A space became available in the building where I used to have a workshop and the tiny room at home that was serving as a studio had become too cramped so I moved the shop (with the generous help of good friends). It's on the small side but has enough room for the machines and both benches.
A glue up using the Alberti clamps with the modification. Note the caul pads lined with neoprene to protect the top from dents, yet another modification on the clamp.
Making a violin shop in Vietnam means starting from scratch. Some things can be sourced within the country; carpenters tools are available, some files, some abrasives, metric nuts and bolts. We ordered some scraps from a carpenter's shop for the fireplace and wound up using some if it to cobble specialized tools like the thicknessing gauge. Other things have to be shipped in which [...]
In Vietnam, where things can be hard to find (think high quality tool steel, purpose-built tools, varnish making supplies) minimalism becomes a way of life. Compare a bass bar glue up in Hanoi and a bass bar glue up in Seattle.
Without a doubt one of my favorite clamps, replacing the classic "C" clamp with a more balanced and useful tool. And they come in a broad range of sizes.
Built in 2015 and based on a scroll attributed to a maker of the Castello family with a body taken from another member of the same family.
Ingmarie is a Testore model. The back of the scroll is unfluted as was Testore’s style. The back plate is one piece slab-cut maple.
Emma is based on the del Gesu “Kochanski”.
A viola drawn from the work of Fairfax Abraham of Yellville, Arkansas.
Based on the work of Andreaus Guarnerius. The back is poplar.