Welcome to Howery Violins.
Will Howery is a violinmaker and luthier working and living on Amelia Island. He also plays violin with the Amelia Island String Ensemble.
Hand crafted Violins and Violas direct from the maker that you can afford. Please look at the Rental/Purchase information!
My Violin Studio is at my residence. When you plan to visit, please make an appointment via The Shop Appointment Calendar. Thank You.
Will’s Blogs
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Violin Regina: Setting this violin up in the white. I had everything done to put the strings on and then I realized I didn’t have an end pin. So, turn on the lathe and make one
Violin Regina: Setting this violin up in the white. I had everything done to put the strings on and then I realized I didn’t have an end pin. So, turn on the lathe and make one. #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinmaker #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench…
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Fiddle Jameson: Graduation, roughing out the inside of the plates. The thickness of the plates will range from 2.2 to 4.5 mm. I use my beam calipers, fashioned after one used by Stradivarius, to score the thickness lines in the plates. Then I use a gauge to remove the lines. When the thickness gets within 1 mm of final I switch to finger planes. If I switch to finger planes too soon my fingers tell me about their sore spots when the day is done. When I’m within .5 mm of my target thickness I switch to smaller finger planes and scrapers. This is the first 5-string model so I don’t have the final plate 3d scans. On my next version of this model I’ll use the CNC machine to speed up the process to within 3mm. That being said, the final finger planing and scraping must be done by hand, because this is when I test the resonate frequencies which determine the instruments ultimate voice
Fiddle Jameson: Graduation, roughing out the inside of the plates. The thickness of the plates will range from 2.2 to 4.5 mm. I use my beam calipers, fashioned after one used by Stradivarius, to score the thickness lines in the plates. Then I use a gauge to remove the lines. When the thickness gets within…
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Fiddle Jameson: The purfling corners are all glued in, the arching or the outside curvature of the plates is almost finished all except the finalizing of the edges. The final shaping of the edges will occur after everything else is done on the plates. There’s a fair amount of dinging and danging on the edges during the graduation process, sound holes, bass bar and finally glue up and leaving a little extra wood at this time is a good idea. Now I’m working on the graduation, which is carving the thickness of the plates. The graduation phase is probably the most important aspect of the instruments sound. It determines the resonance of the plates; how they will vibrate when a violinist draws a bow on the strings
Fiddle Jameson: The purfling corners are all glued in, the arching or the outside curvature of the plates is almost finished all except the finalizing of the edges. The final shaping of the edges will occur after everything else is done on the plates. There’s a fair amount of dinging and danging on the edges…
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Fiddle Jameson: Setting and gluing the purfling. With the grooves cut, I bend the purfling with a hot bending iron, then dry fit all the purfling corners on the top and bottom plates. Once everything is set I glue the purfling into the grooves. The hot hide glue causes the grooves to swell a bit more narrow and the purfling to get just a bit longer than the dry fitting, so there is always some last minute adjustments before the glue cools and sets. Wood, such a dynamic material
Fiddle Jameson: Setting and gluing the purfling. With the grooves cut, I bend the purfling with a hot bending iron, then dry fit all the purfling corners on the top and bottom plates. Once everything is set I glue the purfling into the grooves. The hot hide glue causes the grooves to swell a bit…
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Fiddle Jameson: Cutting and trimming the purfling groove. Once the edge margins are smooth and finished, no bumps etc, that edge is used to guide the process of cutting the purfling groove. I set my CNC machine with a 1.4 mm bit 2mm off the table, and positioned the router forward from a guide pin. Once I’ve tested the dimensions on some scrap wood, I put the plate next to the guide pin and give the command for the router to go to 2mm. Once the router is lowered I carefully guide the plate edge around the guide pin. The router is only used for the long curves, once I get into the corners I retract the router and leave that work to be done by hand. The corners are finished off with the traditional, marker, knife, and purfling cleaning tool
Fiddle Jameson: Cutting and trimming the purfling groove. Once the edge margins are smooth and finished, no bumps etc, that edge is used to guide the process of cutting the purfling groove. I set my CNC machine with a 1.4 mm bit 2mm off the table, and positioned the router forward from a guide pin.…
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Fiddle Jameson: Trimming the margins. Once the ledge for the top and bottom plates is a uniform 4.3 mm then the top and bottom plates are “tacked” glued to the blocks. The rib out line is then used to trim the plate edge margins to 2.5mm. I use the CNC machine to “rough” out the margins. By fastening a guide pin on the CNC table and then positioning the router bit about 5mm from the edge I can move the instrument body against the guide pin to get a uniform edge margin. Once the edge is consistent, I can move the CNC router 1/2 to a 1/10 of a mm towards the body to sneak up on my final measurements. As with the ledge, I bring the CNC within .3 to .5 mm and then finish by hand for those final 1/10ths
Fiddle Jameson: Trimming the margins. Once the ledge for the top and bottom plates is a uniform 4.3 mm then the top and bottom plates are “tacked” glued to the blocks. The rib out line is then used to trim the plate edge margins to 2.5mm. I use the CNC machine to “rough” out the…
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Fiddle Jameson: Marking the rib outline on the top and back plates and rough carving the arching
Fiddle Jameson: Marking the rib outline on the top and back plates and rough carving the arching. #violin #viola #fiddle #5stringfiddle #violinJameson #fiddlejamesen #violinmaker #luthier #cnc #cncviolinmaker #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #northflorida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #chambermusic #5string #firstcoast
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Fiddle Jameson: Corner blocks all trimmed, ribs bent and glued on the form
Fiddle Jameson: Corner blocks all trimmed, ribs bent and glued on the form. #violin #viola #fiddle #5stringfiddle #violinJameson #fiddlejamesen #violinmaker #luthier #cnc #cncviolinmaker #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #northflorida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #chambermusic #5string #firstcoast
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Fiddle Jameson: Templates refined. A bit narrower in the waist to accommodate the 5 strings
Fiddle Jameson: Templates refined. A bit narrower in the waist to accommodate the 5 strings. #violin #viola #fiddle #5stringfiddle #violinJameson #fiddlejamesen #violinmaker #luthier #cnc #cncviolinmaker #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #northflorida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #chambermusic #5string #firstcoast
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Fiddle Jameson: Starting a new 5 string fiddle commission. Based on a 15 1/2 viola model. I want to have a big chocolate low C and still maintain the bright violin on the upper ranges
Fiddle Jameson: Starting a new 5 string fiddle commission. Based on a 15 1/2 viola model. I want to have a big chocolate low C and still maintain the bright violin on the upper ranges. #violin #viola #fiddle #5string #violinJameson #fiddlejamesen #violinmaker #luthier #cnc #cncviolinmaker
