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 Onalee: sinking the edges and feathering into the arching. The top of the plate(to the left) is well under way. The edges on the bottom of the plate are rough just after glueing in the purfling. Working in near darkness provides focused light to illuminate the Violins gentle curves, and mostly importantly any bumps
Violin Onalee: sinking the edges and feathering into the arching. The top of the plate(to the left) is well under way. The edges on the bottom of the plate are rough just after glueing in the purfling. Working in near darkness provides focused light to illuminate the Violins gentle curves, and mostly importantly any bumps……
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Violin Onalee: cutting out the Sound holes. One of the most identifying elements of a violin is the sound holes; the layout, shape, and execution. Before I start the process, I drink a nice cup of Kava Kava tea, play some meditative music, mellow centered and a steady hand
Violin Onalee: cutting out the Sound holes. One of the most identifying elements of a violin is the sound holes; the layout, shape, and execution. Before I start the process, I drink a nice cup of Kava Kava tea, play some meditative music, mellow centered and a steady hand… #violinonalee #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine…
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Violin Onalee: Drawing the sound holes. Templates may be faster, but I like the process of laying out the upper and lower eyes then connecting all this curves with a pencil (and a fair amount of erasure, until it looks just right
Violin Onalee: Drawing the sound holes. Templates may be faster, but I like the process of laying out the upper and lower eyes then connecting all this curves with a pencil (and a fair amount of erasure, until it looks just right…). #violinonalee #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinmaker…
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Violin Onalee: Graduating the plates. The beam caliper is similar to what Stradivarius used. I use carving gouges until I’m within .5 mm, then finger planes and finally scrappers. Also, the modern dial caliper is used when within .5 mm, It’s more accurate than the beam calipers, but takes a bit more time. How do I know when I’m done? First the plate weight then the modal tone frequencies. The frequencies are a function of the plate density which is a function of weight and volume. Every piece of wood from every tree is different, making the measurements mandatory for high quality tone. And the really cool thing is— every violin is a unique creation
Violin Onalee: Graduating the plates. The beam caliper is similar to what Stradivarius used. I use carving gouges until I’m within .5 mm, then finger planes and finally scrappers. Also, the modern dial caliper is used when within .5 mm, It’s more accurate than the beam calipers, but takes a bit more time. How do…
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Violin Onalee: gluing the linings. Linings provide structural strength to the violin ribs. Weight is the enemy of good tone, the entire violin system vibrates contributing to or diminishing an instruments tone. The linings 1.5mm thick and 8 mm high help hold the violin together with minimal vibrational attenuation
Violin Onalee: gluing the linings. Linings provide structural strength to the violin ribs. Weight is the enemy of good tone, the entire violin system vibrates contributing to or diminishing an instruments tone. The linings 1.5mm thick and 8 mm high help hold the violin together with minimal vibrational attenuation. #violinonalee #violin #chambermusic #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland…
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Violins Nicolo and Maude. Enjoying the Florida Sunshine! Those light cages work, but oh the joy of the real source of light:-). Now their singing in the sun, soon they will be singing on stage with their future players
Violins Nicolo and Maude. Enjoying the Florida Sunshine! Those light cages work, but oh the joy of the real source of light:-). Now their singing in the sun, soon they will be singing on stage with their future players! #violinmaude #violinnicolo #violin #chambermusic #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinmaker…
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Violin Maude and Nicolo in their light cages. Maude, the darker violin with 10++ coats of Cochineal varnish is in the UV light. Nicolo with Balsam varnish #2 ground is in a full spectrum grow light cage. The balsam ground varnish goes into the cells and pores of the wood to reflect light, and protect the wood from other substances penetrating the cells. The full spectrum light looks cooler, but will be upgraded to UV lights for better tanning and resin curing. I get my varnishes from Joe Robson
Violin Maude and Nicolo in their light cages. Maude, the darker violin with 10++ coats of Cochineal varnish is in the UV light. Nicolo with Balsam varnish #2 ground is in a full spectrum grow light cage. The balsam ground varnish goes into the cells and pores of the wood to reflect light, and protect…
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Violin Onalee: rib set ready for the linings. I pre-bend the linings and clip them to the ribs on the form to dry before glueing. I do this to avoid the linings having any distortion on the ribs. If they are formed and dried on the mold them everything goes together smoothly when the glue comes out
Violin Onalee: rib set ready for the linings. I pre-bend the linings and clip them to the ribs on the form to dry before glueing. I do this to avoid the linings having any distortion on the ribs. If they are formed and dried on the mold them everything goes together smoothly when the glue…
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Violin Nicolo: Scraping a living, Scraping by; thoughts that swirl through my mind as I work the minute pieces of wood removed or smoothed in the scrapping process. Micheal Darnton stated that violin making is the process of picking the biggest tool that will do the job, up until the point where you are going to mess things up badly. Then pick a finer tool. Scrapers are not the last items in our toolbox. From scrapers we go to Equisetum a plant that contains tiny bits of silicon on its stocks, and then we move to dry stiff brushes. Successive refinement
Violin Nicolo: Scraping a living, Scraping by; thoughts that swirl through my mind as I work the minute pieces of wood removed or smoothed in the scrapping process. Micheal Darnton stated that violin making is the process of picking the biggest tool that will do the job, up until the point where you are going…
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Violin Nicolo: trimming the purfling grove corners. I work with enlarged photos of Stradivarius’ Messiah which you can see in the background. The Messiah is the most pristine example of Antonio’s work. Passed pretty much un-played from Antonio’s Son Paolo, to Count Cozio Di Salabue to Luigi Tarisio, to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, to W. E. Hill, and now on display at the Ashmolian Museum in Oxford. I work slow and patiently ever striving to come closer to the masters craftsmanship. Every violin I make a bit finer in craftsmanship and better in tone and playability. Antonio made the Messiah in 1716 at the age of 72. He started his apprenticeship in his teen years, so doing the math, I’ll won’t live long enough to gain the experience he acquired, however I due have a clear goal and example through his work
Violin Nicolo: trimming the purfling grove corners. I work with enlarged photos of Stradivarius’ Messiah which you can see in the background. The Messiah is the most pristine example of Antonio’s work. Passed pretty much un-played from Antonio’s Son Paolo, to Count Cozio Di Salabue to Luigi Tarisio, to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, to W. E.…
