Alaghbash Workshop empowers luthiers and players to bring out the best in their instruments.  Through cutting edge CNC technology and immaculate respect for ancient traditions, Alaghbash Workshop brings you the finest fittings for your instruments. 

Laura Vick Alaghbash, luthier

Laura is a graduate of the Newark School of Violin Making, of Nottinghamshire, UK.  She has worked as a builder and repairer of violins, violas and cellos, and as a maker of fine fittings for over 10 years.  She learned the significance of superb fittings and an appreciation of curves from apprenticing with master violin and fittings makers Roger Hansell and Georgina Keays in North Yorkshire, UK.

Our Process

Design

All chinrests made at the Alaghbash Workshop have been designed from scratch. Using traditional shapes, especially the tradition of the W.E. Hill & Sons workshop, we have created our own forms using CAD 3D modeling.
All chinrest models can be customized, from a simple height adjustment, to innovating a completely new shape either to duplicate or build off of a chinrest that you already have or to realize one that exists in your imagination.  Please contact us for details.

Wood sourcing and selection

We care deeply about the future of the woods that we use and the ecosystems that they grow in, so we are proud to use only responsibly sourced wood for our fittings.
We are proud of our wood suppliers and value traceability and ethics above all.
Cocobolo Rosewood
Long valued for its exceptional beauty, Cocobolo Rosewood, or Dalbergia retusa, has sadly become considered a "vulnerable" species and is listed in the CITIES treaty appendix II. That means that all international trade of lumber or products made from Cocobolo must be accompanied by documentation as to its origin. Our Cocobolo is sustainably forested by Diamond Tropical Hardwoods in Costa Rica, and CITIES certification will be provided.
Goncalo Alves
Goncalo Alves, or Astronium graveolens, is similar tonality to Cocobolo Rosewood, but is a non-threatened species.  Our Goncalo Alves is sustainably forested by Diamond Tropical Hardwoods in Costa Rica.
Ebony
Ebony, or Diospyros crassiflora, is perhaps one of the most traditional tropical hardwoods used for instrument making. It has been used for hundreds of years for fittings, fingerboards, nuts, saddles and bows. However, partially due to the demand for exclusively black wood, the species is endangered and listed in the CITIES treaty appendix II. That means that all international trade of  lumber or products made from Ebony must be accompanied by documentation as to it origin. We are proud to use ebony from  Crelicam, in Cameroon.
Boxwood
European Boxwood, or Buxus sempervirens, is a lovely, creamy wood that grows in the Pyrenees Mountains. Our Boxwood benefits Luthiers Sans Frontiers, a non profit organization that brings instrument repair services and training to musicians in under served countries. At this time we do not have the facilities to safely stain boxwood using Nitric Acid staining method traditionally used for violin fittings. Pieces made of Boxwood can be shipped either bare, so that you can stain them, or soaked in linseed oil for use with their natural blonde coloring.

Making

All of our chinrests are made in our own workshop from start to finish. They are roughed out using CNC technology, then given their final shape and finished by hand. They are then soaked in natural boiled linseed oil without additives or siccatives and left to air dry naturally.

Our Guarantee

Using natural materials comes with an element of uncertainty. However owning one of our chinrests does not. If you are dissatisfied with your chinrest for any reason, or it develops a fault, we will make you a new one. No questions asked.