Final assembly of a Davidov model cello

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How to complete the assembly of the cello

Remove the mold and clean up the interior of the corpus.

In my case, since the mold is collapsible and comes apart in several pieces, it is pretty convenient to get the mold out. I use a small electric screwdriver to remove eight drywall screws, and back off twelve more, and the thing just comes right out…no fuss. The twelve that were just backed out are the ones securing the corner blocks and neck and end blocks in the mold. So, here is the corpus, fresh off the mold, with all the blocks still square and rough, and the linings only roughly trimmed, not scraped.

Rough cello interior — Cello interior immediately after removing the mold. All the blocks are still rough and square. Linings still need final scraping.

Rough cello end block — This is the end block. You can see the rounded part that I shaped before installing the front plate, so that I would not risk damaging the front plate while shaping it. The rest of the block was out of reach in the mold. Now it is time to shape all the blocks.

Rough cello corner block and linings. — Here’s what the corner blocks and linings looked like. The linings had been trimmed with a knife, but not scraped.

So– the next hour or so was spent chiseling, planing and scraping all those blocks to their final shape, and scraping the linings as smooth as I could get them. Here is what it looked like afterward:

Cleaned cello interior, just before closing. — I tend to make my neck and end blocks a little oversize. I have seen blocks split and break, because they were too small…it seems an easy way to insure against that sort of thing. All the blocks are now the size and shape I want them, and scraped smooth.

Install the Back Plate

So, the next step is to get the back plate in place. I aligned it carefully, checking all the margins to see that the overhang was fairly even all around, then clamped it in place, dry, using spool clamps. After I was satisfied that the overhangs were correct AND the elevation of the fingerboard was correct (an easy thing to mess up, as the corpus is quite floppy at this point), then I clamped everything solidly, and began removing a few clamps at a time, and inserting hot hide glue, using a palette knife. I washed off the excess glue with hot water, and re-tightened all the clamps.

Here the cello is in all its spool clamps, with one bar clamp to secure the button to the heel of the neck.

Callo back installed with hot hide glue and spool clamps. — The cello back is fully installed, with hot hide glue and spool clamps. The bar clamp secures the back button to the neck heel.

Cello glue drying by woodstove. — The house was pretty cold this morning, so I decided that the cello would dry faster in a warm room. Close to the woodstove (but not too close) is the best place I could find.

Final edge-work, scraping, preparation for varnish

After the glue was thoroughly dry, I removed all the clamps and began trimming edges, and perfecting the scroll and heel. The heel was almost a half inch high (which I expected…we leave extra, so that the heel and button are trimmed and shaped together, and match perfectly when we are done.) The scroll was still quite rough. I spent the rest of the day and late into the evening, scraping and planing, and trying to get the cello ready for finishing. Finally ran out of steam about nine PM, but it is nearly complete. Here is what it looks like tonight:

Cello in the white from front side. — Cello in the white, from the front. A little more edge-work to do, tomorrow morning, and I can begin the finish work.

Cello back in the white. — And there is that one-piece back…it has come a long way since that big slab we started with, hasn’t it? I still have some final smoothing of edges, etc. to do, then it is time for varnish.

Actually, I typically use a very weak water-base stain first, which will make the spruce a tan color, instead of cream-colored. Then I will sand it lightly with fine micromesh, seal it, and start applying varnish. (On the home-stretch, now!)

For those wondering about the pegs, saddle, nut, etc.; I wait until the varnish is complete before adding those fittings.

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April 1, 2013July 13, 2013

Back Graduation Complete

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The Inside carving (Graduation)on the one-piece Cello back is complete.

Planes and scrapers ruled the day

Here is what it looks like now:

Inside one-piece cello back with shadow to show curves. — The scrap of lining material is only there to cast a shadow so you can see the curves.

Inside curve (longitudinal) of cello back — Same thing again, but with a bigger stick. 🙂

Again, you can’t see it very well, but I also rounded the edges, beginning the edge-work that is so important to the finished product. I do the inner edge first, as it is hard to access once the plate is installed. I began with a tiny plane, and cut a narrow bevel all the way around the edge, at a 45 degree angle. Then I used a file and a scraper to round it into what is essentially a quarter-circle curve.

This plate is ready for installation.

I will try to close the corpus this week, and then scramble to complete the neck and scroll.

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March 29, 2013January 10, 2014

Bass Bar installed and trimmed–F-holes refined. Edge-work begun.

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The Bass Bar is in place and trimmed. The F-holes have been refined, somewhat, and the edge-work is begun.

Bass-bar was #1 on the list!

I installed the bass-bar first thing this morning (chalk-fit to the inside of the plate in the exact location it was to be glued, then glued with hot hide glue).

Then, while the glue was drying, I went and did other things. Swept up the shop, changed the tires on my car (snow tires have to be off this weekend), and designed some display stands for the upcoming show at Marylhurst University. I had intended to begin the graduations on the one-piece cello back plate today, but after I did the tires, I was pretty worn-out, and hurting, so I decided it was time for a break, and, since the glue was dry, time to trim the bar.

Bass Bar in the rough

Here’s what the bass-bar looked like in the rough, when I took the clamps off:

Cello Bass-bar in the rough, viewed from the side.

Bass Bar Trimmed and finished:

And here is what it looked like after planing it to the shape I wanted it to be:

Edge-work and final prep for finishing

Although you probably really can’t tell in the photos, I have also scraped the entire plate, inside and out, under low-angle light, to get every dip and hump as smooth as can be.

Also, I began the edge-work; I first planed a small (3mm) bevel all the way around the inside edge, then rounded it with a file, to establish the inside curve of the edge. The outside will be treated the same way, after the plate is installed on the garland. It is much easier to manipulate the plate by itself, instead of the whole cello, so I want to do as much as I can before it is assembled.

I also spent time refining the f-holes; smoothing the inner edges, matching bass to treble shape, etc. That, too, is much easier before the plate is assembled with the garland.

Tomorrow I will try to graduate the back plate.

Gotta do taxes, too, though. (Hooray for Turbotax!)

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