During the live stream today there was a discussion about wooden clamps and making them at home, so I thought people might be interested in the ones I made a long time ago and have used for years. I used…   Read more»

@tv1010101 This is such a new format for people to get used to its a bit like opening presents on Christmas Day so I don’t worry too much. One thing that’s always missing from residential courses is getting together and…   Read more»

I started doing woodwork age about 7 or 8 when I lived in West London. My friend Terry and I used to make go carts from scraps of wood and pram wheels and Dad had a big shed full of…   Read more»

I voted for live streams and let a comment some where, not sure where it is. Ive been very impressed with the bits on tool making, maybe there are other custom tools that you could make and add to the…   Read more»

There are lots of edited videos on utube about all types of instrument making and they are great to watch. However none of them offer the opportunity to for live chat and have question/answer sessions in real time. This is…   Read more»

@jamesbisset
Water based finish might be the best thing if you are working in your house. I think Tonetech sell it

@jamesbisset I think oil varnish would work on a guitar but your correct it’s not cheap. I’ve just purchased some from Italy and 3 x 100 ml bottles were about £30 each, however that would do 3 violins. I’m not…   Read more»

@jamesbisset Oil varnishes are fairly easy to apply and the colour stage can even be rubbed in by hand without a brush. There are base, colour and finish stages which can be accelerated by uv light in a cabinet. Lots of…   Read more»

@markbailey
always check behind the ear it’s the most likely place

@frocesterbill there is an easy way and I think Mark mentioned it in one of the live videos. French curves are a set of 3 plastic templates which have just about every curve and oval that you would need. Only…   Read more»

There might not be one single reason, it could be a combination of different factors such as the bracing of the front not being strong enough for the string tension.