Violin Forum/Message Board

[rs]

Lately, I have been focusing on the instrument heads more than ever before. Perhaps it is a phase I am going through, but I doubt it, at least I hope not. I am striving to improve the artistic side with more vigor than ever.

This is a violin head from an instrument I did earlier this year. I made the pegs and added color to the blonde wood only to give it an antique appearance. They are carved from boxwood and follow the same motif of earlier pegs I made. The varnish appears orange, but is actually red on a yellow ground. This one is the result of sketches of Le Messie.


IMGP1504 by violinsbypaco, on Flickr



The one below is also based on some AS sketches. The pegs I made are carved, not turned, from ebony and the collars are of blonde boxwood as are the pins. The varnish is a red-brown. I like the brown from pitch, but I have lately found better results from really old asphalt shingles I find laying on the ground of buildings with flayed roofs. The brown dries much faster with this older source than the pitch from roofing trucks. The collars are from hollowed and reamed bushing sticks.

I have lately been putting the varnish on the flutes heavily and try to get it as viscous as possible. This way it draws up from the edge. I also slightly recessed the center vein or ridge just before the scroll turns down into the throat on my last two instruments. I find it more dynamic. This last method was done on this violin below, but not on the violin above.


IMGP1460 by violinsbypaco, on Flickr




Clasic guitar I made with boxwood on bubinga. Motif is feathers, flowers, oak leaves and scrolls.


IMGP1532 by violinsbypaco, on Flickr
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Randall Shenefelt

[ctviolin]

[johngia]

RS,

Awesome.

I can't even imagine the techniques involved to do such detailed precise work.

Awesome.

John

[Mat Roop]

rs... nice work...
Curios though, you say the pegs are carved not turned.... does that mean you do not use a peg shaver? how long does it take to make & fit one peg?
Thanks for posting... Mat

[rs]

Thank you all for the kind words.

Matt, I did not turn the the pegs on a lathe as is customary with heart-shaped pegs. Rather, I cut them out with a saw and then carved them to shape. I did shave them after that to fit. The collars' grooves were filed around and then I put the peg shafts in a drill motor and held a small file in the grooves to straighten them out. One day I intend to get a small lathe, but for now it is all by hand. Truthfully, this hasn't hurt me as it is forcing me to be more expressive and less mechanical, albeit more time-consuming.
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Randall Shenefelt

[kubasa]

rs- I'm really curious about the asphalt from the shingles that you mention. Are you referring to the asphalt on the back of the shingle? Are you melting it down or diluting it with something? I don't want to sound like I'm prying secrets but I really am curious how you use it because I have an old bundle of shingles in my basement that's been sitting there forever collection dust and is just waiting for me to experiment with!

James

[rs]

Pitch has been used for centuries to color varnish. A great source for this is roofing pitch or asphalt. Violin makers take a chunk and soak it in turpentine and then use this thick brown product to color varnish. It ends up being green-brown and so most add some red to get rid of the green. I remember reading Michael Darnton say (in his book online) that to him this pitch-made brown was one of the prettiest colors around. I have to say that I never viewed it that way before, but his comment opened up a different perspective for me and now I agree with him.

I had tried pitch maybe fifteen years ago following a formula suggested by a local hobbyist and was dissatisfied with the green cast. But my biggest dilemma was I could not get it to dry. At the time I added red-brown but did not care for the results on all fronts. I tabled the pitch idea until reading Michael Darnton's comment.

I live in an old part of town about a mile from a roofer. Two years ago I walked over to his shop to see about getting some pitch from him (a golfball size piece will last for the life of a violin maker) and he was closed. Seeing the pieces of roof shingles on the ground from very old buildings gave me a nudge to try these pieces instead. Soaked in turpentine the asphalt in the shingle turns into green-brown tar. I added this to some madder-red varnish and got the rich brown color I was wanting to try. The part that surprised me was the drying time was no different than the varnish without the pitch; an experience I did not have when I used the plain roofing pitch before.
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Randall Shenefelt

[kubasa]

Thanks for the info. I remember reading a post on MN one time about using asphalt for a colorant. I think it might have even been Michael that commented on using this. Maybe it was Luis Manfio? I can't remember for sure....Anyway, I had never heard of anyone using old shingles instead of raw asphalt. Sounds like I might need to experiment! Thanks for bringing this up.

[actonern]

If you live anywhere near an art supply store, they commonly stock tins of "Asphaltum," which is the same thing, already at a consistency easy to incorporate into varnish.

Best regards,


E

[tomigv]

Very nice an tasteful carving Paco, I don/t think there are art stores in st jo. mo but overland pk ks has a nice selection of art shops. greetings from lee/s summit.
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I am very interested in violin and bow making. Have quite a few interesting bows and a large cache of pernambuco. I like to experiment using local midwest hardwoods,