When clamping the ribs at the lower block there is a tendency for the counter form to push the ribs apart, turning what should be a close fitting joint into an embarrassing gap. This is especially true if the counter-form has a smaller radius than the end block. The...
Rasps for violin making
This has been my favorite tool discovery of the year, I ordered on a whim and found my self using them a lot. Corradi Rasps are very nicely made, quite straight, with consistent curves. The teeth are set to give a random scratch pattern, they are very sharp and...
Tononi’s Toothed Plane blade
This Tononi cello rib has megatoothed plane-blade marks on the inside. The marks also show pretty liberally on the outside of the cello providing…
Top Carve
Yesterday, Andrew Carruthers Violins showed me the elbow grease behind making cellos. Posted by Greg Olwell on Friday, February 12, 2016
Sap pockets in violin wood – no yolk
This morning for breakfast I got a double yolked egg which is supposed to be rare and lucky, an hour later I was carving into an apparently perfect piece of spruce for a a cello top when I uncovered a sap pocket. This was definitely not a lucky event but it wasn’t as unlucky as it could have been.
LED’s for violin makers – four applications
Four uses for LED lights in the workshop
Holding violin while trimming edges
For those who like to do the edge work and purfling after closing the box. It took me a while to figure out how to hold the body. This works for cello too, though I have to stand on a box to reach around the lower bouts Andy iPhone
Simple violin plate carving jig
For holding violin plates for carving and bodies for purfling and edgework, I have a purpose made jig and a similar one for cello. I've never got around to making one for viola but this works very well
Solid cello neck set – how to control your neck projection
When putting a new neck into a cello the mortice is cut precisely so that the fingerboard projects out to a specific height above the cello top ( the neck projection, or pitch is usually about 81mm measured at the center of the bridge). It is often the case that the neck projection, which was correct just before gluing, comes out higher than intended.
Ultra Violet LED Light box for curing violin varnish
A letter from Stradivari to a patron blames the lack of sunshine for his inability to fill an order for instrument in a timely manner. Oil based varnishes require ultra violet (UV) light to cure and apart from being evidence that Strad’s varnish was probably oil based, Strad’s message is also a comment on the unreliability of the sun as a UV source.