World class service in a boutique setting.

jhlviolins

I haven’t ever owned a button puller, and I find

I haven’t ever owned a button puller, and I find the design of the commercial version lacking for delicate buttons like this one. Usually, I just put on a glove with rubber padding and I can usually yank it. However, in instances like this where the button is severely stuck, I do this. I think I told @roziedeloach about this years ago, and that I would photograph it the next time I needed to do it, so here it is!
.
The button area is protected with cling film so that the instamorph (polymorph, whatever you want to call it) doesn’t stick to the varnish. Two globs are placed on either side of the button with two pieces of dental foil between them. This keeps the instamorph from sticking to itself. The pieces are formed so that there are flats on either side, and are allowed to set. Instamorph, like other thermal plastics, shrinks as it cools. This means that there is room for future compression.
.
For button pulling, I use channel lock pliers, and I put low tack tape down and then blue tape to lessen the chances of accidental antiquing. You can put a great deal of force on button. #jhlviolins #loothing #violinrepair #luthier #instamorph #endbutton

I posted this in my stories a few weeks ago, and I

I posted this in my stories a few weeks ago, and I mentioned it to a friend the other day. Perhaps others will find it useful, so I’ll put it here…
.
I left for Oberlin with a cello needing endpin installed. I had a day after getting back, and it’s a bog standard Haide cello, should have taken no time… except the supply house sent the wrong size endpin collar. I had asked for large, and they sent medium.
.
I was out of prepared cello endpin bushing stock, and rather than prepping stock for the lathe, I decided I could draw it and mill it much faster.
.
If you do this, Fusion 360, and probably other CAD software do extruded body tapers as an angle taper and not and an included taper. I got the number shown by measuring large end of my cello reamer, the small end, and the length. I then used an online calculator because I’m lazy :-). It should go with out saying, but length of the bushing needs to be longer than needed to accommodate for swelling and hydraulic lock.
.
The center hole hole was done with a secondary sketch rather than the hole command. Mostly because I had considered extruding it as a tapered hole and machining it as a flipped part… which is something to consider if making batches of these ahead of time. If the end pin hole is centered, a pre-tapered internal hole would make reaming go much faster. #digitallutherie #cello #endpin #cnc #fusion360 #rolandmdx50 #jhlviolins #luthier #loothing #violinrepair #jhlviolins

“Is it the place? Or the people?” That’s th

“Is it the place? Or the people?” That’s the question I kept asking friends this past week at the @oberlin_restoration workshop. I’m most certain the answer is it’s the people…. I had an immensely good time last week, and I learned a tremendous amount from everyone. Thank you to all of the participants for being stellar, and to Jenelle Steele @jenellesteele and Claire Curtis for being tremendous partners in crime. Also, a special thanks to team @omopodcast for stepping up and taking care of some special tasks.
.
I also had the great privilege of teaching along side my biggest influences: Jeffrey Holmes, Greg Sapp @zopp54 , Eliane Leblanc @elianeleblanc , and Matthew Noykos @matthewnoykos . You are all exceptional at what you do, and I’m grateful for all of you. Thank you! #oberlin #violin #violinrestoration #violinrestorer #cello #viola #loothing #luthier #cellorestoration @violinsocietyofamerica

The last two weeks have been rather Michigan-centr

The last two weeks have been rather Michigan-centric:
.
Starting on Sunday, April 30 I gave a lecture at the request of @peterlynchviolins for the Michigan Violin Makers Association. The talk centered around two topics - making money as an independent restorer, and additive/subtractive digital fabrication processes for violin repair. The MVA always has an impressive list of guests for their zoom lectures. I highly recommend reaching out to Peter and becoming a member.
.
A week later I travelled to Tecumseh, MI to work with Jeff and Sarah Holmes on getting some new equipment up and running. It was great to spend time in Jeff’s shop, he’s been a friend/mentor/teacher of mine for well over a decade. I’m grateful for all he’s done for me over the years, it felt good to give back. Sarah is soon going to be a force to be reckoned with.
.
I then Travelled go @grand.rapids.violins to see @matthewnoykos . Matt had a job he needed to get done, so it was mostly hanging in the shop. We did manage some hijinks in a kids play house at local brewery. #michigan #jhlviolins #violin #tecumseh #grandrapids #violinrepair

This is a video I made over a year ago for a frien

This is a video I made over a year ago for a friend… another friend suggested I share it at large this morning. You can use tube water colors as a ground, and to disguise joints on neck heels, and use successfully on ribs. Any place where reflection is your friend… #jhlviolins #violinrestoration #loothing #violin #watercolor #retouching #necksetting #loothgroup

I was looking through pictures for a friend for a

I was looking through pictures for a friend for a lecture I’m giving at the end of the month, and I came across this which I already sort of shared years ago, but I find it satisfying to remember, and the first pic is one of the favorites on my phone. Maybe someone will get something out of this.
.
I needed to replace a large segment of previously already replaced purfling. The existing purfling was 1.8mm wide, and used pear for the whites. I didn’t have veneers to either make a whole replacement piece, or to do the 3 strips method. I did have 2mm wide purfling. So, I set about making the absolute crappiest version of the purfling pulling jig I could. I then cut the black off of one piece, thinned out the whites on an another and glued the whole thing together with tightbond 2. The white stuff on the first pic are the creamiest bits when you first open a can of plastic wood. It’s excellent for extremely fine fill. The bleeding of the blacks was accomplished with a staedler pigment liner pen… which also works well for “hand drawn purfling.” #jhlviolins #purfling #cello #violinrepair #violinrestoration #loothing #makingdowithwhatwehave

I’m super stoked to have just been gifted this c

I’m super stoked to have just been gifted this cloth bag by @johnmuaxp . Up until an hour ago, I had no idea that one of the largest producers of hide glue in the US was based in my town. From 1907 till 1950 the Keystone Glue Company produced hide glue, and it’s byproducts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Employing 90 people, an article from 1933 lists 4 million pounds as a cumulative production. Since doing the glue episode of the @omopodcast with @doranviolins , it’s a subject I’m stuck on…. #williamsportpa #violin #hideglue #stickysituation #luthier #madeinpa #jhlviolins

Random Sunday morning photo dump that might be ent

Random Sunday morning photo dump that might be entertaining: .
.
1)Cello neck reset from late last year, looking at it this morning for the encouragement that they look like crap until the very end.
.
2)Reprorubber, a metrology grade casting rubber. Shown here with a very anachronistic touch probe scanner from 1999. This is the mortise area of the same cello from the first pic. The touch probe is kind of fun because it’s kind of set it and forget it. Come back 2 hours later to a point cloud of the object.
.
3)My favorite way of dressing down smaller patches. The split will go to the bottom of the kerf.
.
4)I never liked using a wedge/closing clamp set up to glue ribs back on to upper blocks. I might work on a commercial version of this at some point.
.
5)Fresh baked cast. Yum… it’s useful to bake a cast at low temps for many hours when you need to use a cast as soon as possible. Makes the house smell like wet hot clay though.
.
6)little tear out replacement sequence on a sweet Bailly violin.
.
7&8)Before and after block replacement on the violin that’s in my previous post. Before doesn’t do it justice for how much of a gap existed between the top and the block. Probably the reason for sinking projection.
.
9)A jig I made to glue shoes onto cello neck roots. Turns out the cello version is kind of universal and lazy me doesn’t have to make one for violin.
.
10) modifying a clamp. I try not to be afraid to modify a clamp. Can mean the difference between easy clamping and struggling. #jhlviolins #luthier #lutherie #digitallutherie #violinrepair #photodump #violin #cello #whatsonyourbench

This went through my stories the last 2-3 weeks an

This went through my stories the last 2-3 weeks and I got a lot of questions about it. I figured I would put it here in case it helps someone in the future. This was redoing a previous attempt at securing this broken piece of rib.
.
1) Before disassembly I cleaned off the previous retouching and discovered that wood was removed where the crack wasn’t level.
.
2. Making a small scale bondo cast with dental foil as a barrier. This served a few functions from safety and alignment, correcting the shape, and keeping the rib true while silk was drying.
.
3)With the block safely gone, the rib piece could come off and be cleaned some more.
.
4) Correcting the bondo cast. You can correct bondo just like plaster. Here, I turned a bump into a hollow. The cast was then lined with carpet tape and PETG plastic. For my UK friends, I believe bondo is available as body filler (?) it’s a car product (polyester resin).
.
5) Gluing with packing tape used as a hinge for alignment. It came off later with mineral spirits (white spirits/stoddard). The inside counter form has a tighter radius to compress the foam into the outside counter form. This was allowed to dry for a week plus before applying very thin silk. This was also allowed to dry in the counter form for a long time.
.
6)Fitting the block over the silk. The silk added almost nothing to the thickness, and will serve as support, along with the block for the crack.
.
7)Pre retouching.
.
8) Post retouching. #jhlviolins #violinrestorer #violinrestoration #luthier #lutherie #violin #ribs #silk #retouching #bondo

In case some one finds this useful: I like partia

In case some one finds this useful: I like partial casts, particularly those made from bondo, because they are fast to make. I dislike them because they are inherently less safe than a full plaster cast. Clamping the plate to them becomes problematic, and usually half of the plate is sticking out into space on your bench where it runs the chance of getting damaged. In the past I’ve countered this with sand bags (or bags of lead shot), or I’ve made overly complicated platforms. This is pretty fast and provides a measure of safety.
.
It’s just kaizen foam and an old cradle, held together with double sided carpet tape. Took no time to throw together.
.
This foam only really provides light support for easy clamping in the cast. More importantly, it’s a barrier for tools and such on the bench. Kaizen foam is available a lot of places and can be easily cut with a knife, bandsaw, hot wire, or a CNC router. #jhlviolins #violinrepair #violinrestoration #luthier #loothing #violin

Ready to finally offer these at large: Violin/Viol

Ready to finally offer these at large: Violin/Viola Wing Crack Clamp. $155 plus $10 to ship (USPS priority to US destinations). ROW please enquire. I have a *few* for immediate shipment, otherwise you will be on my list for contact when I have more available. DM me on this account or on my alternate account @bench_monkey_engineering . Payment by square invoice. Read below for specs and more information:
•
I always wanted a wing crack clamp, when I was finally ready to buy one I couldn't. So, as an outgrowth of the digital skills I've acquired making jigs/fixtures and machining in my repair work I took it upon myself as a challenge to design a clamp that would be hyper lightweight. This model is +/- 33gr and is made of PETG printed plastic that is CNC milled on major surfaces to tolerance. The arms are of 7075 aluminum, the fittings are in either 303 stainless or are black oxide coated steel. All connections are threaded and thread locked. I chose this method of manufacture, because in the unlikely event a part should break, it can be shipped to me and I can repair it. I've impact tested these, it takes a lot to break one.
.
I've tried to keep them as affordable as possible, but they are relatively complex and some of the parts are costly. I'm only making these as I have time with my normal restoration work. Yes, I am working on a cello version and wing lifters. Also working on other things….😎 #jhlviolins #wingcrack #toolmaking #violinrepair #violinrestorer #violinrestoration

Todays overly artsy photo: removing retouching wi

Todays overly artsy photo: removing retouching with scalpel under UV. I put this in my stories, but I’m kind of fond of it 🤣 #uvlight #scalpel #violinrepair #violinrestoration #violin #jhlviolins

My phone wants to call it purpling. . #celloresto

My phone wants to call it purpling.
.
#cellorestoration #purfling #cncinserts #retouching #violinrestoration #lutherie #jhlviolins

Todays overly artsy and nerdy shot: fused SLS scan

Todays overly artsy and nerdy shot: fused SLS scan of some mild top block tear out. #violin #structuredlightscanning #digitallutherie #violinrepair #loothing #tearout

Todays overly artsy pic: sausage fingers removing

Todays overly artsy pic: sausage fingers removing packing tape covering a split. #ribsplit #violinrepair #whatsonyourbench #violin #tape #luthier #lutherie

I feel very privileged to have been picked for the

I feel very privileged to have been picked for the @the_bvma member spotlight for issue #107 of the BVMA Quarterly. My copy just arrived in the mail today.
.
Being a garden variety American, who hasn’t set foot in the UK in 20 years, you may wonder why I’m a member. There are three reasons: 1)Ben Hebbert @mrstradman threatened there would be consequences if I didn’t join. 2)To support like minded individuals. The instrument trade in the States has always been linked with our British cousins. As long as we speak a mostly common language, that will most likely continue. 3) The Quarterly is my favorite publication in the trade. Totally worth the membership dues for that alone. #bvma #violin #viola #cello #violinbow #violinrestorer

A few months back I was asked by a rather good vio

A few months back I was asked by a rather good violinist to glue up his fathers cello that had been in a basement flood. The center seam was quite stubborn, however I remembered this trick involving reversing an Irwin quick grip clamp to become a “repulser.” It then could work with a C clamp and a bar clamp to push the seam back in place. I think I read about this on Frank Ford’s website (IHG friends, help me out?).
.
To make happen, file the nub on fixed end, remove the fixed jaw, slide the moveable jaw off and reverse. Doing it on the fixed end insures you won’t inadvertently loose the movable end. #clamps #quickgripclamps #violinrepair #cello #macgyvering #jhlviolins

This morning’s overly artistic shot: backlit st

This morning’s overly artistic shot: backlit straightedge. #jhlviolins #lutherie #straightedge #cello #violinrepair #violinrestoration #cellorepair #cellorestoration

For a friend who asked about this: This is my rec

For a friend who asked about this: This is my recently cobbled together jig for gluing a shoe onto a cello neck root. It consists of a horizontal toggle clamp (available from harbor freight, Grizzly, rockler, etc) on a piece of wood that gets clamped to the fingerboard surface. The only part of the shape that is critical is the notch that exists in the overhang. This allows for the shoe to stick up proud of the board surface for proper trimming later.
.
The advantage of this sort of jig becomes self explanatory to anyone who has messed awkward shaped cauls and standard clamps. The top of the shoe is normally the hardest portion to clamp, here it it’s the easiest, allowing for casual placements of the rest of the clamps. I’m sure I’m not the first to think of this, and someone will probably enthusiastically mention it in the comments. #violinrepair #cello #clamp #cellorepair #cellorestoration #jhlviolins #jigsandfixtures #sillyamericanwithhisjigs

“Well, I found your buzz.” . There’s a tradi

“Well, I found your buzz.”
.
There’s a tradition amongst fiddlers to place rattlesnake tails inside violins. The reasons vary from “keeping evil spirits away,” to “keeping mice from making a home inside the violin.”
.
#buzz #violin #rattlesnake #lutherie #whatsonyourbench #violinrepair #jhlviolins

Load More... Follow on Instagram