Yellowstone Jewelry

Yellowstone Jewelry Collect and appreciate vintage stringed instruments, instrument rehabilitation and sales. I’m a retired geologist and I live in Centre Hall, Centre County, PA.

I collect stringed instruments, do some restorations, fix some instruments for friends and customers, sell restored instruments, make and sell reproductions of vintage instrument parts, and I do emergency instrument repairs at festivals…surprising how many people have emergencies with their instruments, and I’m always glad that I bring my tools. In the past few years I've been putting on a musical

display at my booth at music festivals. Here’s a link to descriptions of my recent displays:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1619589988149757&id=642715152503917

* 2019 - three Pennsylvania fiddles, video by Craig "Frailin" Evans
* 2018 - banjo tone rings
* 2017 - fancy trade catalog fiddles
* 2016 - ladies banjos
* 2015 - instruments frm Centre County and fiddles from small PA shops
* 2014 - tribute to John H. Buckbee

Years ago I did some silverwork, and I registered the fictitious business name “Yellowstone Jewelry” for sales tax purposes. I still use this name when I vend at festivals in order to manage sales tax and business details. https://www.facebook.com/mark.ralston.750

05/27/2026
Ran in to two interesting musicians in Charleston, WV last week....... statues are approx 20 ft tall.
05/12/2026

Ran in to two interesting musicians in Charleston, WV last week....... statues are approx 20 ft tall.

Fancy L&H, interesting construction:A  carved dowel, not glued into heelB  threaded rod goes inside dowelC  dowel-end te...
05/03/2026

Fancy L&H, interesting construction:
A carved dowel, not glued into heel
B threaded rod goes inside dowel
C dowel-end tenon, fits into D
D heavy brass ferrule, tight fit into E
E heavy dowel yoke (?) w/ screws through pot into heel
F integral tailpiece with hinged cover, screws onto tension hoop.

Someone had tried to remove the screws in E while D was still attached, which deformed D. B threads into a captive nut inside the heel, and I had to slightly round the threaded, heel end of B in order to get it to engage the nut threads. inside the heel.

Is anyone familiar with luthier Ernst Martin of Markneukirchen (E. Germany)?  I found one of his violins last weekend  i...
04/23/2026

Is anyone familiar with luthier Ernst Martin of Markneukirchen (E. Germany)? I found one of his violins last weekend in York County, PA which is in fairly rough shape (joint in 2-piece top has begun to fail, neck and end pin blocks cracked) but otherwise has nice wood and seems to have "good bones".

The tag says "E. Martin Sachsen Copy of Stradivarius". I took the top off to get ready to repair a failed joint and inspected the top graduation, as some of the "German workshop" fiddles can benefit from regraduating. As far as I can tell, Martin did loosely approximate the top graduation dimensions used by Stradivarius. It also appears that, somewhere in its history, someone glued in a soundpost.

Coincidentally, a luthier friend lives nearby and, when we stopped in to visit, she was working on an E. Martin violin (in much better shape than mine).

03/04/2026
I don't know what made me look at this fiddle on eBay, but I'm glad that I did.  Hmmmmm.... can't shorten the bow, can't...
03/02/2026

I don't know what made me look at this fiddle on eBay, but I'm glad that I did. Hmmmmm.... can't shorten the bow, can't lengthen the case ...... ? ? ? (look @ frog).

Unusual 3 1/4" hooks for a 19th century fretless.  The hooks fit onto the top of a thin brass tension hoop using a "V" n...
02/28/2026

Unusual 3 1/4" hooks for a 19th century fretless. The hooks fit onto the top of a thin brass tension hoop using a "V" notch in the "J" end of the hooks. These are thicker diameter (3/16") than most modern hooks. I formed the bright steel rod, tapped the end, cut down a steel nut to match the dimensions & thread, tumbled in sand to clean the surfaces, then patinated all with a vinegar/H2O2/salt solution. I also remounted the head using pistol grip clamps in order to be gentle on the old hardware.

Address

Centre Hall, PA
16828

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