Full speed hand tool video?

[Evan Ryan]

Instructional videos show slowed down processes and I've seen a couple hyper-speed working videos but does anyone have any favorite videos of experienced hand tool woodworkers working? Processes like chopping mortises, cutting dovetails, etc.

[george wilson]

There's my movie on making a harpsicord and a violin now available in 6 parts on you tube. Google George Wilson harpsichord. Probably the most complete movie out there,even if it was made in 1974.

[Stew Denton]

George,

I watched the videos the other day. They are extremely impressive, and are very much a pleasure to watch. The only problem was I stayed up way too late watching them. Same problem as "I bet you can't eat one." You folks did a great job on the musical instruments and also the video was very well done.

Before watching the video I believed you were a superb musical instrument maker, but I didn't know the half of it.

It is a great video, and thank you and thank you to all who were involved in making it and putting it on Youtube.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[Evan Ryan]

Amazing video! that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for thank you.

[Bryan Robinson]

Just watched the movie once again. I am still amazed at the craftsmanship, George.

[george wilson]

Glad you liked the video,but I must apologize for the screechy violin playing. I had no choice in musicians. The Musical Consultant of the museum selected a friend of his.

It takes a special touch to make a baroque violin sound good. The only person I ever found that could play baroque violin and make it sound good was the Concert Master of the Baltimore Symphony. I had not yet met him anyway. Later I made a lion head violin for him,and I owned an 18th. C. piano which even still had the original strings,tuning fork and tuning hammer(wrench). I refurbished it and sold it to him and his wife.

Anyway,back to the SOUND: I don't think the "sound man" in the film crew was particularly good. He had ANCIENT Ampex tape recorders that were from the 1950's. They played back music with noticable "flutter" in the sound. They needed more modern equipment,but it might have been a budget constraint. I don't know.

[Jebediah Eckert]

Wow, great videos George. I really enjoyed them. I don't know how I missed them, I thought I watched the entire internet!

[Robert Engel]

Paul Sellers

[Mel Fulks]

I have a friend who has one violin set up in baroque style ; meaning short neck, gut strings, lower tuning. It is different ,but nice. I would even say that when there is only ONE violin playing ALL the music it is actually easier on the ear.

[Normand Leblanc]

I had seen this video a while back without knowing it was you. Makes me feel like a junior. Fantastic work. Thanks for sharing.

[Chuck Hart]

Pretty fancy clothes there George. Real in style for the 70's

[John Kananis]

George's videos are some of the best I've ever seen - just awesome.

Also, check out Paul Sellers and Tom Fidgen.

[John Vernier]

George, the audio quality in the film may not be up to your high standards, but the wobble and the screechy violin is pretty typical of the documentaries we watched on beat-up 16mm equipment when I was in school in the '70s. It really takes me back to the time when "for today's class we are going to watch a film" were the best words you could hear in a day. Excellent documentary, though. I've watched it before and I re-watched it last night. I doubt they still show films like this in school but I wish they would.

[george wilson]

Chuck: I was wearing the "Buccaneer shirt" only MUCH LATER discovered on "Seinfeld". So Seinfeld was not as smart as he thought he was!!!:):):)

[Art Mann]

A video illustrating a long hand tool procedure could turn out to be very boring. I have seen (the first few minutes of) many, many videos that are that way. A nicely edited video shows the technique in real time without making you watch the same action for 10 minutes of boring repetition. Speeding up the video rather than editing the content is just a lazy way of reducing a video to an acceptable length.

[george wilson]

Way back years ago,some guy made a video of a Japanese guy stamping out Japanese plane blades. And,that was ALL he did. Exactly the same QUICK process,for about an hour,IIRC! Took a hot iron,stamped it in a machine,rinse and repeat.