woodcrafting (IRL)

[yayaok]

so... it is general discussion, why the hell not.
my gf has been talking to me, saying she wants to pursue a career in making violins... if not violins, then anything where you make small unique cool things that require handcrafting. we tried looking stuff up on korean search sites but nothing really good came up so i tried english google... also to come up with nothing useful.

does anyone on BG have experience with woodcrafting or handcraft arts? i'd appreciate it if any experts or people with hobbies could share some information. thanks in advance-

[Penthesilea]

I do a few small crafty things just for fun.

I restore antique American pewter wares, dabble in glass blowing, and got a small table wood lathe to turn down pens and other things.

Not sure what kind of advice I'd offer, other than to just go around and talk to local artists/craftsmen.

[Nirokun!]

We have a neighbor thats a mom/artist. She has room devoted to her work (I've seen it) and she makes really nice stuff. She has a thing for grapes lol

She paints pre-made ceramic wares and sells them (I think she sells them at a craft fair and online)

She gives us stuff sometimes, we have (and i told you she likes grapes right? ) a grape-shaped and painted kitchen utensil dish (the ones you sit your big wooden spoon on after you've stirred a stew), a tall white ceramic pasta holder thing with a lid (with grapes painted on it of course), a big ceramic pitcher with grapes painted on it, and these curtain things with little craft jewels stitched on to look like bunches of grapes on a vine (my favorite). I'm sure there's more that she's given us that i've forgotten, but those are the ones I see all the time. I think she painted our mailbox too, but I'm not sure~

[SephYuyX]

Uh.. what exactlly do you want to know? Violins are really hard to make, specially if you plan to have violinists seriously play it, theres a lot that goes in to making one, so dont expect to jump in to it so easily, or mass producing them at a fast rate. It really requires a lot of skill and time to make instruments. Thickness of wood, type of wood, curves and grain of wood, time of day you make it, what type of steam you use to bend, how hot it is, what type of string/hair, the stain and paint, etc, all play a huge factor. Instruments are really tough.

I do a bit of woodworking myself, I learned in scouting, by working with my father after completly remodeling two houses, and watching a lot of home improvment shows, it's not really hard, just patience and try try again stuff. The tools make the job.
You need lots of tools, can be power, of if you wanna go the old school way you can use old hand tools; it's fun that way, but takes a lot longer.


A few sources that have helped me out:
http://www.newyankee.com/index.php provides video and plans for modern day tools.
http://www.pbs.org/wws/ provides some know how on how to use old hand tools only.
http://www.hometime.com/ I think can be used for beginners, the first two are more advanced.
http://www.pbs.org/thisoldhouse/home/ another good source for beginners and general info.
These links are more geared towards house reonvations, but the first two also provide info on how to make smaller individual things like clocks, desks, chairs, etc, and the bottem two can be used for more general info.

[yayaok]

hmm, well... i guess i wasn't really specific lol i'll have to ask her what she exactly wants to know tomorrow.
she's thinking about the violin thing seriously though, maybe studying overseas at cremona once we're done with high school and stuff. if anyone is a violin guru, any information would be appreciated.

i don't think she'll be wanting to make big furniture stuff like desks and bookshelves... maybe something like clocks, CD cases, or cute little toys, whatever. the type of stuff you mentioned, nirokun
i think she'd want to know how much those type of stuff sell for, the equipment cost, amount of time it takes... think you could ask the nice lady sometime when you're free? i'd be in debt

trixi, you think woodworking is ok for girls though? i'm kinda concerned for her since she'll have to use like chainsaws and shit... i've seen some stuff on the DIY channel... looks hardcore and rough. eh, not sure. i'll check out those links later, thanks for the input.

and i'd go looking for local craftsmen/artisans to ask about stuff myself, but it's not so easy to find'em here.

[SephYuyX]

I doubt she'll ever have to use a chainsaw if shes just building small stuff, unless you guys are planning to completly make stuff from scratch and want to cut down a tree to do it. It's completly possible for anyone to build a log cabin house and accesories by just using an axe, male or female. As long as shes competent and knows how to use tools, it's not that hard. The tools make the job though, the more tools you have, the easier it is for anyone to do woodworking.

[Senoska]

hmm, well... i guess i wasn't really specific lol i'll have to ask her what she exactly wants to know tomorrow.
she's thinking about the violin thing seriously though, maybe studying overseas at cremona once we're done with high school and stuff. if anyone is a violin guru, any information would be appreciated.

i don't think she'll be wanting to make big furniture stuff like desks and bookshelves... maybe something like clocks, CD cases, or cute little toys, whatever. the type of stuff you mentioned, nirokun
i think she'd want to know how much those type of stuff sell for, the equipment cost, amount of time it takes... think you could ask the nice lady sometime when you're free? i'd be in debt

trixi, you think woodworking is ok for girls though? i'm kinda concerned for her since she'll have to use like chainsaws and shit... i've seen some stuff on the DIY channel... looks hardcore and rough. eh, not sure. i'll check out those links later, thanks for the input.

and i'd go looking for local craftsmen/artisans to ask about stuff myself, but it's not so easy to find'em here.

Good luck with the violins.

[MisterBob]

hmm, well... i guess i wasn't really specific lol i'll have to ask her what she exactly wants to know tomorrow.
she's thinking about the violin thing seriously though, maybe studying overseas at cremona once we're done with high school and stuff. if anyone is a violin guru, any information would be appreciated.

i don't think she'll be wanting to make big furniture stuff like desks and bookshelves... maybe something like clocks, CD cases, or cute little toys, whatever. the type of stuff you mentioned, nirokun
i think she'd want to know how much those type of stuff sell for, the equipment cost, amount of time it takes... think you could ask the nice lady sometime when you're free? i'd be in debt

trixi, you think woodworking is ok for girls though? i'm kinda concerned for her since she'll have to use like chainsaws and shit... i've seen some stuff on the DIY channel... looks hardcore and rough. eh, not sure. i'll check out those links later, thanks for the input.

and i'd go looking for local craftsmen/artisans to ask about stuff myself, but it's not so easy to find'em here.

Good luck with the violins.

Oh high school dreamers.

Just let this slide, she'll be over it in 1-2 months. Or she'll try to get into it and realize it's actually hard and start crying/give up.

[scrockstar]

Oh high school dreamers.

Just let this slide, she'll be over it in 1-2 months. Or she'll try to get into it and realize it's actually hard and start crying/give up.

Not to mention when she finds there is no easy money to be made.

[mikazuki]

chainsaws... :D

when making a violin a lot of the work is with glue, clamps and steam; i'd imagine they also use handsaws in cremona because an electric tool won't give you the fine control you need.
to do an apprenticeship probably will cost several thousand euros, you'd also need an excellent ear for pitch and preferably to go there with an understanding of how to work with the grain of wood, how varnish and other agents on the wood effect it, an appreciation of brushwork for applying those agents (when a brush moves across paint it leaves dry ridges) and no expectations about making any kind of profit from this work.

making a violin is nothing like making wind instruments - you can wiki this to understand why. furniture (clocks included) is also totally different, much easier to make a start at because the artistry in furniture is mainly visual (to be precise, you can sell bad furniture, but not bad violins).

edit: also not much point going without a sound knowledge of italian language.

[Maguspk]

If you want easy money find a good violin maker and buy one of their violins and watch it's value sky rocket over the next 10-15 years, especially if they die.

My bosses son plays and she bought his first violin for some relatively small amount and now it's worth like 20k or something like that iirc.

[MisterBob]

If you want easy money find a good violin maker and buy one of their violins and watch it's value sky rocket over the next 10-15 years, especially if they die.

My bosses son plays and she bought his first violin for some relatively small amount and now it's worth like 20k or something like that iirc.

Yeah, I grabbed a Viola at 4k a while back, and that thing's value is going nowhere but up. Investing in decent instruments is actually often worthwhile as long as you're knowledgeable.

[Day]

I've done a few larger things, actually one of my proudest moments was selling my 6 ft sculpture of a stylized angel while still in college. I think I can find a picture somewhere, herm...

http://www.ferrum.edu/artgallery/spr...t/P0002851.jpg

Thats from my senior art show, made from one solid piece, the wings cross over again in the back. You can see a smaller one in the back ground that is wood as well. I usually work on a larger scale using chainsaws and edge grinders, but I do know some about working on a smaller scale,however I don't know much about Violins... That sounds like a lot of fun though, I'm sure there are courses you can take to get you started. I will say wood isn't a very forgiving material, and can be tough to work with at times depending on the cuts you are trying to make, but I like it a lot more than stone and metal for sure.

[Elesirdur]

Probably the best advice I could suggest would be to go to a local luthier (a craftsperson who makes stringed instruments, from guitars to violins for example) and enquire as to how they entered the trade.

The Wikipedia entry on Luthiers has a bunch of good links at the bottom to sites regarding the craft, luthier guilds, and directories where you can find registered luthiers.

As an aside, I've been working as a carpenter/builder's mate for the last few months and have really enjoyed the opportunity to not only learn a trade, but to create something new out of raw materials. I really enjoy working with wood because of the challenge it presents. Working with metal really is a totally different beast, and while I do find it a lot of fun, I just don't like it as much as working with natural materials.