Hi Brian, I got them on Amazon, they are not super expensive. look up Japanese files or the brand name Tsubosan. They are good quality, I wasn't sure what to expect but I like them. I got the coarse files because it was 2 day delivery, the others would be over a week and I wanted them quick lol. The coarse cut may be a little too rough for fine work so I may get a set of the fine cut ones also.

@@CooperViolins Found it. Thanks!

Back arch should be a bit lower than the top, 15.8mm but when I made the back I didn't get it quite that low so it's a little over 16 like the top. I got the wood from a luthier friend, it's good quality!

You're right, I should explain more during the violin build but I kind of get in the zone and tend to be quiet while I'm working. I'll try to do better at explaining as I go forward with this. I started making the videos just to show the complete process of building a violin, not as instructional but just entertainment I guess, but I should try to be more informative.

@@CooperViolins yea I’m the same way when working on a task, that’s why I thought maybe a voiceover might be eaiser. I mean you already have a couple hundred people, I bet that would gain quickly if you did a little explaining

I am using Stradivari's P form. The finished edge thickness will be about 4mm in the upper and lower bouts rising to 5mm at the corners, maybe about 4.5 in the C bouts. Thanks for watching

Thank you, I'm glad you like them. Thanks for watching!

yeah I kind of made things difficult for myself this time around. Just a small spot of glue on each block would have been enough. Thanks for watching!

Thanks!

Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching.

There is a video that shows heating the rosin for the varnish and preparing the linseed oil. I have not made the varnish yet but I will make a full video of the process in the future. Thanks for watching!

Happy new year to you as well! I hope 2025 is a good one!

It's 01 tool steel. Thanks for watching!

Glad you like it, thanks for watching!

It's a linseed oil and rosin varnish. The orange color is from madder lake pigment.

thank you❤

@@CooperViolins Is it cooked or mixed?

@@Haykal681 It's a cooked varnish. It's about a 1 to 1 mix of linseed oil and pine rosin cooked together.

@@Haykal681 At some point during this build I'll make a video of varnish making. I already have a couple videos, one showing cooking the rosin to give it some color and one that shows washing the oil with salt water to remove the water soluble material from it.

Thank you. I like woodworking but I've never done real carpentry, just violins.

@@CooperViolins Your work is very good, congratulations

Thank you! It turned out well. I ended up putting a curly maple handle on it.

Thanks for watching, I wish you well with your own violin build!

The last build I did it the way Davide shows pouring the glue from a small container so I figured the towel would be a good idea. Applying the glue with a brush is not as messy but still a good idea to cover things with a towel.

Thanks for watching. I don't get many comments from viewers so it's good to know someone out there is enjoying watching them. :)

@@CooperViolins it take some time to get higher in rankings on youtube

Pine rosin. As I recall, I think it is a variety of pine tree called Aleppo pine. Then I heat it to 350 degrees for about three or four hours.

lol, well every now and then he grabs some scrap wood off the floor to chew on. I have two smaller ones also and you'll hear them barking in the background on some videos. :D

I had to reshape the blades. This is a purfling marker I got from amazon and the blades are pointed like a needle. That doesn't work so I reshaped them like a knife blade. I marked both sides at once. I found that with both bevels facing the same direction it's about the right width for my purfling. After this initial marking I decided a single blade works better so I turned one blade around and used the flat end as a depth stop with only one blade cutting. It works well that way. I don't know off hand how wide my purfling is, I'll have to measure it and post a reply later. The groove is slightly wider than the purfling so the purfling goes in easy but there is no gap. I have seen some luthiers hammer the purfling in and I don't like it that tight. I also bevel the edge of the purfling so it goes in easier. I made another video, I think it's the one after this one and I show a close up view of the blades.

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKfXcqitnqt1ea8

Last build I didn't have any difficulty getting the ribs off but only had the blocks glued with a small drop of glue, this time it was much more difficult since I put glue on the whole surface. That was a mistake! Ribs are fairly flexible and with the linings trimmed to remove the square edge it shouldn't be a problem getting it off the form. In hindsight though it's probably a good idea to leave the linings off one side to make it easier to remove the form and I'll do it that way next time.

In this initial planeing I got it down to about 18mm thick, final height of the finished back plate is 16mm which is a little high for a back plate. 15mm would have been better probably but 16 is ok. In later videos you'll see me hollowing out the inside to a maximum thickness of about 4.5mm, thinning out to about 2.5 in the upper and lower bouts. Thanks for watching, I'm glad you like it.

I found it on facebook. Someone posted it in a group called Guarneri violin club. I hope they don't mind me posting it on my youtube. The original was displayed faster and had music. I slowed it down and removed the music. It's not often you get to see a classic Cremona violin in this detail.

@@CooperViolins Cool. Graham Vincent posted a great video about his visit to the Ashmoleoan Museum a while back. Lots to look at for inspiration.

@@BrianTimmonsTX I think that's where the messiah violin is. I've seen good closeups of it. I don't know what else they have there. I was working on the rib garland today, will post a video later this evening or tomorrow.

I've been slacking off some as well, I need to try to make more progress soon, No special reason, I read that Strad and del Gesu used a knife cut for that and it takes the initial square edge off a bit easier than the needle file. A larger file wouldn't have a problem with the square edge but I'm afraid the ones that I have are too coarse. Plus, I like to play with sharp things! lol. I did use the needle file to smooth some irregularities but I noticed the file leave small ridges on the surface and the knife doesn't. That's why you see me using a scraper at the end of the video, scraping to smooth out the rough surface that the file makes. The width of the chamfer is a little over a millimeter or maybe about 2mm, for that small a width, a file is kind of coarse, maybe a sanding stick with something like 500 grit paper would be better. This was the initial 45 degree cut, I think the scraper will work well to blend that around the rest of the edge. When I get to the top edge after gluing the ribs I'll probably just be using the file.

@@CooperViolins Thanks for the detailed answer!

In the video I said 19mm for the center circle, that was a mistake, I just measured it and it's actually 17.6millimeters for the radius. Diameter is twice the radius. for the middle circle the radius is 36.9 mm. The outer circle radius is 56.6mm. The two smaller outer circles are radius 13.4 mm. The measurements are actually proportions of the length of the plate. If you divide the length of the plate by 72 points. In Italian it's called punti. The center circle is 4 points radius. 8 points radius for the middle circle and 12 points radius for the outer circle. For the two small outside circles, divide the length of the plate into 12 points. They are between 3 and 4 12ths from the bottom end and same from the neck end.

Hi, This shows the varnish that I used on the violin. It is an oil varnish with madder pigment added for color.

@@CooperViolins ohh I see..orange or red madder pigment?

@@firanamia4821 red madder lake, I think there may be some chochineal in it also. I didn't make it, it was a gift from another luthier. For the current build I want to make my own varnish.

@@firanamia4821 Also I put some yellow fustic dye on the wood to give it a golden tone under the varnish.

@@CooperViolins oh wow..thank you very much sir..make more videos of varnish..

I'm not sure if I understand it myself lol. If you look in the community tab on my channel you'll see the geometric pattern. It is in the National Music Museum. I also read the book Librum Segretti de Buttegha translated by Dipper. It was written in the early to mid 1700s by a violin student in Cremona by an unknown author. I noticed that many of the rules in the Librum match up with markings on the pattern. In the end after looking at all that and at CT scans of Strads and Del Gesu. I decided to make the center of mass a little lower in the C bouts and limit the thinning of the upper bouts to where the small circles are. In the Librum those small circles are called the center of oscilation. I noticed those seem to correspond with where the thickest part of Strads ends and the thinning begins. Really I'm just kind of winging it. :D I don't remember, are you on Maestronet? Check out my build thread, I mention a little more about it there. About how things seem to line up. Also Librum says to make sure the plate balances at the center of gravity, so I marked that point and will take time to balance the plate after thinning. I don't know if it matters but I'll do it.

I went back to the book Librum to refresh my memory. Divide the length of the plate in 12 equal parts. It says from the inside purfling but I used the scribe line of the ribs, close enough I guess. 4 12ths in from the bottom is where I'm thinning and also 4 parts in from the neck end. I'll blend that smoothly into the thicker area in the middle.

@@CooperViolins I am on MaestroNet, but it’s been a while since I visited. I’ll give it a look.

Thank you. I hope lots of people get some entertainment out of seeing a violin build process.

@@CooperViolins i think it will get to people :)

Thank you! It's an Ibex brand. They are good planes and I sharpened the blade well.

Thank you! :)

Do you save anything, or gain anything I particular by making your own?

@@dukenukembubblegum7311 No savings or gains, I just like making things. So I will be making my own homemade varnish for the violin. I have a couple recipes, one calls for using this linoxin in an alcohol spirit varnish. The other recipe which I will probably use instead, is a simple linseed oil and pine rosin varnish.

@@CooperViolins gotcha, yea I just wasn’t sure. I know that some older techniques tend to help with tonal qualities. Wasn’t sure if this was one, I’m not actually a violin player, but a guitar player. I hear the “nitro” and “poly” arguments all the time

@@dukenukembubblegum7311 yeah this linoxin varnish is supposed to look authentic Cremonese under UV light but I kind of prefer the oil / rosin varnish with some lake color added. It's more traditional I think.

Sorry, I neglected to reply to your comment. I want to make a copy of the Strad purfling cutter. and I need to redesign my plate holder. The plate keeps getting loose when carving out the inside.

@@CooperViolins No worries! Hmm. A bit of Googling and I see he used something just like the one Ibex makes, except the Ibex has two blades, and Strad apparently used a pair of single blade cutters. Is that right?

@@BrianTimmonsTX yes that's right. I can post some pictures and drawing later.

If you go to my channel and click on community you'll see a couple pics of the purfling cutter.

@@CooperViolinsAh, I see it. Thanks!

On my last build the tip broke off the eacto somewhere along the way. So far I haven't cut very deep. I'll have to dig out the waste wood and then cut deeper. On MN, someone posted a picture of a purfling knife that had a rounded tip so I made one but didn't like it. It tends to wander outside the purfling line so I went back to the xacto.

@@CooperViolins Hmmm. I’m only on the maple plate so far, so I don’t imagine I’ll have the same problem with the softer spruce. It’s a delicate balancing act. If I don’t use enough pressure it won’t cut, but too much pressure makes the knife break. So I’m compromising by making tons of light cuts on the maple, but the knife wanders out of the scribe line sometimes. ARGH!

@@BrianTimmonsTX Hi Brian, I decided to try something different today and it seems to work well. I have one of those cheap double blade purfling markers from Amazon. Usually I would use it just to mark the channel and then cut with the xacto. This time I used just one blade to cut and used the other one as a depth stop. I set the depth to 1.5mm and made one cut all the way around, then reset it to cut the other side of the channel. Eliminating the need for the exacto. I'll still have to do the corners with the xacto since they are off center. I'll post a video in a little while to show it.

@@CooperViolins Interesting idea. I have the cheap Amazon purfling tools. They’re really just sharpened pins rather than blades. Although I could conceivably re-grind them to be actual cutters.

@@BrianTimmonsTX right, as they come, they are sharpened like needles. I reshaped mine to a knife edge.

I know it's hard to see but if you've seen some of my arching videos, I leave a flat area down the center line and work into that. So to my eye, there is still just a hint of flatness down the center especially in the lower bout. You can kind of see it just below the lower corners. Probably it would not be visible to anyone but me, only because I know it was there. Also it seems just a little bit not quite flat enough near the button where the neck will attach. I like to see it quite flat right over the end blocks. If you look at CT scans of original Stradivari violins it's quite flat right over the blocks. The tail end looks good though.

Thank you!, I put some yellow fustic dye on the wood for color and then a lean oil rosin varnish for the ground coating. The wood is curly maple.

Thanks! A little sloppy in the corners but coming along, how's yours going?

@@CooperViolins Sloppy! I’m editing video for part one, making the rib garland. I absolutely butchered my corners. Had to entirely redo the C-bouts, and it took me three attempts to get successful glue-ups on the front and back plates.

yeah I kind of messed up on the corners also. It's hard to get the shape right.

@@CooperViolins I should’ve clarified, the corners I’m referring to are where the ribs meet. I trimmed them back too far and they should be much more pointy. I’ll have to extend the overhang of the spruce and maple plates at their corners in order to preserve the front and back profile. It’s gonna look kinda goofy. But hey, it’s number one, and I’m certainly making tons of mistakes, or shall I say “learning opportunities” for what not to do next time.

@@BrianTimmonsTX I understand that! I have lots of learning opportunities too. This is number two I'm working on and still making mistakes, but better than number one.

I am building a violin and in this video I am working on the arching of the back plate. It is a long process. I'm spending a lot of time on the back plate trying to get the shape right.

Yes I learned a lot watching Davide's videos. He is a master of the craft and he makes better videos than I do! :D Thank you for watching mine!

Thanks for watching!

Hi, thanks for the comments! If you want to learn to build a violin, hopefully my videos will be instructive. Also I highly recommend watching the videos of Davide Sora. He is a master violin builder and has awesome videos. Yes the dog is my workshop helper, he likes to bark a lot! :D

@@CooperViolins thank you, yes I have seen Davide Sora his videos, but I'll watch them both now

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.

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.

Thanks!

Thank you for the comment, you're right, not many comments so far but that's ok. I'm having fun making videos.

It's a charcoal drawing stick from Hobby Lobby, any arts store would have it. In another video you'll seem me using a pencil type marker to make topographic lines or whatever you call it. At first I used a number2 pencil but the lead is too hard so I changed to a soft lead drawing pencil also from Hobby Lobby. I haven't posted that video yet, I'll try to get that done sometime tonight.

It can be, especially if you try to take too big a chunk out all at once!

Thanks! Yeah I'm working on the back plate now, it's tricky getting the cross arches right, especially in the lower bout, it's so wide and flatish.