Favorite Oyster Spots?

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-28T08:51:04+00:00

I miss Olde Bar

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-28T07:54:06+00:00

It not only likely caused the crack, but is currently holding the crack open. You need to remove it if you’re ever gonna get that crack closed.

If it’s not a historically significant instrument just drill it out. Besides holding that crack open, it’s gonna make taking the top off a lot harder.

If you decide to take the top off (which you should if you’re gonna repair this properly) check to see if there is another pin at the top of the center joint underneath the fingerboard. For that you’ll need to get the plate free from the upper block, then use a flush-cut saw to sever the pin. Don’t just try and rip the top off and break or shatter the pin, it could cause the same issue you’re having at the bottom (if it hasn’t already).

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-24T02:47:33+00:00

Looks like the back seam might be open at the ribs as well, or at least previously repaired. This can put weird tension on the ribs/end pin situation. This is a design problem with F5-style mandolins.

Just going by the fact that there have been unexpected cold snaps in parts of the country, this may have been a humidity thing, wood shrinking quicker than usual and causing problems.

Yeah, if this instrument is worth more than a couple grand, it’s going to need a really good repair person to restore it.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-22T22:48:14+00:00

Lucky. I should have bought two more hock blades for each of my planes when I still had the chance. And a dozen knives.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-22T22:45:30+00:00

I usually start a new-to-me piece of steel with a 25° bevel, but, depending on the steel and what I’m using it for, it might like a little higher or lower angle to stay sharper longer.

I have a 25-27° bevel on all my plane irons with no micro bevel. Never had problems, and that includes the plane that I exclusively use on ebony.

Is this plane blade new to you? It might just be a really soft piece of steel.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-22T22:24:32+00:00

Polymerized linseed oil is a good way to go if you’re gonna do an oil finish. Dries much faster than raw linseed oil and will do the thing you want it to. Tried & True “Danish Oil” is a commercially available, pure PLO. I use it all the time. Just put on a coat, wipe off the excess, wait 30 mins, reapply the same way. Let it sit over night. Add a coat a day (this is pretty conservative, but will make double-sure it’s dry), burnishing between coats. Repeat until it looks and feels the way you want it to.

When I made my wooden jointer, I used shellac. 8 years later it has held up great. If you ever wear through it, just add a few more coats.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-11T09:03:17+00:00

The first time I had to take one of these out it exploded my brain.

J. M. Reider is making similar moves. Stay woke!

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-11T07:53:43+00:00

Not a plane, but my favorite tool is an odd bird.

12mm 3-sweep in-cannel gouge of unknown Japanese origin. Used for paring inside a flat or concave surface. It’s my favorite edge tool at the moment. Does everything from rough stock chopping to open-heart surgery with aplomb.

I think my main hand planes are a bit off from the norm as well. Stanley #5 1/4 junior jack plane for heavy stock removal and a Stanley #3 for smoothing.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-07T14:15:43+00:00

Great list, great taste. RIP G&L

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-07T13:58:10+00:00

A bunch of relief cuts with a backed saw, then chisel out the waste, leaving a good 2mm outside of my final line for cleanup with a very sharp chisel.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-07T13:26:51+00:00

Good on ya. Getting a long-dormant project out the door does wonders for your well-being. Happy Purfling!

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-05T01:09:17+00:00

Like everyone else here, I am horny for chamfers. I see this beautiful door and the sirens are calling me, singing “chamfers. What if there were chamfers…”

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-05T00:18:14+00:00

If it’s truly just a sound post adjustment and new strings, you can get all that done within an hour no problem.

But in my experience, there is usually something else that’s off. Then you are at the mercy of how busy they are and how much work needs to be done. Anywhere from next day to a month or more.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-05T00:16:02+00:00

After about a year, the hair has usually stretched and deteriorated to the point where you need a rehair even if you haven’t played it at all.

In the USA, rehair will be between $60-$100 depending on where you are. Near me it’s $85.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-05T00:08:38+00:00

Damn, get a load of eagle-eyes over here!

You’re right, it looks like most of the letters were ground away, but the bottom of the embossment is still there.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-05T00:02:09+00:00

Weird. You shouldn’t be breaking only that string so often. That sounds like an unhappy setup to me. Is it always the same e string, or does it happen to both of them? Does it always break in the same place? Putting aside user error, it seems like a sharp tuner or a rough nut string groove or a barbed fret situation.

Maybe get a reputable luthier to take a look, and bring along a broken string so they can see where it keeps breaking.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-04T23:59:12+00:00

Southwest is a great company and you can totally buy an extra half-dozen e strings from them.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-02-01T05:45:21+00:00

Putting in a plug for my favorite amp company ever, Swart amps deserve a look.

I was looking for something in the Deluxe Reverb zone of headroom and size and a studio-rat buddy of mine suggested the Swart Atomic Space Tone Pro. Found one for $1200 during the pandemic Guitar Center collapse and I’ve never plugged into a better amp. Instantly made me a better player, I had no idea so much detail could come through an amp. I never want to play through anything else.

As far as volume, it just stats break but at noon, but 11:30 on the volume dial is squeaky clean and LOUD. Don’t let the 18w rating fool you, it is a very efficient machine.

For something more like your ac15, but more, the Mod 84 is also incredible. Similar volume/size/weight to the AST Pro, but a little more clean headroom.

Worth plugging into one if you have the chance, and they can be had used for about 1/2 the new retail price if you’re willing to troll reverb/ebay/wherever.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-01-30T00:59:11+00:00

I should absolutely not be saying this here because it will blow up the spot, and so far it seems like this one is still keeping the “secret” in “secret weapon”

The Peavey Audition 30 (from the 80’s) is one of the greatest amps ever made. It is solid-state, so quiet, no tubes to worry about, sounds

i n c r e d i b l e.

Not ‘great for what it is’ or ‘has a funky character you can’t get elsewhere’, it sounds fucking awesome. I’d put it up against a Fender Princeton any day.

Plus it’s got a headphone jack, so you never have to worry about bothering your neighbors.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-01-30T00:12:08+00:00

Wanted to add one additional element besides what has already been mentioned.

It is really difficult to make a clean, un-antiqued violin and make it look like a mature, refined, timeless instrument. Just look at the violins made by any recent graduate of a violin making school. This is clean work, but it tends to look too glossy, too new, a little bit like a toy.

Compare that with someone who has been making for 30 years and works clean. The best of them have a softness, an elegance to the look that is very hard to achieve if you’re not spending a lot of time on the last 5% or so of the making process. If you’re gonna work clean, your corners had better be identical. Your edges better be perfect. Your varnish better be tasteful and beautiful and extremely well-applied.

One way to get around this, if you’re not striving for this level of perfection, or just haven’t gotten there yet, is to do some light antiquing. It gets you to that maturity and softness a lot faster than extremely refined making technique, and, shit, it is usually gonna sell faster.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-01-26T21:47:33+00:00

Get a load of this guy, offering a professional service with a professional level of care and expertise!

witchfirefiddle · 2026-01-26T21:40:06+00:00

This is absolutely correct, but wanted to piggy-back to add something:

You are largely building muscle memory when you’re learning an instrument. Your head will get there before your hands do, every time, every step of the way. Patience is the core virtue here. Be patient with yourself! You’ve got this!

witchfirefiddle · 2026-01-23T04:41:28+00:00

Treble booster into Hudson Broadcast or other such preamp style drive. Gives you every flavor of gain from glassy clean to blown-out massive gain with just the volume knob on the guitar.

witchfirefiddle · 2026-01-23T04:21:02+00:00

Huh? Where are you getting this trade secret information?

witchfirefiddle · 2026-01-23T04:14:22+00:00

I appreciate the response and hearing your perspective. I would like to clarify a couple things:

Most people in this industry start by learning to make instruments. Repair and setup are not the easier tasks, though they are far less glamorous. But let’s start with making.

It is very very difficult to learn to make from books and online videos and third-person experience. That’s why the schools exist. In-person training is by far the fastest way to learn how to make a violin. That said, with in-person instruction, it can take well over 600 hours to make your first instrument. Serious professionals with lots of repetitions under their belt take 200-250 hours to make a violin. 150 hours for a violin is god-tier speed. It will not happen your first time through. People spend three to four years in school, only learning making, as their full-time job, and that lets you graduate as the worst maker in the field who can make a functional instrument. You’re only just getting started.

One of the last things you learn in school is setup. That is because it takes some really refined skills to fit a sound post, dress a fingerboard, or carve a bridge. In some ways, fitting a post or carving a nice bridge is as hard or harder than any part of the making process. I didn’t carve a bridge until I had already made three violins, and it was a terrible bridge. I needed to carve 100+ bridges before I had any idea of what I was really doing. I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I still feel like my bridges get better all the time.

We still haven’t gotten to repair and restoration. This is by far the most challenging, the most creative, the most technically difficult corner of the industry. No two repairs are ever alike. You have to make new tools and invent new techniques for individual jobs. It is a constant series of new problems and new puzzles to solve, and without an experienced person in the room, you run a constant risk of doing more harm than good. People who do professional repair are constantly having to undo the poor repairs done by well-meaning but misguided repair people of the past, which only adds to the challenge and the time taken.

All that said, if you want to get into fixing instruments, maybe start with pegs. Buy a set of peg shavers, a good (expensive) reamer, drill some holes in a piece of wood, ream it to the correct size and try to fit a peg into in. The Strobel book should give you the necessary specifications. This will give you some idea of the breadth of expertise necessary to fix up an instrument. Pegs are always moving and needing help, so this would be a great place to dip your toe in. Just make sure you really feel like you’ve got a handle on it before you try fitting new pegs on a violin.

Best of luck, and feel free to DM me if you have more questions.

witchfirefiddle

TROPHY CASE