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Small section of the library acquired over three decades.

The never-ending varnish experiments.

Hair of the Equus ferus

Powdered colour.

Some violins.

This scroll may not possess the artistic flair of an Italian design or the refined elegance of a French scroll it does have its own unique charm. Even though the peg box has a slightly robust appearance, there's something about the overall feel of this English scroll that I find

We’ve carefully removed the front of this violin, revealing several cracks on the front that had been quickly reinforced in the past. Unfortunately, it seems little care was taken in cleaning the cracks before glueing. The glue is so dark, I wonder if it was perhaps heated in an

One job this week is the fitting of a new saddle. This mainly functional part of the violin reinforces the edge where the tailon rides over the front. Invariably made from ebony or other dense wood, this part of the violin shows only minor variations across generations and

During a recent trip to the Ashmolean museum in Oxford, I couldn't help but admire this beautiful harpsichord. Despite knowing very little about keyboards I very impressed by the level of craftsmanship here.

Having removed the front to enable crack repairs, we discovered an extended area at the top, which almost resembles the button on the back of a violin. This is the first time I've seen this on a violin in 30 years of making and repairing.

This violin certainly has a lot of character, but it shows its age. The interior surface is pretty uneven and hasn't been scraped to a fine finish, as would be the case with new instruments. The old studs are also somewhat irregular. There's definitely some work to be done.

I have always enjoyed preparing the fingerboard. Even though it can be dusty, bringing the ebony to virtually a mirror finish can be really quite satisfying. Although ebony is the traditional choice, modern materials are starting to be used.

This week, I replaced the nut on this violin. The nut is a small piece of wood made from ebony (Diospyros spp.) that lifts the strings just above the fingerboard. Over years of use, the grooves for the strings on this instrument had worn down the nut so much that the G string was

This week, a routine job took an interesting turn when we set up a customer's viola featuring a Romberg on the fingerboard. While this flattened area beneath the C string is relatively common on older cello setups, it’s quite rare on a viola. Originally designed to reduce buzzing

Here are two violins that showcase the timeless elegance of French craftsmanship, each with its own unique charm. Both instruments display the meticulous attention to detail typical of French violins—beautifully figured wood, precise construction, and a rich, warm red varnish.

Crack repair is an essential part of violin repair and restoration, requiring patience, skill, and a deep respect for the instrument’s history. Once a crack has been carefully cleaned, it must be carefully glued back together. In the photo on the left, you can see two

The latest violin on the bench is a French violin by Riviera and Hawks. These violins were sold through a firm based in London by a partnership of William Henry Hawkes and Jules Prudence Rivieree, who emigrated from France to England in 1857. This instrument is in reasonable

Here we have a typically French violin. French instruments are often immediately recognisable with exact and elegant workmanship, often highly figured maple on the back and ribs and—though not visible here—a finely grained spruce front. The lustrous varnish is carefully applied

Here's a typical job that comes into the workshop on a regular basis. The fingerboard has become worn over time due to repeated pressing on the strings. The ebony of the fingerboard is a particularly hard wood, but the metal strings being harder, inevitably leave indentations on