Posted on January 13, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Violin Q & A: Color of Potassium Silicate Violin Q & A: Color of Potassium Silicate by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 On my first three violins, I used a gamboge solution to seal the instruments before I varnished them. This left a warm yellowish ground for me to work with. On my latest instrument, I used potassium silicate, like Sacconi mentions in his book, The “Secrets” of Stradivari. The back and ribs turned a beautiful cinnamon brown, but the top has a tinge of green in it. What, if anything, can I do to avoid this in the future? I experienced this green tinge once myself. Now before I mix my potassium silicate with water, I put a tea bag in warm water and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I remove the tea bag and combine the two liquids, mixing well and applying it to the instrument while the solution is still warm. Try this the next time.
Posted on January 13, 2010March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: Violin Making — Live! Watch Me Make a Cello, Step-by-Step by Henry Strobel Review: Violin Making — Live! Watch Me Make a Cello, Step-by-Step by Henry Strobel Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #58, 1999 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 Video: Violin Making — Live! Video: Watch Me Make a Cello, Step-by-Step Henry Strobel, 1997 ISBN 0962067385 Henry Strobel has written a fleet of books about making violins, violas, and cellos, all of which build one upon the other. To use the cello book you should have first read the violin book, and so on. This video set uses the same idea, i.e., to use it to best advantage you must have the cello book, which needs the violin book for complete understanding, and so on, all in the house that Jack built. But if you buy the video set, Strobel will sell you the cello book for $10 instead of $30, which might remove some of the sting. And if you haven’t got a cello guru to run to as you tear into your first instrument, Strobel on tape may be the next best thing. The videos are not intensely detailed or perfectly complete. Almost no operation is carried through to completion on tape. But Strobel has the capacity to make cello creation seem wonderfully doable. The first three hours of tape whiz by with so little effort that even a casual viewer might decide to buy a whacking big gouge and a fistful of teeny planes. Carving the plates often seems like the scariest part of cello making, but Strobel makes it look like fun. 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 January 13, 2010March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Violin Shipping Tips It Worked for Me: Violin Shipping Tips by Keith Davis Originally published in American Lutherie #48, 1996 Helpful hints for shipping a violin: ▶ Place a foam rubber or tissue paper filler under the end of the fingerboard. This should be just snug, not too tight. ▶ Place a similar pad under the end of the tailpiece nearest the bridge. ▶ Using additional foam rubber or tissue, make a pad that will fill the space between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard, and a similar one that will fit between the bridge and the tailpiece and put them in place. ▶ With the padding in place, lower the string tension slightly, the equivalent of about one full tone. The strings should touch the pads. ▶ If a polyethylene violin bag is available, put the violin into it prior to putting it in the case to help protect the instrument from humidity changes during transit. ▶ Place additional foam rubber pads between the case and the ribs of the violin to prevent it from knocking around in the case. Make sure that the neck of the violin is supported and that the bow(s), if any, are well secured. ▶ Close the case carefully after including any necessary documents. Pick up the case in both hands and shake it gently, then with more vigor, listening to see if the violin is well secured. If not, back up and add more padding. ▶ Pack the case in an appropriate corrugated cardboard box. Padding between the case and the box is essential and may consist of crumpled paper in great quantity, foam peanuts, foam rubber. ▶ Whenever possible, ship violins on Mondays or Tuesdays, and rare or valuable instruments via 2nd Day Air. This will prevent long layovers in unheated warehouses. Please Note: People receiving violins in terribly cold weather should exercise caution in unpacking them. The instrument, box and all should be allowed to come to room temperature before opening. Frozen violins, shocked by instant exposure to warm air, can turn into 72-piece violin kits. Take your time and do a nice job. Using these methods we at Davis Instrument Service have never suffered a shipping loss. ◆
Posted on January 13, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Violin Q & A: Violin Polish Recipe Violin Q & A: Violin Polish Recipe by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 No matter what I use to polish a violin, it never seems to clean it completely. Do you have any suggestions? I have never found a product that cleans as well as polishes, although many manufacturers claim that their product will do both. Taking into consideration the instrument’s age, type of varnish, and how dirty it is, there are a number of cleaning products that you can use. Example: a French violin, ca. 1875, covered with a thin spirit varnish, with enough caked-on rosin so that ridges have formed on either side of the fingerboard. 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 January 13, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Circles in Classical Violin Design Letter: Circles in Classical Violin Design by Jim Blilie Originally published in American Lutherie #89, 2007 Hi Tim, I’m sure Michael Darnton has infinitely more experience with violin design and a much more sensitive eye for the form of violins than I do (See The Power of Circles). That being said, I was really bothered by his article. Mr. Darnton writes that his theory of circles in the design of classic Cremonese violins seems to be the only one that will produce aesthetically pleasing shapes. I have no doubt that circles were used extensively in the design of violins, since they are much easier to draw than parabolic, hyperbolic, or elliptical curves. But he goes on to say that essentially all the extant violins of the height of the Cremonese school do not follow his plan. He posits various reasons for this, but in engineering, if the data don’t match your theory, you go back to the drawing board and find a new theory! 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.
