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Ask HN: What are you working on? (February 2025)

261 points david927 | 3 comments | 23 Feb 25 23:00 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

What are you working on? Any new ideas that you're thinking about?
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hn_throwaway_99 ◴[24 Feb 25 18:04 UTC] No.43162728[source]▶
I'm making a violin. I've been a programmer for just over 25 years, and recently decided I wanted to leave the profession. So I'm planning on attending the Violin Making School of America in the fall, and my project before then is to build a violin myself. There are some good in-depth video tutorials, as well as some famous books on the subject, and I'm planning to pair up with an amateur luthier in my town. The tonewood I purchased just arrived!
replies(2): >>43168144 #>>43169271 #
1. uqimerioni ◴[25 Feb 25 07:44 UTC] No.43169271[source]▶
Which tutorials and books?
replies(2): >>43171173 #>>43173287 #
2. JR1427 ◴[25 Feb 25 12:46 UTC] No.43171173[source]▶
I have this book. It's fantastic

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Violin-Making-Chris-Johnson/dp/...

3. hn_throwaway_99 ◴[25 Feb 25 15:38 UTC] No.43173287[source]▶
"The Art of Violin Making" that the sibling comment mentioned is very good and is often referred to as "the Bible" of violin making.

"Violin Making - a practical guide" by Juliet Barker is also very good

I purchased the DVD series "When Trees Sing" by Peter Paul Prier (he was the founder of the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City). The DVD series wasn't cheap but it was worth it.

There is also an online course by Lucas Fabro, https://www.lucasfabro.com/en/online-course/, that I know is also very highly regarded. Fabro also has a number of free YouTube videos that are great to just get a feel for what's involved.

The Strad has a whole series of posters (https://www.thestradshop.com/store/product-category/lutherie...) with scans and measurements of famous violins to serve as templates.

International Violin, https://www.internationalviolin.com/, sells a lot of lutherie tools and is where I bought my tonewood.