HongDa Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Hi all, Been a while since I've had time to get on here. 2nd child keeping me away from the computer. I thought these pictures would be interesting for some here as I found some posts mentioning these various traits. I won't give the maker's name in case some of you want to guess. I'm sure the experts will know right away. So presuming it is authentic..... One thing that I'm curious about is the screw. The instrument is dated 1895. Wouldn't some corrosion be expected? It almost appears to be made of aluminum also. Possibly a newer screw from a neck resetting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradofear Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I thought the first one was some kind of pretty flower that I wasn't quite getting a fix on. Didn't realize what it was until I saw the second, and understood I was looking inside of a violin. Welcome back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janito Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Never seen a slab cut bass bar before - always a first time for everything. ps - I would have preferred a Phillips screw and a washer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iburkard Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 It looks awfully clean inside. I've seen slab cut bars before, but never a good looking one. This one looks nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCockburn Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Degani? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HongDa Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 A few more pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlecollector Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I go with John Cee`s suggestion, going by the reinforced back seam and 5 piece purfling,etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HongDa Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I go with John Cee`s suggestion, going by the reinforced back seam and 5 piece purfling,etc... ok! And so is the slabcut bassbar also typical? Last picture. D.E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iburkard Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Is that steel wool residue in the f... and clear coated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew weinstein Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I doubt that the screw would be original. Just a warning, Degani is a much copied maker, I'm not saying yours is or isn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janito Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 Back to the bassbar... Could one not argue that a bassbar carved out from a quartersawn top should do a better job than a slab cut insert? ps - Which famous makers inserted slab-cut bassbars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 I think that Roger Hargrave, on Biddulph's book on Del Gesù, mentions that a Del Gesù pochette is fitted with an original slab cut bass bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luthier Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hello all, One of my violins has a slab cut bar as well, but I think it is not original to the violin, and it's also out of place. What's the logic, if any, supporting a slab cut bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 None, quarter sawn bars are much stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusicstudio Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 sweet high rez pics thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Never seen a slab cut bass bar before - always a first time for everything. ps - I would have preferred a Phillips screw and a washer. I vaguely remember an article (perhaps Strad mag) which mentioned an original Amati slab-but bass bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Noon Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 None, quarter sawn bars are much stronger. That was my inital thought... until I measured the stiffness of one slab cut and one quartered... they're the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janito Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 That was my inital thought... until I measured the stiffness of one slab cut and one quartered... they're the same. Just to be sure, are you saying that the a piece of wood of square cross-section has the same stiffness when measured with the grain 'vertical' or 'horizontal'? And the number of times this has been done with difference pieces of wood is? ------------ Later... The tone of the questions is meant to be 'inquisitive', not 'inquisitional'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Noon Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Just to be sure, are you saying that the a piece of wood of square cross-section has the same stiffness when measured with the grain 'vertical' or 'horizontal'?And the number of times this has been done with difference pieces of wood is? ------------ Later... The tone of the questions is meant to be 'inquisitive', not 'inquisitional'. Yes, and I only tried it once.* I measured the stiffness on my one test as being identical slab and quarter. Actually, since the tangential grain direction (vertical direction on a quartered bassbar) is the softest, a slab cut bar would be slightly more resistant to compressive distortion (bass foot vertical force compressing the grain)... although at first glance this doesn't seem to be a real concern. Cutting a slabbed bassbar would be more of a pain, crossing the rings at shallow angles. You'd think the dense rings would act as beams, making the quartered direction stiffer vertically, but that is not so. I think it gets down to the geometry of the cell walls, which tend to line up better crossgrain than along the rings. *this is a super-easy test that anyone can do. Just set up the fence on the bandsaw and cut twice, then see which way rings at a higher tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HongDa Posted July 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Is that steel wool residue in the f... and clear coated? Looks like steel wool in the picture but it's maybe just the contrast setting. It looks to have had some French polishing done on it but not really as shiny as it looks in the picture. Apparently the instrument has a certficate of authenticity. The customer brought it in for a tone adjustment and new fittings. He was also asking my opinion about a new bassbar. I told him that he'd better take it to a reputable restorer for advice as I'm not sure how it's value would be effected. Out of curiosity; what is the standard practice of changing a bassbar if an instrument is authentic and it's bassbar is original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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