N. Benedict Colman Luthier

Just in to the UV box, a viola inspired by the 'Primrose' Brothers Amati, c.1600

It's been a while since I've posted on here, but this is a replacement tip plate and liner on a bass bow, made from bone.

Where old meets new!
Here I'm blending the edge shape on this French flat back bass with raised edges, before cutting a purfling channel and gluing some new pieces in to match the existing.

Its new bridge day for a Pollmann 5 string double bass, finally a bridge that makes my stamp look slightly more reasonable size!

This poor English cello bow came in for a rehair, it was also decided to replace the broken tip plate while we were at it!
Here's a quick glimpse in to some of the process, first removing the old tip, gluing an ebony liner and then the mammoth ivory tip plate on, then shaping the tip to blend back with the head of the bow.
Interestingly it would appear that this bow may have had a metal tip plate in the past, evidenced by the pin holes in the head.

Occasionally I get the chance to make new things!
This is a scroll template in progress for a 7/8 size cello based on a late period Stradivari cello known as the 'Comte de Saveuse' from 1726, though this scroll image is from the 'Pleeth' Stradivarius from 1732 (they were both made on the same form).
While I'm not quite ready to start making this cello, I'm going to saw the neck block somewhat closer to its finished dimensions to allow it some time to release any internal stresses in the wood, to have the finished neck somewhat more dimensionally stable.

I spent a while today replacing the screw on a viola bow.
The bow in question sadly has had the frog and button changed for modern parts, and the thread on the screw didn't begin at the front of the mortice on the stick, but started further back than the length of the brass eyelet, making the bow impossible to rehair with the frog in its forward most position.

I started with a long cello screw, filed the square to have the threads end just past the back of the mortice, then glued the screw in.
Then i shortened the front end of the screw to have the threads starting off at the front of the mortice as they should be.

Now it's rehair time!

Sorry about the lack of activity on my page recently, I've been in the process of moving house and setting up a new (larger) workshop!
Today's task, remove the back off a French double bass to replace the centre brace with a more appropriate one, and deal with some cracks in the back and ribs.
Note the shadow of where the original centre brace would have been, and its somewhat massive height!

Sometimes rubber bands are the best form of clamping!

Finished the fingerboard and glued it on to a small viola neck.
The maple neck is an offcut from a double bass neck graft, the fingerboard is cut from an old bass fingerboard (1979 written on the back of it!)
Just doing my bit to be a little less wasteful!

A new Viola bridge in progress, and the bridge it is replacing!
Sometimes a bridge needs replacing because it has begun to warp, it may not fit the instrument very well, or perhaps the string heights are just too low.
A well fitted replacement will improve both the 'feel' to the player, and will improve the instruments tone!
(Thanks to D'addario for making top quality small viola strings too!)

The small details that can make a huge difference to a setup!
Here the gluing surface has been angled so the fingerboard will sit higher on the treble side, compensating for the difference in string heights across the instrument.
The intention is to reduce the level of asymmetry in the bridge, and increase the bow clearance on the top string without needing to set the neck overly high.

Where new meets old!
I'm getting somewhat closer with the neck graft on this old German bass, which is intended to reduce the playing length of the instrument.

Just a sneak peak of the edgework and double purfling!
Being a Brescian inspired bass, there is no fluting (recurve) for the purfling, adding a different challenge to making this look neat!

This 'little' one has shown its face at the workbench for the first time in far too long!

Here at Colman HQ, we aren't afraid of double basses!

If anyone is interested in commissioning an instrument, do get in contact!

At orchestra tonight, stand partner is going through a ton of rosin and still not making a lot of noise!
That can only mean one thing - rehair time!
I managed to pack considerably more hair in than the previous rehair, its a very strong stick, it needs it!
I've only put the two frog wedges in so far, will finish it tomorrow!
(Roy Collins Vigneron style bass bow for those that might be curious!)

The offcut of the offcut of the offcut.......
Figured wood such as this is a precious commodity, so its always worth the effort to yield as much usable product as you can!
This block is the offcut of a double bass neck graft, which now has supplied not only that, but a 7/8 size cello neck, and 3 blanks which will end up as C-extensions on some basses (including the neck graft bass, isn't it nice when things match?!)
A pretty good haul i think!

Yet more double bass neck grafts!

Sometimes your pieces of wood are an awkward size and shape.
Here I'm adding a piece to the side of the neck to allow it to be shaped to align with the corrected centre line on the bass body.
I've taken time to align the extra piece as best as possible, under varnish it should blend in well.

Most older basses have usually twisted and moved over the years, when grafting a neck it is usual to take multiple measurements of the instrument to create a corrected (or average) centre line, and to shape the neck heel in such a way as to place the neck in as straight and central as possible.
Most often this creates some asymmetry, that has to be carefully disguised during the neck shaping process.

N. Benedict Colman Luthier updated their phone number.

Some of the more recent process on this turn of the (19th-20th) century French double bass, showing the neck graft and beginnings of shaping the new neck.
This process has allowed all the dimensions of the neck and its 'set' to be bought up to modern ideals, this will greatly improve its playability.

Sometimes I use a basic CAD program to do a quick sketch to work out the dimensions for a neck graft.
In this case, the current neck is in 'E Flat', and the existing string length would be somewhat unmanageable.
A reduction in playing length will be performed with the graft, the neck itself will be shorter, and the heel will be cut to 'D', which is convention on modern basses.

Some of the more recent work on a French Double Bass scroll.

A couple of pieces of the chamfer on the first turn of the scroll had been replaced with a poorly matching wood, and damaged again.
I took the opportunity to use the wood from the damaged neck to get a sensibly close grain match, once the varnish has been repaired, then the new piece should blend in nicely.

I cast a plaster counterform so that I could finally glue up one of the cracks in the pegbox, I also had to modify one of the clamps to get an appropriate clamping angle. all the preparation work can be quite time consuming, but it is necessary to take these steps to ensure that cracks get glued up level and in the correct position.

This violin has recently come in for a little TLC and a new setup, this is an example of where I begin on most setups.

The strings over time wear grooves in to the playing surface of the fingerboard, this wear can be carefully planed out and the fingerboard 'scoop' corrected if necessary to prevent buzzing from the strings.

The top nut on this instrument didn't fit all that well, a new part has been made from an ebony blank. this new part improves the aesthetic somewhat, but most importantly creates a much smoother path for the strings to enter the pegbox. the height of the strings above the fingerboard is carefully measured to give the best comfort to the player.

If you would like to discuss any setup or repair work, please get in contact !

Big instruments means big clamps, and lots of them !
4 of these beauties just arrived from Ireland, i can't wait to use them !
(They're 14 inch throat depth, and cast aluminium for reference).

The bridge and sound post have the ability to change the tone of an instrument quite dramatically, depending on the bridge chosen, and how far the bridge is shaped and trimmed.
This viola had a poorly fitting bridge and the string heights were not at their optimum, so a new bridge had to be made.
it is advisable that the sound post is also changed at the same time, as its position is directly related to the bridge position on the instrument, this was done also.
these two items form part of a good setup, if you're interested in improving the sound of your instrument, do get in touch !

N. Benedict Colman Luthier updated their address.

N. Benedict Colman Luthier updated their website address.