I really appreciate the craftsmanship! You and a handful of “big” wood working channels got me hooked. Got my first planes, now I’m planning on my bench. Classical music has a special place in my heart, I played double bass nearly 20 years ago, dunno if I’d ever tackle a project that big, but maybe some day. One step at a time lol, bench first. Keep posting! I know I greatly enjoy the process.
Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I'm trying to show the entire build process. Hopefully viewers will find it interesting. Good luck with your bench and future wood working! I enjoy all kinds of music. I'm ok at building but not very good at playing. Maybe by the end of this build I can practice enough to play something on it.
The cleats work well keeping the plate steady but it has a tendency to lift up and out when rough gouging. It didn't do that with the pins. I'll have to use a clamp on one end to hold it down. But at least it's a lot less wiggly now. :D I'm trying to make fairly quick progress on this one.
@@CooperViolins Yeah, the cleats combined with a clamp or holdfast ought to be ideal for the initial heavy work. In related news, I've ordered a full set of tone wood for my first violin build, and it should arrive here on Friday! 😁 I've made an online acquaintance with a really cool guy that's a recent graduate of the Chicago School of Violinmaking. He's been giving me lots of good pointers and encouragement. On his advice, I ordered a set of European spruce and maple. He said that in his experience, their American counterparts are more difficult to work with for someone that's just starting out. Apparently they're more resistant to smooth planing and gouging, and like to tear out more. He recommended me a supplier in Slovakia, and their selection looks amazing. I'll probably use them on better future builds. Instead I went with International Violin for now. They're out of Baltimore, so shipping to Texas won't take nearly as long, and I don't have to fuss with customs or VAT taxes. When I placed the order with IV, in the comments I mentioned, "Wish me luck on my first build!" Also ordered two sets of purfling, because I want one to practice with. Put in the order late in the afternoon. So then the next morning, a rep from IV actually calls me, asking if maybe I want to use fiber purfling instead of wood for my first build. It's apparently much easier to bend and work with. I mentioned that I've already dipped my toes into bending wood with my citole project, so I have at least *some* experience. Not much, but some, at least! And besides, I want to learn how to do it properly from the outset, which is why I ordered an extra set for practice. I want to practice doing some corners to get comfortable with the process before I attempt it on the actual front and back plates. He agreed that was a good idea, and I asked if they maybe have any scrap pieces of wood that they're just going to toss anyway, could they just include some in my box instead? He said he'd look for some, and that he personally picked out a nice looking set of wood for me already. I really appreciated the thoughtfulness and willingness to help a newbie like myself. I haven't got the wood yet of course, but thus far, I think it's safe to say they've earned my business going forward. Can I ask if you have any preferred suppliers, or that matter, any I should avoid? Thanks!
IV is good, I've ordered from them, some spruce and purfling and I forget what else. This is only my second build, not counting the one in 1985, and I got the wood in exchange for making a walking cane for someone on MN. Although I did have to buy a new spruce set since I messed up the first one, mistakenly planed it down to 12mm. oops! :D If I build again, and I would like to, I may try some Slovakian. I'm in some violin facebook groups and you often see advertisements there for tonewood. I used wood purfling and didn't have any difficulty bending it. Got that from IV. I'm getting close to purfling but need to do some more shaping on the plate first. I only have some limited time in the afternoons and week ends to work but I'm trying to make rapid progress. I know you're excited to get the wood delivered and I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on the build. I had the morning off today, so I started refurbishing an old thickness caliper that I made from a kit in 1985. Striping the old ugly finish off and making some new parts with brass.
I really appreciate the craftsmanship! You and a handful of “big” wood working channels got me hooked. Got my first planes, now I’m planning on my bench. Classical music has a special place in my heart, I played double bass nearly 20 years ago, dunno if I’d ever tackle a project that big, but maybe some day. One step at a time lol, bench first. Keep posting! I know I greatly enjoy the process.
Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I'm trying to show the entire build process. Hopefully viewers will find it interesting. Good luck with your bench and future wood working! I enjoy all kinds of music. I'm ok at building but not very good at playing. Maybe by the end of this build I can practice enough to play something on it.
You’re really making good time on this build! I see you upgraded the holders on your cradle, a massive improvement over the dowels.
The cleats work well keeping the plate steady but it has a tendency to lift up and out when rough gouging. It didn't do that with the pins. I'll have to use a clamp on one end to hold it down. But at least it's a lot less wiggly now. :D
I'm trying to make fairly quick progress on this one.
@@CooperViolins Yeah, the cleats combined with a clamp or holdfast ought to be ideal for the initial heavy work. In related news, I've ordered a full set of tone wood for my first violin build, and it should arrive here on Friday! 😁
I've made an online acquaintance with a really cool guy that's a recent graduate of the Chicago School of Violinmaking. He's been giving me lots of good pointers and encouragement. On his advice, I ordered a set of European spruce and maple. He said that in his experience, their American counterparts are more difficult to work with for someone that's just starting out. Apparently they're more resistant to smooth planing and gouging, and like to tear out more.
He recommended me a supplier in Slovakia, and their selection looks amazing. I'll probably use them on better future builds. Instead I went with International Violin for now. They're out of Baltimore, so shipping to Texas won't take nearly as long, and I don't have to fuss with customs or VAT taxes. When I placed the order with IV, in the comments I mentioned, "Wish me luck on my first build!" Also ordered two sets of purfling, because I want one to practice with.
Put in the order late in the afternoon. So then the next morning, a rep from IV actually calls me, asking if maybe I want to use fiber purfling instead of wood for my first build. It's apparently much easier to bend and work with. I mentioned that I've already dipped my toes into bending wood with my citole project, so I have at least *some* experience. Not much, but some, at least! And besides, I want to learn how to do it properly from the outset, which is why I ordered an extra set for practice. I want to practice doing some corners to get comfortable with the process before I attempt it on the actual front and back plates. He agreed that was a good idea, and I asked if they maybe have any scrap pieces of wood that they're just going to toss anyway, could they just include some in my box instead? He said he'd look for some, and that he personally picked out a nice looking set of wood for me already.
I really appreciated the thoughtfulness and willingness to help a newbie like myself. I haven't got the wood yet of course, but thus far, I think it's safe to say they've earned my business going forward. Can I ask if you have any preferred suppliers, or that matter, any I should avoid? Thanks!
IV is good, I've ordered from them, some spruce and purfling and I forget what else. This is only my second build, not counting the one in 1985, and I got the wood in exchange for making a walking cane for someone on MN. Although I did have to buy a new spruce set since I messed up the first one, mistakenly planed it down to 12mm. oops! :D If I build again, and I would like to, I may try some Slovakian. I'm in some violin facebook groups and you often see advertisements there for tonewood.
I used wood purfling and didn't have any difficulty bending it. Got that from IV. I'm getting close to purfling but need to do some more shaping on the plate first. I only have some limited time in the afternoons and week ends to work but I'm trying to make rapid progress.
I know you're excited to get the wood delivered and I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on the build.
I had the morning off today, so I started refurbishing an old thickness caliper that I made from a kit in 1985. Striping the old ugly finish off and making some new parts with brass.