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Final Assembly and Set-up

Fingerboard and Nut

The varnish was about as good as it was going to get, for the moment, so I began asssembling the violin: I re-installed the fingerboard and added the nut, then allowed it to dry.

Saddle and End-pin (and Soundpost)

I drilled and reamed a hole in the center of the tail block, and installed the end-pin, then cut the saddle and installed it. In this photo it had just been glued in place. Later I decided to remove the saddle and re-install it. I did a better job the second try. (It had been just a little crooked the first time.) I make a radius on each end of the “footprint” of my saddles, to minimize the chance of saddle cracks. The round-cornered mortise makes for much lower stress to the wood at that point.

Although it is not visible in this photo, I also had installed the soundpost.

Tuning Pegs

I shaped, fitted and installed the tuning pegs, and had intended to complete the violin that evening, but there were a lot of interruptions, so that was really all I accomplished that evening.

Bridge, Tailpiece, and Strings

Finally, I cut the bridge, and fitted it to the belly of the violin, then adjusted the tailgut for the position of the bridge. (I try to position the tailpice so that, from the tailpiece “fret” to the bridge is 1/6th the distance from the bridge to the nut.) I drilled the string holes in all four pegs, and began installing the strings. As it usually happens, my initial bridge cut was too high, so I removed it and cut it lower, then set the violin up to play it. I went ahead and installed the chinrest, while I was at it.

Completed violin. Only varnish re-touch and sound adjustment remain.

Now the violin is hanging up in the dining room, where it will live while I am completing all the final touch-up for looks and sound.

Completed violin awaiting final touches.

Thanks for looking.

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Varnish Process

Sealer Coat is Dry: Start Varnishing!

Since the sealer was dry, I gave the violin a careful rub-down with worn 400-grit paper, and began to add varnish. I am using a spirit varnish, the first coat of which was a yellow varnish, which I had actually hoped would be a little more “amber” in color, but I think it will be OK.

First coat of varnsih on back plate. — First coat of varnish on the Back plate.

1st coat varnish on side. — First coat of varnish on the Side.

First coat, Front plate. — First coat of varnish, on the Front plate.

2nd Coat of Varnish

The first coat of varnish was really only intended to lay down a yellow under-coat, and I am satisfied that it accomplished that purpose. From here on out, though, I will be trying to lay down more color in the areas indicated, to try and match the original after which I am modeling this violin. So, here are coats two and three. Notice that I leave some areas light, as the original violin has fairly severe wear in those areas. (If you are interested, click here to see photos of the original.)

2nd coat on side — 2nd coat of varnish, on the Side.

2nd coat on back. — 2nd coat of varnish on the Back.

3rd Coat of Varnish

And, a third coat, in the same manner:

3rd coat, front. — 3rd coat of varnish, Front plate. The light was a little better, so it looks brighter.

3rd coat, side. — 3rd coat of varnish, Side view.

3rd coat, back. — 3rd coat of varnish, Back view.

4th Coat

The first few coats are thin enough that it is difficult to see the changes…but it is gaining a little more color and gloss.

4th coat, side view. — 4th coat of varnish, Side view.

4th coat, Back view. — 4th coat of varnish, Back view.

5th and 6th Coats

It is pretty obvious, now, even on the ribs, that certain areas are getting less color added. As I explained above, those are the areas that typically get the most wear, so, to imitate the wear patterns on the original instrument, I am minimizing the color added to those areas.

Also, I have been making the varnish coats quite thin, right now, trying to adjust the color early, instead of trying to fix it later…so, from here on, I posted the pictures as I saw relevant changes, rather than after every coat of varnish. I also switched over to a more intensely colored varnish for the 5th and 6th coats:

6th coat, front view. — 6th coat of varnish, Front view. Lots of changes still to come.

6th coat, side view. — 6th coat of varnish, Side view.

6th coat, back view. — 6th coat of varnish, Back view.

Starting to look closer to what I had in mind. 🙂

Final color coats, and two clear coats

I gave a careful look to the poster, again, and tried to get the “wear areas” closer to the original. It is still far from accurate, but it is beginning to at least have the “flavor” of the original. My color is still too bright, and some areas still too light, but it is getting closer.

Front, nearing completion of color coats.

Side, nearing completion of color coats.

Back, nearing completion of color coats.

“Dirt” and “Age”

There were a few areas to which I wanted to add more color…and to rub some pigment into the grain, to emulate dirt. (I had already rubbed in some real dirt, but it wasn’t very convincing-looking.) Then, I locked it all down with a clear coat or two, and will polish it to completion. But this is pretty much the final color:

Back, with final color, “dirt”, and “age.”

What’s Next?

The next thing will be to re-fit the fingerboard, dress the fingerboard, and begin set-up. I will continue to address “polish and finish” issues as I see them.

Thanks for looking.

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