Studio Appointments - Howery Violins

Viola Primrose : All together ready for the Balsam ground. A viola jack-o-lantern

Viola Primrose : All together ready for the Balsam ground. A viola jack-o-lantern. #violaprimrose #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinmaker #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #violin #chambermusic #viola #williamprimrose

March 28, 2018

Viola Primrose: Neck set and glued

Viola Primrose: Neck set and glued !!! #violaprimrose #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinmaker #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #violin #chambermusic #viola #williamprimrose

March 23, 2018

Viola Primrose: Purfling scroll. Having fun while trimming the edges

Viola Primrose: Purfling scroll. Having fun while trimming the edges. #violaprimrose #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinmaker #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #violin #chambermusic #viola #williamprimrose

March 16, 2018

Viola Primrose: purfling groves cut top and bottom, purfling bent and fit. Now the delicate corner mitres.. slow, focus, centered

Viola Primrose: purfling groves cut top and bottom, purfling bent and fit. Now the delicate corner mitres.. slow, focus, centered. #violaprimrose #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinmaker #whatsonmybench #violinist #orchestra #symphony #florida #Georgia #luthier #violinmaker #whatsonmybench #violinist #violinmaker #whatsonmybench #violin #chambermusic #viola #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic…

March 15, 2018

Trimming an edge patch:-) just looks cool😊

March 12, 2018

Viola Primrose: Steady progress I’m going to a workshop the third week of April and this viola will to have the balsam ground complete at least two weeks prior to Joe Robson’s violin varnish workshop. So, rather than spending time posting to social media, I’ve been working steadily on getting this instrument ready. I really enjoy mono-tasking; focusing on simply making Violins, or violas in this case.

Viola Primrose: Steady progress I’m going to a workshop the third week of April and this viola will to have the balsam ground complete at least two weeks prior to Joe Robson’s violin varnish workshop. So, rather than spending time posting to social media, I’ve been working steadily on getting this instrument ready. I really…

March 9, 2018

Viola Primerose: Graduating the top plate of the viola. Could I use CNC for this work? yes. Would it provide the quality of sound I’m pursuing? no. While working down to 5mm even thickness in the graduating I often think to myself, “this is tedious work.” Then as the graduation moves thinner than 5mm the wood starts to come alive. Each stroke of the finger plane starts to have a distinct tone, and as each area gets thinner the sounds change more rapidly. Holding the plate up to a light illuminates the thin and thinner portions. The plane blade glides through the wood or starts to turn up curls necessitating a change of direction. Graduating by hand lets you see, feel, and hear the wood. Getting to know that specific piece of spruce. Knowing and understanding the wood will lead me in drawing out the tone of the plate, and eventually the tone and character of the completed instrument. With CNC you just know the dimensions, not the soul of the sound

Viola Primerose: Graduating the top plate of the viola. Could I use CNC for this work? yes. Would it provide the quality of sound I’m pursuing? no. While working down to 5mm even thickness in the graduating I often think to myself, “this is tedious work.” Then as the graduation moves thinner than 5mm the…

February 22, 2018

Violin Onalee: Removing the Top. I’ve played Onalee for a couple of hours with the varnish ground and a “heavy” bass bar. Onalee’s sound was recorded doing several scales, bridge taps etc. Now I’m removing her top and will trim the top portion of the sound bar. Put the top back on and make the sound test again. All in the pursuit of understanding which variables the tone and how

Violin Onalee: Removing the Top. I’ve played Onalee for a couple of hours with the varnish ground and a “heavy” bass bar. Onalee’s sound was recorded doing several scales, bridge taps etc. Now I’m removing her top and will trim the top portion of the sound bar. Put the top back on and make the…

February 6, 2018

Carbon Fiber Bushings: A ¾ violin came in with a crack in the “A” peg hole. I’ve repaired several of these with splines and spiraled bushings. Getting a spiral bushing squarely into the ¾ size peg box is delicate to say the least. I’ve read Jerry Pasewicz’s article on this carbon fiber bushing technique and decided that I’d buy the special hole saw with the proceeds from this job. Only to realize that I could not find a source for such a tiny hole saw. The mandrill has to be inserted through the opposite peg hole and screwed into the hole saw. Standard hole saws use set screws and drill bits. Even if they were small enough they would not work with the drill bit guide. The guide portion of the mandrill has to be smooth to preserve the original peg tapper, if at all possible. So, not being able to purchase the tool, I thought, I’ll make one! This little video highlights the steps. Once the hole saw was done the actual repair process was quite simple and very strong! Now I’m ready for the next cracked peg box, unless it’s a cello with peg holes greater than 9mm… Then I’ll make a bigger version 🙂 What a fun job this is, never a dull moment

Carbon Fiber Bushings: A ¾ violin came in with a crack in the “A” peg hole. I’ve repaired several of these with splines and spiraled bushings. Getting a spiral bushing squarely into the ¾ size peg box is delicate to say the least. I’ve read Jerry Pasewicz’s article on this carbon fiber bushing technique and…

February 2, 2018

Violin Onalee: Today I setup Onalee with the Balsam ground base coat. The ground coat is the material that goes into the wood. The varnish will sit on top of the ground and wood. I wanted to make a sound test between the raw wood and the Balsam ground. So today was the day. Also, I’m doing a bass bar test as well. I purposefully left Onalee’s bass bar heavier than on earlier instruments. Previously, I’ve follow the standard rules of thumb on how to trim the bass bar, but not really understanding how it affected the instruments tone. So, on Onalee I’ll make recordings with the Balsam ground (creating spectrograph charts of the frequency range energy of the instrument, modes). Then I’ll remove the top plate and trim just the upper plate portion of the bass bar. Reassemble and setup the instrument making the recording test again. Then I’ll remove the top and trim some wood on the lower portion of the bass bar. Reassemble and make the tests again. As an engineer I want to follow the scientific process, make a change in one variable with everything else the same (as much as possible) and then test, retest etc. Obviously this takes a some time to really determine what changes affect what tonal qualities. All in the pursuit of excellence 🙂 Oh and a special note: My Mother-n-law the namesake for violin Onalee entered hospice this week. I’m so honored to be playing the violin named after Onalee at the time of her transition; especially when violin Onalee is currently the best sounding instrument that I’ve made. Honor and salute to you Onalee Cheetwood a great woman. Thank you

Violin Onalee: Today I setup Onalee with the Balsam ground base coat. The ground coat is the material that goes into the wood. The varnish will sit on top of the ground and wood. I wanted to make a sound test between the raw wood and the Balsam ground. So today was the day. Also,…

January 21, 2018