Jump to content
Maestronet Forums

Recommended Posts

Posted

Long pattern Strad copy work ongoing and a detail shot of finished viola I was adjusting...

Hi Melvin, those bee-stings are incredible!

You could slice of a few more shavings in the corners an sell them as study material for beginners :D

I wonder what's the size and sweep of the sinking gouge you are using?

Posted

Melving,

Superb looking varnish.

Do you mind if I ask what you're using?

I know, you've probably already said, but I don't keep track...

Hi CT

That varnish was over a very and I mean VERY weak glue size. Marciana varnish mixed with sotto gentile ( dead plaster) was the ground...I allowed this to dry for a long time. My aim was to imitate a beautiful simple light gold Peter Guarneri varnish I saw recently. To that end I made a Marciana type varnish having pre cooked the resins first to colour them and reducing the amount of oil to keep as much colour from the resins as possible. In theory it should have been simple but the result was not quite as intended. Fortunately this viola is antiqued but not a direct copy so I had some room to play around. There is a fair bit of patina and French polish on top of it all. I am glad you like it but would not really recommend what I did...certainly I will do different next time and am constantly experimenting. I am very interested in making varnishes but also an advocate of using varnishes from one or two much more experienced specialist varnish makers we can think of.

Posted

Hi Melvin, those bee-stings are incredible!

You could slice of a few more shavings in the corners an sell them as study material for beginners :D

I wonder what's the size and sweep of the sinking gouge you are using?

Hi Fjodor

Thanks for your kind words... I always love those shavings...maybe they could be set in resin? I think the gouge would accord with a circle of about 9 or 10mm...To be honest I am unfamiliar with the technical terms for gouges but I have a sequentially sized range of gouges of the same make and fit them to the job in hand...for this long Strad fluting the radius is tighter than for the later golden period Strads. I have a personal lettering for all my gouges so when I look at a classical old instrument I look at the fluting and know immediately which of my gouges will fit ( like a mechanic who only has to look to know what size spanner to use) & I write in my note 'fluting gouge Y all round' etc.

Posted

Regraduating a screamer cheap old fiddle with fancy purfling, for a friend. I have to stop taking on jobs like this. No corner blocks, several cracks, some old poor repairs, and the top was thicker than the back. It will be interesting to see if I can get it to sound any good.

The Stradofear mascot was given to me as partial payment for the repair.

post-25192-0-28848800-1301365694_thumb.jpg

Posted

I've been re-inforcing a broken button with a patch:

Nice job - I don't think I've ever seen that method used for a button graft. (I'm from a small town)

Once the heel (and the new block) is glued on, I believe that repair will be very strong.

Posted

Regraduating a screamer cheap old fiddle with fancy purfling, for a friend. I have to stop taking on jobs like this. No corner blocks, several cracks, some old poor repairs, and the top was thicker than the back. It will be interesting to see if I can get it to sound any good.

Was it possible to make a pre regraduation spectrum of that fiddle so a pre- and post regraduation plot can be made?

Posted
...Once the heel (and the new block) is glued on, I believe that repair will be very strong.

I think it will be stronger than when the instrument was new, because the patch goes down into the purfling. I have always used the old block when I've done this repair.

Posted

Was it possible to make a pre regraduation spectrum of that fiddle so a pre- and post regraduation plot can be made?

That's what I always do. I also take before and after plate measurements to add to my database.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Shame I messed up the glazing of the back but the red nano oxide mixed with green nano oxyde that violin88 graciously gave me makes a very warm red-brown color and very transparent (even though it is not completely obvious on the picture).

post-29661-0-01022300-1302288272_thumb.jpg

post-29661-0-42503800-1302288303_thumb.jpg

Posted

Shame I messed up the glazing of the back but the red nano oxide mixed with green nano oxyde that violin88 graciously gave me makes a very warm red-brown color and very transparent (even though it is not completely obvious on the picture).

Are those nano oxide pigments getting more widely available?

Where are makers sourcing them these days, don't remember seeing them in the Kremer Catalague?

Good looking instrument!!!!!

Posted

Hi All,

Bill Sloan, already known to many of you in the States, came by the shop the yesterday on a visit and about the same time Uto Ughi showed up with the "Rose" 'del Gesù' of 1744. Couldn't pass up a quick photograph.

Bruce

post-29446-0-90500400-1302292253_thumb.jpg post-29446-0-86608100-1302291698_thumb.jpg

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...