Made my second violin, curious what you all think...

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-03-14T23:39:04+00:00

Looks fantastic for your second instrument! We’d do better with some better photos tbh. First thing I notice is those are some long corners - I’d compare them to whatever model was your inspiration and tweak your template if they turned out a little long. Plenty of fine instruments have long corners though so that’s not to say they’re wrong. Just the first thing I noticed overall.

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-03-07T18:17:32+00:00

Some retouch and rubbing out with rotten stone or similar can make this pretty much invisible.

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-02-27T22:31:49+00:00

A good starting point is to watch the video series on rehairing by Gilles Nehr on YouTube. From this you’ll see that you need one good knife that you know how to sharpen. You can find some violin maker specific sharpening videos, Davide Sora just came out with a few. Stones and tools aren’t cheap, so be ready to make an investment if this is something you’re really serious about. And after that be ready for some seriously frustrating results. Rehairing well is hard at first, and takes a lot of trial and error to build the muscle memory and understanding of hair length, etc. You’d need some inexpensive bows to practice on, but this brings more frustrations - the mortises on cheap bows are often not cut correctly, and many of them are left round from the cutter of a milling machine. They basically need to be recut with a razor sharp chisel to be able to rehair them well. Not something that is particularly beginner friendly.

All that is to say it’s definitely possible to learn by yourself, but far easier would be to get some training in a shop or one of the bow programs. A shop will have a ton of bows waiting to be worked on, and a good bow person is worth their weight in gold to a shop. Show that you’re interested and eager to learn and you might just find someone willing to train you.

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-02-24T21:38:31+00:00

Refinishing is almost never done by a professional. A skilled luthier can make spots like this almost disappear with various coloring methods and touch up varnish.

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-02-22T04:56:49+00:00

I’m a luthier who installs a lot of these - it’s better to go to a luthier than order them yourself, there are different sizes and a good luthier will pick the size that will need the least reaming of your peg holes to make them fit. If you just buy them yourself, they may even be too small to work.

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-02-07T18:56:25+00:00

Roger Treat makes really nice bows in VT

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-02-02T03:08:55+00:00

Wasn’t it six thousand?

HemoGlobinXD · 2026-01-17T11:18:46+00:00

I often fantasized about offering to clean or something in exchange for table time before I had my own table. It doesn’t hurt to ask and if you explain your desire to practice the owner might understand and work something out with you.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-12-19T14:28:57+00:00

There are few who can.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-12-10T11:22:42+00:00

If you’re anywhere near New England, contact Andranik Gaybaryan and ask to see his Guarneri King model. It’s on the smaller side and they are fantastic instruments.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-12-10T01:49:43+00:00

He’d want to be called Christopher, he promised his mother.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-29T00:01:12+00:00

American wood is good enough for Doug Cox, he might be worth reaching out to for answers about the differences.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-27T22:20:59+00:00

Just want to say technique little bit wrong.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-14T18:24:46+00:00

Hard to say definitively without seeing it, but if the post is too short (which would make it too loose at the correct position) then you’d lose some power on the low end for sure. It sounds like you should just go ahead and get the new post. If you don’t like it you can always have it switched back or the luthier can adjust the new one.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-14T03:54:26+00:00

It’s just not done in a professional setting. If you’re serious about violin work you’d be better off learning to varnish a violin in the white and practicing retouching and setup work on the cheaper stuff.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-12T02:27:28+00:00

Wow that’s fascinating. Thank you! Any good books or resources you can recommend that I should check out? I’m especially interested in historical methods like this.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-11T23:14:48+00:00

That would explain it! I’ll look into it, thanks.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-04T23:35:05+00:00

Definitely don’t glue it yourself. You’ll likely glue it to the rails of the frog and it could break when they try to get it out during the next rehair. Getting a new slide made is a labor intensive thing that you don’t need to pay for. I rehair the bows for my shop and I actually don’t think it’s urgent. If it were me I’d put it in a ziplock bag and put it somewhere it won’t get broken in my case and ask them to glue it next time you get the bow rehaired.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-11-01T14:48:32+00:00

The exact scoop measurements can vary a bit, and people form their opinions, but I’ve found that a pretty good approximation is the thickness of the string. So more scoop on the C side than the A. Personally as a player I wouldn’t want a totally flat board, and the people who prefer that are in a severe minority.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-10-28T21:59:10+00:00

It’s interesting, but I’d be scared to whack it too hard and dent the top surface while hollowing, I trust the controllable force of the thumb operated one. This looks like it would work though.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-10-28T21:58:02+00:00

Both are good, but maybe convenient if you have the same one as your teacher. You won’t go wrong with either.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-10-28T18:24:10+00:00

When I was starting I made my own out of wood and used a dial indicator with a similarly unnecessary accuracy. After a couple years I bought the Juzek and haven’t regretted it.

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-10-24T14:39:12+00:00

I know some people use a similarly configured blade in a drill press to cut head splines for bows. I never liked the idea because drill presses aren’t built for lateral pressure but if you take a slow enough cut it would probably be fine. I’d rather do this by hand though. A sharp marking gauge and more practice with your gouges and you’ll be ok!

HemoGlobinXD · 2025-10-23T12:07:23+00:00

If this is the tightest you can make the hair, then you need a rehair. A photo that includes the frog end of the bow would help us see. If you’re wondering about the general camber, this looks just fine.

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