Matt G's Bench

[Matthew_Graesch]

Hello all.....long time lurker here, rarely post much simply because I am here to learn and absorb.  I am a (very) amateur maker and as I write this, I am starting on #8.  The first six were violins, and most recently, I have made a viola.  I really enjoyed the challenges involved with the viola, and will make more in the future.  I'll post a few pics, and update occasionally.  I hope to get some constructive criticism, because this is a really challenging thing to learn on one's own.  I have no intentions on selling anything (clearly.....!), but my goal is to produce something eventually that is worthy of being played, and that I can be proud of.  

As always, I love seeing all of the beautiful things posted by others!

#8 is a poplar and spruce viola measuring 15.75" and patterned on a Guadagnini viola.  Both top and back are one piece, which presented some unexpected challenges in itself.  I am actually quite pleased with how it sounds.  I would do some different things with the pegbox given the chance to do it again, but I think it still works OK.  

Matt

[Matthew_Graesch]

I'm going to post a few pics of #6 also since it is my favorite.  I have a special interest in alternative woods beyond maple, and especially locally sourced woods.  This is a black walnut back, sides, and neck made from local wood (upper Midwest, USA).  I split the neck block and laminated in a thin strip of maple to match the top spruce because I liked the contrast of the white and dark woods.  This is also the reason why I chose to finish it clear rather than add any colors to the ground or varnish.  Probably not for everyone, but I like it, and it plays very well with a rich, full, bassy sound.  

[ernym]

Being a banjo guy I'm fond of laminated necks. I admire fiddle backs made from alternate woods but don't see many makers doing much of that lately. I've enjoyed fiddles from Barry D, Frank Daniels, Jezzupe and other makers in the past. Nice to see you using your local wood too. Anymore to show?

You have a nice piece of property there!

[Matthew_Graesch]

Thanks!  We are fortunate to have the tall grass prairie and the river right behind the house for sure.  I think one of the distinct differences between a maker who sells instruments, and one who doesn't, is the freedom to experiment with different woods and different finishes without the worry of not being able to find a buyer.  The walnut fiddle has been played extensively by two professional violin players (one, the concert master of a professional orchestra) and they agreed that it far exceeded what they had imagined for it....the takehome message for me there is NOT that the fiddle is high quality or anything, the takehome message is that the walnut IS a viable tonewood for a fiddle....after all, why should it not be?  There are fantastic acoustic guitars and mandolins, and all manner of other stringed instruments that use walnut as a tonewood, so why not a fiddle?  I would guess that tradition is the only reason.  One other interesting bit, the walnut and spruce combo is LIGHT weight compared to maple/spruce with the same measurements and same tap tones for the plates.  

When I built the walnut one, I actually made a matched pair; one walnut and one traditional maple.  Same exact measurements exactly all over, so they would be directly comparable other than the maple/walnut difference.  Was a fun exercise.  Both Guarneri pattern instruments.  I think I need to play with the soundpost and other setup a bit on the maple one, because it just doesn't have the life that the walnut one does. 

Photo is the maple twin to the walnut with my helper holding 

 

[ernym]

I've heard some great sounding fiddles played by professional recording artists made using alternate back woods. Like you said mandolins and guitars are made using many types of wood. Tradition and the ability to sell is the motive when choosing to use the traditional maple/popular & spruce combo. That hasn't changed and I doubt it ever will and I agree it's nice NOT to have pressure of having to sell to pay the bills and have the freedom to experiment.

Looks like you have a proud apprentice there. Congrats!

[Matthew_Graesch]

A couple more pictures of my autodidact fiddle making the last few months.  I have been fortunate this fall and found some really nice wood in a number of places and now have enough for about ten years work at my current pace, which I don't see changing as long as there are kids at home and plenty of other work to do.  I am currently working on a back made from red maple (Acer rubrum) and a top made from red spruce.  Both are new to me and I am interested in seeing how it goes.  The red maple seems denser than the European maple I am used to, but it has really beautiful medullary rays and pores and I think it will look great. The red maple fiddle will be made on a new form I made based on a lower end early 20th century Markneukirchen/Schonbach-made instrument that was my wife's grandfather's.  It sounds positively awful....but it has a very beautiful outline that I have always liked, so I took it apart and made a form and some templates based on the outlines, it will be something different from my normal Guarneri shape in any case.  

[Matthew_Graesch]

Done with the woodwork on the current project.  Will hopefully begin finishing next week.  Going to build a new UV chamber first.

[Andrew tkinson]

Hello Matt. I think your violins are looking great, the red maple one looks spectacular.

Like you, I like to use local wood, to me it seems nice to be able to say where the wood grew. Also like you I don't sell what I make but saying that I have yet to finish a violin or viola, even if someone wanted to buy one!

Looking at your nice work and your steady production rate I suspect you will start to sell them soon.

[Matthew_Graesch]

UV chamber done using some LED panels I got off Amazon, a disco ball motor, a desktop USB powered fan, and a box made with 1/4 plywood.  Seems to work well.

I think this will be the final coat on this one.  Plan to work on it a little tomorrow to lower the high gloss shine a little and glue the fingerboard back on.  

Started work on a new one this week also cutting and thinning ribs, shaping corner blocks and gluing to the form, and bent/glued the C bout ribs to the blocks.  

[Matthew_Graesch]

Finished up yesterday.  They're slowly getting better, but still probably very quirky in an autodidactic manner as this forum likes to say 

I disassembled an early 20th century Schoenbach-made instrument with a shape I liked to make the form, so it is sort of a mutt....the old label indicates (of course!) "Copy of Antonius Stradivarius", but the shape is mostly Guarneri-like.  The size is somewhat large at 362mm, but it plays really well and still fits in a normal case so no worries from me.

[Matthew_Graesch]

...

[Matthew_Graesch]

Some work from 2025 as I continue my journey into violin making as a complete autodidact.  

[Matthew_Graesch]

Three of them are being played by some members of a local youth orchestra

[Matthew_Graesch]

A 15 7/8" viola that I worked on this summer and is almost done with varnish now.  I know most (all?) luthiers would have (should have?) abandoned the piece of wood after discovering the dark spot/knot/bark spot in it, which was not visible in the raw billet.  I have taken multiple steps to stabilize the area, and I actually think it is likely stronger than the normal areas now, so we will see.  This is one of the advantages of being an amateur; I can dedicate my time to projects that others wouldn't with no potential loss of income.  I like the unique look of it.  The spruce has some really interesting haselfichte also.

[Matthew_Graesch]

After ground, I was initially really concerned about the unusual "stripe" of lighter wood in the middle of the top, but then I remembered that there are a fair number of 18th century Cremonese instruments with this same stripe, and it has mellowed a lot during varnishing.

[Matthew_Graesch]

Really interesting piece of maple that I joined last week.  I think I will save it until either my skills improve to a level where I feel justified using it, or I gift it to someone who has those skills.  I'd hate to see a piece this beautiful not end up as a really nice instrument.

[Sean Couch]

1 hour ago, Matthew_Graesch said:

Three of them are being played by some members of a local youth orchestra

Nice work. I like the alternative woods that you have used. One day I might try something non-traditional. I would have kept working on the violin with the large inclusion just as you did. It can’t hurt to keep it as a side project, or main project. Either way I would finish it just to see how it sounds.

I was thinking about donating/loaning some violins once I have a few more under my belt. I enjoy making violins, and trying to learn to play them, but I don’t have much inclination to try sell them anytime soon. I turned my knife making hobby into a job and haven’t made a knife since 2006. I don’t want to have the same thing happen with making violins.

Did you donate the violins to the local youth orchestra, or are they on loan? My violin teacher says that my #1 sounds “really good,” so if that trend continues, then I am going to need a place to offload some instruments.  

[Matthew_Graesch]

1 hour ago, Sean Couch said:

Did you donate the violins to the local youth orchestra, or are they on loan? 

They are on loan....which will probably turn permanent since they seem to enjoy them!  Makes me happy that they get played every day, and it is fun to hear their sound mature as they get played more.  

[Sean Couch]

Right on, nothing wrong with either of those outcomes. With all the fun and frustration I have been having trying to learn to play the violin, it would be nice to be able to help someone else share the experience.

[Brian in Texas]

On 10/1/2025 at 3:16 PM, Matthew_Graesch said:

Really interesting piece of maple that I joined last week.  I think I will save it until either my skills improve to a level where I feel justified using it, or I gift it to someone who has those skills.  I'd hate to see a piece this beautiful not end up as a really nice instrument.

Judging by the pictures of your work thus far, I dare say you're not giving yourself enough credit. Use the nice wood! Let its quality inspire you to do your best work.

[Matthew_Graesch]

Some new work in the last couple months.  Still having some issues that I can't seem to overcome, but such is the pursuit of the autodidact I suspect.

[Matthew_Graesch]

New viola just under 16" with shop helper for scale

[Matthew_Graesch]

Guarneri shape from two years ago that is going to a good home on permanent loan this week with a local high school player.

[Brian in Texas]

1 hour ago, Matthew_Graesch said:

Some new work in the last couple months.  Still having some issues that I can't seem to overcome, but such is the pursuit of the autodidact I suspect.

These new ones look pretty good to me. What are the issues you're struggling with? They're not readily apparent at a glance.

[Matthew_Graesch]

I still feel like I am making VSOs rather than true instruments, which I suspect is simply going to be the way things are for most of us who didn't attend a proper violin making school.  I can make an object that strongly resembles a fiddle, but anyone who is highly familiar with fiddles won't mistake it for a professionally made instrument because there are just too many little pitfalls that aren't explained in book or on youtube and these are things that master makers pass on to apprentices and schools pass on to students.  

On recent fiddles, I like the varnish itself that I am applying, and I am figuring out the colors better, but I just don't understand how to get the varnish to end up as a perfectly smooth surface devoid of irregularities or depressions.  I go to gatherings like VSA and hold new instruments, hundreds of them, built by professionals, and that super consistent surface on the varnish is a pattern I haven't been able to figure out yet.  I tend to struggle also with making the recurve channel too deep, and then the arching ends up correspondingly full, which leads to a little too much air volume and then a sort of less powerful sound.  Going to work harder on the next one to sort of compress my usual style vertically to get a lower arch and shallower channel.

I guess ultimately, I'd like to have a good player or a good maker be satisfied with something I make, which might well be an unrealistic hope, but I'll keep trying.