A nice feature of classic period Cremonese instruments are the locating pins found on or near the center line of the back close to the purfling. The top also had locating pins but these have often been obliterated when fitting a modern neck and saddle. The pins are...
This little bench-raiser is great for your back - and good for your eyes! I recently heard from my Colleague Noémie Viaud about an adjustable height bench that she loves. I wanted one but before going to the expense and trouble of ordering one (her's a...
Incredibly Occam's scroll holding jig just got simpler, now it's no more than a bench hook with a hole in it! The new version is an astonishing 85% smaller and requires only one clamp to operate. The cello jig is made of 12mm ply, use 5mm ply for the violin version....
Here's a quick shout about Nicholson flat files.I buy two new files at the beginning of the year at a total cost of about $15. The larger file has a course and a fine side so I'm essentially getting three files. The cost for equivalent Grobet files that I...
Searching for the spirit of early craftsmanship. For many years I have been looking for ways to emulate the spirit of the craftsmanship that I see in the work of many of the Classic period violins. There is a liveliness and freshness in these early instruments which I...
"Ah , I see you use C74's!" declared my brother, the movie-lighting engineer. He had just spotted my viola with the freshly glued linings clamped into place with clothes pins. C74's? What are they and what are they used for? As my brother tells me: "We use C47s for...
Holding a violin scroll while carving the volutes and dressing the pegbox is a little awkward. Here is one of the simplest and most effective jigs that I've come up with: a piece, 12mm ply with 30mm holes in it. Use a soft piece of ply and round the edges of the...
Amongst many tips I got from Ernesto Ramirez, I particularly liked this method of rough hollowing the plates. At first I thought that it was a rather fussy approach but, having tried it myself, I find that it is quite practical, it saves a little time and reduces the...
Drilling the end pin hole before closing the box avoids some time consuming cleanup of wood chips later. When drying varnish outside it's nice to be able to hang your cello upside down as well as right side up but fitting a trustworthy hook into that large hole is a...
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...