Showing results for tags 'tools list'.
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Hi all, Wanted to get some advice and recommendations here. I'm a player who's also really interested in lutherie, and I'm trying to carve my first bridge now, but I'm not entirely sure what tools to get. There are "bridge carving sets" like these on sale on eBay: Violin Making Tools Brass Planes Bridge Knife Clamp needle files Luthier tools | eBay but the quality of these tools seems rather, well, questionable, and it also seems to include different things that the bridge carving tutorials I've seen online, such as those from Davide Sora. From what I’ve gathered, I’ll need a set of various files, calipers, a very thin knife, chalk (maybe?), and a block plane. But with hundreds of options available online, I’m overwhelmed. For instance, searching "block plane" on eBay pulls up thousands of new and vintage planes priced anywhere from $10 to $100, and to my untrained eye, they all look pretty similar. I’d like to avoid buying something super cheap that turns out to be unusable, but I also don’t want to overspend on something unnecessarily high-end. I’m aiming for a solid, functional set of tools to start with—ideally without breaking the bank. Does anyone have recommendations for reliable tools? Thanks in advance! P.S. I don’t mind going for second-hand or vintage tools—I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with whetstones thanks to my “Japanese chef knife phase.”
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This is my first entry in the start of my violin-making hobby. I first became interested in violin-making when I was studying music at the University of Texas almost 20 years ago. I even bought the (then) fairly recently published, The Art of Violin Making by Chris Johnson and Roy Courtnall along with a few others: Antonio Stradivari by W. Henry Hill; Violin Making as it was and is by Ed Heron-Allen; and Acoustical Systems of Violins by Isaak Vigdorchik. Being a broke college student at the time, the books sat in storage, collecting dust after I had read skimmed through them. Here I am now, still feeling the itch to learn the craft, but with the means to make it happen. By day, I'm a legal aid attorney (i.e. not the rich kind). I live in Lubbock, Texas with a wife and a toddler. . . and a mortgage. My days of serious violin-playing are long behind me but I do take out the 'ole fiddle every now and then. Before COVID, I even played with a community orchestra in town that put on two concerts per year. My instrument was made in Austin, TX by William Townsend in 2002. My parents bought it for me as a college graduation present. Eventually, my goal is to play on one that I've made with my own hands. Beyond the basic woodworking instruction I received in my high school shop class, I'm starting from scratch with no in-person guidance. I understand it will be a long and slow journey before I can make anything that looks and sounds decent but it's all about the journey for me. I'm starting this post in part to motivate myself to keep it up. Right now, I'm still setting up my workspace and collecting basic supplies. I plan to dedicate a part of my garage to this endeavor. Next to that space there's a small recess where I plan to put in a small workbench with a vice or two. I don't have much else yet. In the pictures you can see a scrap piece of granite that I picked up at a local store which will serve as my surface plate. I don't think it's perfectly flat, but I think it's good enough. Apart from that, Santa brought me a few tools for Christmas. A few more items and soon I'll be ready to rock. I think 2022 will be the year. Check back later for updates!
