A New Look with Archaic ToolsJune 2022Over the last couple of years, my workshop has got to look a little different. The most obvious change is the new workbench which I made in early 2020, modelled on benches being used in France around the...

Viola C StringsJune 2022Yesterday I decided to do a bit of work on three violas. The largest one, an Andrea Guarneri model, needed a longer soundpost because the response had become a little slow and the sound was not as big as it should be. I had tried tightening...

Opposites don't neccessarily detract!MAY 2022A month ago, I spent a few days making with a group of other violin makers, sometimes working on a joint project as well as working on my own work. Before the week started, I had just finished the violin I was making, so...

The Locked-down Violin April, 2020To have a break from the rough arching of the viola back this morning, I picked up the new violin lying on my other bench and started to play. Finishing an instrument, even after many years, is still a bit nerve-wracking because...

The Green ViolinJANUARY, 2020   In October I went to visit Andreas Pahler in Bavaria to buy some more violin and viola wood. It has been a while since I last was there and because it is a long way, I chose as much wood as I could sensibly afford. People tend...

Making a tiny Viola January 2019 This month I have been making another viola the size of a violin. The main reason to make such a small instrument is for youngsters who want to play the viola but are not yet big enough to play anything larger than a violin. It is...

The cobbler’s shoes and a tiny sculpture December 2018 It was nine years ago that I finally got around to making a fiddle for myself. Being keen to get it done and using a model I was excited about, I made it very quickly and it is one of my favourite instruments,...

The Best Cello? September 2018 Because it has been out being played, I haven’t mentioned my Andrea Guarneri model cello since I finished it in the spring. This is the first instrument I have made with a poplar back, ribs and scroll, though the model I have used...

A rare breed November 2018 Next week I am taking my newly finished baroque violin to its new home at the RNCM in Manchester. This is the first baroque violin [excepting the RNCM project last March] that I have made for a long time. Except for the neck, much of a...