David Burgess Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 52 minutes ago, Jim Bress said: Do bow makers have similar discussions where only workmanship is judged at VSA competitions? Even though the playing isn't judged, I've heard workmanship judges express opinions about whether a bow would play well or not. 32 minutes ago, sospiri said: So are you virtue signalling your modesty? I'm a'tryin. You can call me Captain David Virtue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sospiri Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 1 minute ago, David Burgess said: I'm a'tryin. You can call me Captain David Virtue. Aye aye Captain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Noon Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 Some 3D printed plastic bridges, with weights and rocking frequencies. #2, 4, and 6 worked acceptably well, although still missing something compared to the maple bridge. #1 was horrid, although I do like the aesthetics. It's hard to use material 3x as dense and 1/3 as stiff as maple and match properties... not even considering that it has ~2x damping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sospiri Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Don Noon said: Some 3D printed plastic bridges, with weights and rocking frequencies. #2, 4, and 6 worked acceptably well, although still missing something compared to the maple bridge. #1 was horrid, although I do like the aesthetics. It's hard to use material 3x as dense and 1/3 as stiff as maple and match properties... not even considering that it has ~2x damping. #1 Looks scary. I hope Captain David Virtue can save us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l33tplaya Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 6 hours ago, Don Noon said: Some 3D printed plastic bridges, with weights and rocking frequencies. #2, 4, and 6 worked acceptably well, although still missing something compared to the maple bridge. #1 was horrid, although I do like the aesthetics. It's hard to use material 3x as dense and 1/3 as stiff as maple and match properties... not even considering that it has ~2x damping. Hi Don, What's a rocking frequency? How measured? And did you try other materials besides PLA? For example, metal, carbon fiber, or especially wood filled? https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/properties-table/ Or even casting with the liquid resin machines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Noon Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 3 hours ago, l33tplaya said: Hi Don, What's a rocking frequency? How measured? And did you try other materials besides PLA? I measure rocking frequency by clamping the feet in a small vise, tapping the bridge on one side and placing a microphone very close to the other side (side, not front/back). How exactly the bridge flexes and at what frequency in actual use is hard to say... the edge conditions are very different. But it gives some idea of lateral stiffness. Right now I'm using PETG as it is more stable than PLA, a choice I made for the other things I really intended to make, rather than printing bridges. If I was really going for success with printing bridges (which I'm not), I might try the wood or carbon fiber material. The main purpose of this is to test rocking frequency and weight effects without having to cut bridges. It's much easier to draw up a bridge and print it. One more... I finally got the rocking frequency up near the wooden bridge. Slightly on the light side. In playing, it is another "OK" bridge, but still missing crispness of tone. My guess is that the high material damping is having some effect. I haven't done the analysis of the frequency response plots yet, but I'll post the result if I think it's worth looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Sigworth Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Wow I learned a lot from this post. Who would of guessed that David Burgess had Hulk Hogan working in his shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Sigworth Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Sorry I couldn't help myself; must be the Covid effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted March 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 if you really want to dig deep into the math, here a link to our vsa paper on the statistical analysis of just under 1100 bridges. showing the sweet and sour spots https://vsapapers.org/index.php/journal/article/view/4 and a link to the competition facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/2821590261390062 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted March 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2021 Really pleased to announce that Teller - Germany has become one of our sponsors and partners, each category winner will receive a beautiful prize of their bridges. deadline is August and so far have had entries from Singapore, Taiwan, Greece, China, USA and the UK www.violinbridges.co.uk and https://www.facebook.com/groups/2821590261390062 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted June 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 Deadline for submissions for this years International Bridge Competition is the end of August. So far we have had entries from Hong Kong, Taiwan, England, Singapore, Greece, Israel, Spain, USA and China. www.violinbridges.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted July 16, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2021 Quick and polite reminder that the Competition Deadline August 31st, for entry arrivals. Please share amongst your networks. www.violinbridges.co.uk facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/2821590261390062 #violinmaker #violinrestorer #violin #viola #cello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted August 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2021 We have had a fantastic response so far with entries from Greece, United Kingdom, Spain, United States, Portugal, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Mexico, Hong Kong, Israel, and Singapore NOW is the time to send your entries. violinbridges.co.uk #violinmaker #violinrestorer #violin #viola #cello #bridgecutting Please Share amongst your networks. https://violinbridges.gerardkilbride.com/search/... Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/2821590261390062 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted September 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 Delighted to announce the Award Medalists for this year's International Violin Bridge Competition 2021 celebrating the art and craft of Contemporary Bridge Cutting. We've had a truly global response with some exceptional entries. Awarded Medalists results are here. violinbridges.co.uk archive.violinbridges.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/groups/2821590261390062 Please share amongst your networks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wood Butcher Posted September 29, 2021 Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 Some nice bridges there, but I'm struggling to understand the point of it all. This competition just seems to be a case of buy the best grade blank, then spend a lot of time at the sander and with a small knife making a blank look good in a photo. Or am I wrong? It seems only a visual check of the bridges is done. Nothing about fit or function checked, which are surely the most important parts of any bridge, along with the radius, which governs how useable any bridge is for the musician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeH Posted September 29, 2021 Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 34 minutes ago, Wood Butcher said: Some nice bridges there, but I'm struggling to understand the point of it all. Sell books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted September 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 hahahah 34 minutes ago, GeorgeH said: Sell books. I think Grumpynet maybee a better name for this place We had some truly lovely Bridges from all around the world, celebrating great skill and workmanship. A rare thing indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeH Posted September 29, 2021 Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 52 minutes ago, violinbridges said: hahahah I am glad that you took it in the spirit it was intended. Nothing at all wrong about selling books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Burgess Posted September 29, 2021 Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 2 hours ago, violinbridges said: hahahah I think Grumpynet maybee a better name for this place We had some truly lovely Bridges from all around the world, celebrating great skill and workmanship. A rare thing indeed. Perhaps, but who judged these bridges, and what were the judging criteria? Without that, how is any sort of competition in any way meaningful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Preuss Posted September 29, 2021 Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 6 hours ago, violinbridges said: Delighted to announce the Award Medalists for this year's International Violin Bridge Competition 2021 celebrating the art and craft of Contemporary Bridge Cutting. We've had a truly global response with some exceptional entries. Awarded Medalists results are here. violinbridges.co.uk archive.violinbridges.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/groups/2821590261390062 Please share amongst your networks. Wondering about the stamps. Competitions should be in theory name anonymous, or not? Apparently main criteria for electing the winners were cleanliness, symmetry and flow of lines. But I would say there are more categories needed for the awards. Classical cuts, stylish cuts, new design cuts. In the end a bridge is a functional part and there are bridges on instruments which don’t look so nice but just function well because material and model (maker) have been diligently chosen and the cut concentrated on the main points in a timely manner without being too fussy about cleanliness. So from a professional background the competition is IMO something like ‘art pour l’art) for those who like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Noykos Posted September 29, 2021 Report Share Posted September 29, 2021 4 hours ago, violinbridges said: hahahah I think Grumpynet maybee a better name for this place We had some truly lovely Bridges from all around the world, celebrating great skill and workmanship. A rare thing indeed. I agree this is a super grumpy group. I don't know why everyone is so down on bridges. Every shop person I talk to who carves bridges all the time, likes to look at bridges. The fact of the matter is there is a lot of personal expression in a bridge and it's one of the few times that restorers can do something that is theirs. Most of the time we are supposed to do work that blends in and disappears (which I love to do too, but I also like carving bridges). I think of bridges like string quartets. It condenses a composer's work down to four parts and their ideas are focused. Bridge carving focuses a lot of different skills into one task. I can look at a bridge and I can instantly tell what kind of skill the luthier has who carved it. There are lots of things people are mentioning about how it doesn't matter what it looks like, only how it functions. But it's interesting to me how all the bridges where the feet fit really well, and the string heights are all working like they are supposed to and the bridge sounds good, are almost always the bridges that also look aesthetically pleasing as well. I rarely find a fugly looking bridge that also just happens to work in all the right places that it needs to in order to sound good as well. So lighten up people. It's fun to look at bridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Burgess Posted September 30, 2021 Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 Noykos, I very much liked your bridge. Had I been judging, I probably would have put it first place. No need for a diatribe, although it was a well-done diatribe with many good points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rue Posted September 30, 2021 Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 8 hours ago, violinbridges said: Delighted to announce the Award Medalists for this year's International Violin Bridge Competition 2021 celebrating the art and craft of Contemporary Bridge Cutting. We've had a truly global response with some exceptional entries. Awarded Medalists results are here. violinbridges.co.uk archive.violinbridges.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/groups/2821590261390062 Please share amongst your networks. Congrats to everybody involved!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane88 Posted September 30, 2021 Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 Those of us who cut bridges love to look at them. Some of you who don't cut bridges gripe about books of bridges. Partly, I guess, because it is difficult to imagine the amount of work that has gone into cutting a nice one if you haven't gotten to the point of doing it well enough to put your name on it and own it. A well-cut bridge is a thing of beauty to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rue Posted September 30, 2021 Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 FWIW, I like looking at bridges and I've never cut one! (I do straighten mine though). If a bridge competition and a book is added value to violin making and its enthusiasts...then of course it's valuable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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