Posted on August 11, 2021May 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips Violin Varnish and Sealers Violin Varnish and Sealers by Graham Caldersmith Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #276, 1984, and Big Red Book of American Luthierie Volume One, 2000 Probably more unsubstantiated speculation has been written about violin varnish, its effects on the instrument, and the quest for the “lost” Cremonese recipe than about any other of the subtleties of the violin and its behavior. It is true that those who have examined enough violins to appreciate the variety of varnishing systems employed by different makers in different ages cannot but admire the clear golden-brown varnish sometimes grading to a deep red that characterizes 17th–18th century Cremonese instruments. It is also true that varnish preparation and application techniques changed to more durable and convenient ones towards the end of the 18th century when faster drying oil and spirit varnishes were developed to meet the needs of the growing furniture trade, arguably at the expense of transparency and lucidity. So while bearing in mind that the early Cremonese varnishes were not unique to the violin trade, since they appear on fine furniture and wooden ornaments of the same period, we may reasonably inquire as to how important the varnishing techniques used by the Cremonese Masters were to the excellence of the violins they produced. Were the advantages of Cremonese varnishing merely passive, in that they preserved good violins into sublime maturity, or were they also active, conditioning the wood for optimal acoustical behavior? Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 11, 2021May 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips Tinting Lacquer Marks Inlays Tinting Lacquer Marks Inlays by Michael Dresdner Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #280, 1984 and Lutherie Wood and Steel String Guitars, 1998 When I have very intricate inlays and I don’t want to scribe the fingerboard, I take all the inlays and spray their backs with a rubber-type spray adhesive like photo mount. Then I place them on the fingerboard where I want them and spray it lightly with lacquer toner in a contrasting color. For instance, if the fingerboard is rosewood, I’ll spray it with bright yellow. I then pull up the inlays leaving the bright yellow lacquer and a brown spot in the shape of each inlay. It’s a great fast trick. The whole fingerboard can be done at once without any scribing. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 11, 2021May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Stalking the Wild Pine Rosin Stalking the Wild Pine Rosin by Dave Raley Originally published in American Lutherie #78, 2004 Having read Louis De Grazia’s article “Rosin Varnishes” on p. 167 of The Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, and seeking an undercoat that would not turn cedar red, and also not wishing to breathe the fumes of any of the various synthetics, I set out to buy some rosin stock. Couldn’t find it. Eventually I thought to check out the pines in the yard. Sure enough, not a hundred feet from the porch there were nodules of rosin and rosin-coated bark free for the taking. We are talking about good old pine pitch. Gathering what I could from three trees, I chipped away some of the excess bark and filled a baby food jar loosely, topped it off with 190-proof ethyl alcohol and crimped aluminum foil over the top with a rubber band. The rosin dissolved in about a week and I began to make test pieces using the same stock the instrument was made of, to wit, cedar shingles. The tincture was darker than I had expected. It didn’t stain the test pieces a lot, but more than I wanted. Gotta have more rosin. A half-hour’s walk in the woods turned up enough mixed stock to overfill a quart baggie. About a third of the pines had at least a trace, and one in ten yielded worthwhile amounts. I had intended to fetch some cedar rosin while I was about it but couldn’t find any. Even the cedar that I had taken a branch off of last fall was clean. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 11, 2021May 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips Sealing Wood with Glair Sealing Wood with Glair by Dick Cartwright Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #154, 1980 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Procedure: ▶ Beat an egg white stiff and let it stand for a few hours. The clear liquid that settles out is called glair. ▶ Put 5G gum arabic (cheap from any art store) into 20CC water and let stand for a few hours, shaking occasionally. ▶ Add 10CC glair and 1/2G honey to the gum arabic. This solution paints on easily, dries quickly, and is an effective sealer. I suggest two coats. It’s also used by some as a sealer/isolation layer on the outside wood between stain and varnish. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 11, 2021May 5, 2025 by Dale Phillips Jack Batts Jack Batts An interview by Jeff Feltman Originally published in American Lutherie #10, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 You can walk into a clockmaker’s shop and see fifty clocks. One reads 12:00, another says 11:55, another 12:05. Only one can be right, and it probably isn’t a bad guess that none of them is right. Searching for the right varnish is like being in that clock shop.” “A man could make 150 more violins in his life if he wasn’t so worried about concocting some witches brew. He would do well to spend his time learning to make a fine violin.” Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
