Front Graduations Complete and F-holes Cut

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Cello Front Plate Graduation Completed

Smooth inside and out, and all thicknesses correct

It took me a couple of hours, I guess, to do the final graduation, planing and scraping the inside of the European Spruce front cello plate to perfection (or nearly so). Here is the plate, with some pieces of willow lining stock across it, to form shadows so you can see the curves. The color is so neutral that without the shadows, the plate looks flat in photographs.

Completed graduation of cello front plate — Graduation complete!

The f-holes had been incised earlier, so all that was left to do is finish cutting them out. I used the f-hole cutter to cut the circular portions of each f-hole.

Finished result of f-hole cutter use — Finished result

Then I used a coping saw and a knife to complete the cutting. Each hole will still be refined and perfected, later, using a knife and a small file.

Cutting out the f-holes with a coping saw.

Finishing the F-hole shape with a knife.

But the f-holes are essentially complete. the next step is to install the bass-bar.

Completed f-holes, ready for refinement.

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March 23, 2013January 10, 2014

Graduation Progress

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Carving the Inside of the Front Cello Plate

All with planes, this time.

I probably should have used gouges, but the planes are so easy to control and the spruce is so easy to carve, that I chose to use these three planes: (I may still use gouges to get the areas around the end block platforms correct.)

Carving inside of cello top plate: Two hours work, and not done.

As you can see, the plate is not yet done, but I was pretty tired to start with, today, and now I am even more so.

Keeping the Goal in View

Here is how deep the graduations are, so far. I hope to have the thickness of the whole center area at about 5.5mm, fading to 4mm up the center on both ends, and 3mm on the upper and lower “flanks”, for lack of better word. Right now the center is 6mm, and the areas up the center are still about 7mm…the areas out in the skirts are way too thick, still: 10-12mm. It takes a fair amount of care, graduating a cello plate: I have to stop every few minutes and check the thickness with a dial caliper, to avoid making the plate too thin.

Depth of partial graduation--correct in center; unfinished elsewhere. — Depth of partial graduation–correct in center; unfinished elsewhere.

Perhaps I will have it finished and ready for the bass bar by Tuesday. Tomorrow is busy, and I will work late Monday, so…probably Tuesday. That’s OK: it will give my hands time to recuperate. They are pretty worn out…and that one-piece maple cello back will be much tougher to carve.

I did, however, complete the refinishing of the viola I built back in November. It looks pretty nice, now. So I will have that for the show, as well.

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March 19, 2013January 10, 2014

Cello top purfled– ready for final arching

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Cello Top Purfled and ready for Final Arching

Fresh Purfling

Here is the cello top, freshly purfled, hot hide-glue still wet. Tomorrow night I will try to complete the final arching and lay out the f-hole perimeters.

I had some distractions tonight, but that is life. Life is what happens while you are trying to complete your projects and plans. Embrace it or fight it, that is simply how it is.

This spruce has very pronounced winter grains, which were hard to cut smoothly for the purfling slot, but the plate rings like a big bell if you tap on it. I think it will probably be a very good cello.

Freshly Purfled Cello Top — Freshly Purfled Top

Anyway, tomorrow evening when the glue is dry, I will cut the channel and begin finalizing the arching. If I get it close, I will try to get the f-holes laid out and outlined. After that it will be time for graduation of the plate (carving the inside arching).

Press on!

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