#pirateluthier — Public Fediverse posts

found a #violin and two violas at Gloucester Green market yesterday and was glad I had a big bag with me to fit them all in: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/07/lucky-day.html

#pirateLuthier #cycling #carryshitOlympics

#PirateLuthier update: #violin 37, made in 1899, is modelled after one that #Stradivarius allegedly made in 1758 (he's been dead for 20 years by that time). https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-posthumous-strad.html #instrumentRepair

I started a new #tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/pirateluthier #pirateLuthier

dusty old #violin number 37) has been delivered to the #pirateLuthier premises by a freegle contact who rescued it from a skip. According to the label, it was allegedly made by #Stradivari in 1758, which is a bit spooky, because old Antonio died in 1737. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/p/pirate-luthier-logbook.html

#pirateLuthier update: a #cello with a chip on its shoulder https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-cello-with-chip-on-its-shoulder.html #instrumentRepair #repair #restore

new #PirateLuthier update with an ancient photo: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/02/fiddles-fixed-in-february.html #violin #diy #woodworking #tools

#PirateLuthier update: turning #violins inside out:

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/01/turning-violins-inside-out.html

#musicalInstruments #InstrumentRepair #violin #guarnerius

I don't have much hope for this #cello, but it looks kind of #artsy when I turn it inside out, so I might want to keep it that way. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-cello-jigsaw.html

#pirateLuthier #repair #musicalInstruments

#PirateLuthier adventures: #violin number 30 has a lovely wooden case, and a nasty crack. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-lovely-case.html #lutherie #instrumentRepair

warning - this book may cause wanton #lutherie https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-workshop-guide.html #pirateLuthier #nonFiction #woodworking #guidebook

If anybody asks where I see myself in five years time: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaiopai/54853394700/

#PirateLuthier

I find that my old sweater fits this old #cello really well: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-new-old-cello-revealed.html
#PirateLuthier #instrumentRepair #vintage #musicalInstruments

#PirateLuthier adventures - here comes #violin number 29. Currently have 12 that are ready to play if anybody in #Oxford wants one. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/09/an-odd-sized-violin.html #musicalInstruments #fiddles #goodEnoughForFolk

#PirateLuthier update: I'm currently rescuing one #violin per month, so here comes Miss July aka number 27: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/07/a-violin-from-czechoslovakia.html

#musicalInstruments #instrumentRepair

I restored that old #zither to a playable condition https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/07/32-strings-attached.html #PirateLuthier #musicalInstruments #InstrumentRepair

making progress restoring this old #zither. I think it will be playable fairly soon. https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelgrr/54609488684/in/dateposted-public/ #PirateLuthier #InstrumentRepair #StringsAttached

#violin number 26 on my #PirateLuthier log: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/06/a-lady-in-red.html

I'm planning to give away several #violins in June, but the limiting factor is the cases to put them in, so I've launched a call for cases on #Oxford #freegle: https://www.ilovefreegle.org/message/114371970 #PirateLuthier

#PirateLuthier adventures continued: After successfully gluing the 3/4 #violin with the broken neck, I now have 9 fiddles in house ready to play. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-neck-re-attached.html

#violin no. 24 now on my #flickr as well. https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelgrr/54424845988/in/dateposted-public/ #PirateLuthier #musicalInstruments

there are now two dozen violins in my #PirateLuthier logbook. Eight of them are in house and ready to play so if anybody in #Oxford needs to borrow a #fiddle (good enough for #folk or amateur #orchestra) do get in touch. (bows and cases are limited, so will be easier to help out ppl who still have those eg because their #violin broke)

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/03/counting-craters.html

The mystery of this century-old #guitar from #Valencia is solved thanks to the magic of Mastodon: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-guitar-from-valencia.html #PirateLuthier

I restored an old #guitar for a change. Does anybody happen to know who the maker resident in Calle Jorge Juan, #Valencia in the first half of the 20th century may have been? (see photo of the partially obscured label in the blog entry) https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-guitar-from-valencia.html #PirateLuthier #SpanishGuitar #Luthier

#PirateLuthier update - there are now 12 #violins in my room, 7 are playable and #GoodEnoughForFolk.One will be straightforward to set up, the other four present challenges of various levels. Also, 2 #cellos, 2 #violas, 1 #doubleBass. Oh, and 3 guitars.

new #Introduction for the bsky bridge : I’m a #BioChemist turned #ScienceWriter, write a feature for every issue of #CurrentBiology, 2/month, mostly about #ecology #evolution #environment also #human, #cultural things seen thru #biology prism. Plus #ScienceBooks, most recently: #Intertwined: From insects to icebergs Also writing a #musical #FamilyHistory #memoir around #biography of our old #cello. #PirateLuthier fixing unloved #violins #NoCars #cycling, #trains, #liveable #cities #townmouse

My new favourite #violin is a #Guarneri del Gesu from 1731, according to the label. For real, though, it's a late 19th century German one: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/02/my-new-favourite-violin.html #PirateLuthier

#PirateLuthier adventures continue with a #violin branded Sebastian Klotz - but unfortunately not by the famous #Mittenwald maker: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-violin-with-famous-name.html #ViolinRepair #InstrumentRepair #fiddle #GoodEnoughForFolk

#PirateLuthier update: A slightly drunken #violin

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2024/10/a-slightly-drunken-violin.html #lutherie #OldViolins #ViolinRepair

I have a new old #violin, bit bigger than normal: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-supersized-violin.html #PirateLuthier #Oxford

If anybody in #Oxford wants to play #violin but can't afford purchase or repairs get in touch. I have a couple full size ones ready to be played and also 7/8, 3/4, 1/2 ones that I could set up if anybody wants them #PirateLuthier #ViolinRescue eg this one https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2024/04/of-larks-and-skylarks.html - another blog entry with another rescue violin coming up tomorrow.