Dec 15, 2025 | Latest Instruments
Last week I had a violin, which I made ten years ago, come in the workshop for a bit of maintenance and adjustment.Sometimes when I see one of my older instruments, I think perhaps I would do something a little differently now, but with this violin; well, I just like...
Dec 3, 2025 | Choosing an Instrument, Events, Latest Instruments
Viola Day and Viola Sound December 2025 Last weekend I went to a viola day in Birmingham, organised in conjunction with the Tertis and Aaronovitch viola competitions, which took place last January in Gateshead. The format was somewhat unusual, no public, but a room...
Nov 7, 2025 | Latest Instruments
Once again, I have thinking about craft and art, prompted by a discussion with a friend who, amongst other things, is a trained and talented artist. Nowadays, there is a tendency to put anyone who works with their hands into the category of artist; I think it is meant...
Jun 25, 2022 | Latest Instruments
A New Look with Archaic Tools June 2022 Over 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 middle of the 18th...
Jun 8, 2022 | Latest Instruments
Viola C Strings June 2022 Yesterday 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...
May 13, 2022 | Latest Instruments
Opposites don’t neccessarily detract! MAY 2022 A 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...
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