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Type: Posts; User: woodwiz

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    Re: Replacing Violin Fingerboard

    I replied before I read your last post. You have what's known as an integral neck block. That was a practice in Bohemia up until the mid to late 19th Century. Sometimes called a "Spanish neck" If you...
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    Re: Replacing Violin Fingerboard

    I'm in the trade, and confessedly cheap, and I'd be happy to have that instrument for $75 or so. Once I repaired it, I'd probably price it between $500 and $800, depending on how it came out.
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    Re: Replacing Violin Fingerboard

    I'm a violin luthier, and I would advise against working on that fiddle. It's a decent one, certainly worth a several hundred dollars when properly set up and after only routine repairs, and...
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    Voicing information

    I have a prototype mandolin, original design. It's designed to fit a market niche that's not being addressed by any American makers. I've tested it with good players in the Midwest and on the East...
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    Re: Buffing Question

    A note about shellac: It doesn't hold up to alcohol or heat / steam, but a few years ago I took some freshly made shellac and padded some on a piece of wood until I had built up a film. Not French...
  6. Thread: Spar varnish

    by woodwiz
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    Re: Spar varnish

    FWIW, I know of one very famous violin maker who says he has used Ace spar varnish at times to good effect, and another not-so-famous one who really likes the stuff.
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    Re: Hide glue strengths

    We take violins apart almost every day. Nobody in the shop uses heat to undo a hide glue joint. The joint always breaks well ahead of the opening knife, so heat would never get to it. We just find...
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    Re: Measurements - Total Confusion!

    So would I!

    I'd be impressed if I could type, too.
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    Re: Measurements - Total Confusion!

    I'm over 60, grew up in the woodworking business using inches. Now I work on violins for a living, and I'm comfortable in both systems. I MUCH prefer metric for working in instruments, including my...
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    Re: Those brass finger planes on Ebay

    There's a guy in Bulgaria named Hristo Tzenoff, does business on fleabay under the name "eurodealing". I got several finger planes from him a year or so ago, and they are excellent. Well made, good...
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    Re: French Polisher's Manual

    That's an interesting booklet, but it has mainly academic interest, rather than practical. A lot of the recommendations have been found to be counterproductive. The use of linseed oil, especially....
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    Re: Brush recommendations for oil varnish?

    We make a lot of violins and use our own oil varnish. The varnish guys just use disposable foam brushes, even on very expensive instruments. Works with our varnish system, which yields a very, ...
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    Re: UV Lights for Curing Varnish

    I'm making an educated guess based on experience, but the resins in Behlen's Water White Restoration varnish are probably soy alkyds, since they are the lightest colored varnish resins in common use....
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    Re: Shipping Guidance

    I used about 500 gallons of lacquer a month for quite a few years, and managed to learn a little bit. One thing I learned is that cold check resistance is a factor which was tested in every batch of...
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    Re: Anyone use gum sandarac?

    To 10 parts shellac, I add 1.5 parts by weight of Sandarac, and 1.5 parts Mastic. Makes a very good spirit varnish, and also great for touchup and French polishing.

    For filling cracks, I use...
  16. The Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships are this week

    The Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships are this weekend, August 22 and 23.

    Workshops (Mando Workshop by Scott Tichenor), Ice Cream Social and Contra Dance on Saturday

    Contests and...
  17. Thread: Linseed oil

    by woodwiz
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    8,825

    Re: Linseed oil

    Got a source on that? Any data to substantiate? Any historical references, chemical analysis?

    How was this varnish supposed to be prepared and applied?

    Edit-----------

    Nagyvary, 1984 -...
  18. Thread: Linseed oil

    by woodwiz
    Replies
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    Re: Linseed oil

    There are three problems with linseed oil ("bolied" or raw) that I can think of.

    First it doesn't build a film. It soaks into the wood but doesn't build. Many luthiers find that oil soaking...
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    Re: removing neck finish

    We make violins for professional players, among other things, and we stain the unvarnished neck a bit with dye stain, and give it a light coat of paraffin oil, rubbed in hard, and wiped off even...
  20. Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships

    http://www.kansasfiddlingandpicking.org/index.html

    August 22-23, 2009

    We're excited to present a "new and improved" fiddling and picking championships. In 2009 we are adding a dance, increasing...
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    Re: wrinkles and spots

    As my 89 Y.O. mother has been known to say, "Getting old is not for sissies."

    Any day I'm upright and sucking air is a good day. Everything else is icing on the cake.
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    Re: What do you do for your "real" job?

    Work for a maker of violin family instruments. Do a little bit of most everything.
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    Re: Tru-Oil, Behlen's Rock Hard, or something else?

    Tru oil contains mineral spirits @56%, linseed oil 11%, and "modified oil" @33%. I presume the modfied oil is polymerized linseed oil, cooked to start it thickening. No mention of resins or dryers....
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    Re: Minor home disaster. Rust removal ideas ?

    Naval Jelly's active ingredient is Phosphoric Acid, which turns iron oxide into iron phosphate which is water soluble. It removes rust, doesn't reduce it or turn it into sulfate..

    I like...
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    Re: locate a vintage Gibson repair man ...

    Leo Posch in McLouth, KS, and Keith George north of Kansas City both do outstanding work.

    Keith lives in the country and usually does work through music stores, but he's authorized repairman for...
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