VicM Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 On 1/8/2022 at 6:03 PM, Carl Stross said: Excellent method for fitting bridges quickly and accurately : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgYezf7AkBE Some wonderful violins on that site, too. Thanks for link. With such a device I coiuld fit two hald sixe violin bridges very well, better than how came form China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Dorsey Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 1 hour ago, VicM said: …two hald sixe violin bridges… Two what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Beard Posted January 24, 2022 Report Share Posted January 24, 2022 Device for fitting bridge feet? Skilled worker plus chalk and sharp knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Higgs Posted February 3, 2022 Report Share Posted February 3, 2022 As a newbie I tried the sanding jig on the violin I just made. Despite my best efforts, the back and forth motion failed to capture the actual curve of the violin, so I went with the traditional method. I found that using tangential light through the foot base I could tell if the fit was acceptable. The chalk idea seems good as long as it doesn't affect the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davide Sora Posted February 4, 2022 Report Share Posted February 4, 2022 19 hours ago, Jluthier said: The chalk idea seems good as long as it doesn't affect the finish. The chalk should be soft and finely pulverized, not too gritty. If the varnish dulls slightly under the feet it is not a drama, moreover if some trace of chalk remains it helps not to let the bridge slip too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter K-G Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 Well, what if you are impationt? It is a great thing that we have a standard we (I at least) look up to. (Davide Sora) Myself I look by eye, feel, scrape, test look again .... feel, look, test again... About 1-2 min I'm done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan slobodkin Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 On 1/8/2022 at 3:58 PM, Carl Stross said: I'd rather bet on the answer being "no". Why would you think we would never have seen Rene cut bridges? While Rene didn't routinely cut bridges for clients (that's what the staff was for) he certainly did show us how to do it. Even though he was older when I worked for him and complained that his "eyes were gone" he still had amazing tool skills and could cut a beautiful bridge very quickly. Any kind of machine or method using sand paper to shape bridge feet is impossibly inaccurate especially on an older instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Kasprzyk Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 2 hours ago, nathan slobodkin said: Why would you think we would never have seen Rene cut bridges? While Rene didn't routinely cut bridges for clients (that's what the staff was for) he certainly did show us how to do it. Even though he was older when I worked for him and complained that his "eyes were gone" he still had amazing tool skills and could cut a beautiful bridge very quickly. Any kind of machine or method using sand paper to shape bridge feet is impossibly inaccurate especially on an older instrument. Older instrument top plates often have a surface depressions from many bridge adjustment abrasions. The sliding sandpaper thing over a wide area won't work. But on new instruments it will. full disclosure: I used to work at the Carborundum company Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan slobodkin Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 11 hours ago, Marty Kasprzyk said: Older instrument top plates often have a surface depressions from many bridge adjustment abrasions. The sliding sandpaper thing over a wide area won't work. But on new instruments it will. full disclosure: I used to work at the Carborundum company Not to my satisfaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Kasprzyk Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 53 minutes ago, nathan slobodkin said: Not to my satisfaction. 60 grit sandpaper is too coarse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Darnton Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 Usually the top radius is tighter north and flatter south to the extent that if you want a good fit when you move the bridge 2 mm you will often need to refit the feet. That means that the front and back of the feet are actually slightly different. Using a different grit won't change that, and no rolling device can copy that. To paraphrase a friend, sandpaper/wheel fits work for some definitions of "fit", but not for my definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff White Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 1/8/2022 at 3:58 PM, Andreas Preuss said: Depends on to which working period you are referring to. If you really want to know, I’d ask Hans Nebel who was with Rene morel in the Wurlirzer shop. Oh Lord......Prepare to hear a lot of crazy stories about Rene, having nothing to do with bridge cutting....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbarzino Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 2 hours ago, Michael Darnton said: 2 hours ago, Michael Darnton said: Usually the top radius is tighter north and flatter south to the extent that if you want a good fit when you move the bridge 2 mm you will often need to refit the feet. That means that the front and back of the feet are actually slightly different. Using a different grit won't change that, and no rolling device can copy that. To paraphrase a friend, sandpaper/wheel fits work for some definitions of "fit", but not for my definition. I agree, and this points out the fundamental flaw in the design of this bridge fitting jig. If there really has to be a jig for amatuers to fit their bridge feet with sandpaper it should work by holding the bridge in alignment while sliding the bridge side to side. I realize this is not perfect but I think it would give a slightly better result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff White Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 1/13/2022 at 4:10 PM, Marty Kasprzyk said: I have a viola player friend (very very best schooling) who has some sort of mental problem (goes with viola playing? ) where he continuously messes with the sound post post positions, finger boards, bridges, and so on. Nothing is exactly right! He moves is bridge around so much that he has worn a deep depression in the top plate of his century old famous Italian viola. I'm not at therapist but I would like to help him. Marty, maybe your idea with the epoxy would work for him if you forget the paste wax.............Won't be able to move it then. Now, to solve the other issues.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Kasprzyk Posted February 7, 2022 Report Share Posted February 7, 2022 4 hours ago, Jeff White said: Marty, maybe your idea with the epoxy would work for him if you forget the paste wax.............Won't be able to move it then. Now, to solve the other issues.............. That's what I do do. I also glue the sound post in. But only on my own violas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Kasprzyk Posted February 7, 2022 Report Share Posted February 7, 2022 I forgot to mention if you press a tiny ball of uncured filled epoxy with your fingertips you can see a fine imprint of your fingerprints on the epoxy. I don't think it's possible to get that perfect of fitting detail with scraping or shaving bridge wood to match the grain lines of spruce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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