Roots
A bit irrelevant to violins, but I got a few of the best tools that I use in my violin making from my great-uncle, a wagon maker.
Power Graft
A friend of mine whipped up some jigs to permit him to make quick neck grafts in blocks of rough, uncarved wood that he could then carve so that his new “antique” instruments would have authentic neck grafts in them. When he came to visit me, he brought this dummy graft test made of a