Past author Al Stancel has had his own lutherie shop since retiring from a career as an acoustics and recording expert for Ampex and RCA in 1975. He adds that he is the “first person in history to walk with one above-knee prosthesis and no right leg with two Canadian canes (not yet walked on water.)”. All passed away in 1999, read his memoriam.
▪ bio current as of 1991
1991
AL#28 p.46 BRB3 p.75
Al Stancel
▪ A master fiddle surgeon explains a common operation. With 11 drawings to help guide you through the procedure.
1991
AL#25 p.55 BRB3 p.477
Al Stancel
▪ How Casa Del Sol Violins solves the violin bow hair storage problem.
1990
LT p.114
Steve Andersen Chris Brandt R.E. Brune Ted Davis Jeffrey R. Elliott James Flynn Bob Gleason Hideo Kamimoto Robert Lundberg Frederick C. Lyman Jr. John Monteleone Robert Ruck Richard Schneider Ervin Somogyi Al Stancel Robert Steinegger Janet Toon
▪ Seventeen established luthiers were asked to list ten hand tools, five power tools, and five supplies used as tools. This info was used to determine the most essential tools, including specifics, model and size, source, and any special uses.
1989
AL#19 p.20 BRB2 p.239
Al Stancel
▪ Even experts in the violin field get burned now and then, and once in a blue moon they end up better off than they thought from a fiddle deal. Stancel offers true tales from both sides of the coin. Exactly what kinds of worms eat fiddles?
1989
AL#17 p.52 BRB2 p.494
Al Stancel
▪ The reviewer gives this book very high marks for usefulness, readability, and accuracy.
1988
AL#13 p.54 BRB2 p.34
Al Stancel
▪ Stancel opens old repaired cracks with heat and chemicals, cleans them with surfactants, and mends them with hide glue. The author works with the fiddle family, but his advice should flow over into any luthier’s discipline.
1986
AL#8 p.47 BRB1 p.296 read this article
Al Stancel
▪ Stancel offers an interesting potpourri of violin information concerning steel wool, bow bugs, tuning pegs, appraisers and the IRS, appraiser scams, and the dangers of steel strings to old fiddles.