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5-string report #15: Varnishing

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Five String Progress Report #15: Varnishing

Mineral Ground

I did not take any photos of this process…it only consisted of rubbing a gypsum suspension into the wood, all over, then rubbing it off, as completely as possible. The goal was to fill the wood pores, so as to limit the penetration of varnish into the wood. Apparently the varnish tends to dampen vibrations, and deaden the violin sound just a little. I don’t know how much effect it really has, but I got the idea from Roger Hargrave, who said it made a difference in his work. If it is good enough for him, I am game to try it. My suspicion is that my ears are no longer good enough to hear the difference, due to a lifetime of work in heavy steel. But…I have had very good reviews on the few instruments on which I have used the ground, so…either it really helps, or I have just improved my building skills, lately.

Sealer

My sealer is pretty simple: it is raw pine pitch dissolved in a combination of pure spirits of gum turpentine and alcohol. It penetrates pretty deeply, but the alcohol and turpentine (in that order) evaporate rapidly, and leave the pine resin in the wood. I rub off as much as I can of whatever is on the surface, and let it dry in the sun. Sometimes I have hung it up to dry indoors, but it does make the house smell of turpentine. My wife has very little sense of smell, and I don’t mind the smell, but others might, so I try to limit that sort of thing.

front with sealer
Front with sealer

 

Edge with sealer
Edge with sealer: notice the contrast between front and side. I hope to correct that, somewhat, with varnish.

 

Back with sealer.
Back with sealer. Still somewhat dull, but just wait until the varnishing begins!

 

hanging up to dry inside
Hanging up to dry inside.

 

Back drying inside
Back drying inside: I decided it was warm enough outside, so I moved it to the yard, and propped it in an old lawn chair.

 

Sealer drying in the sun:
Sealer drying in the sun: it was interesting to see that, as the wood warmed up, the sealer began to ooze back out of the pores, making tiny dots all over.

 

Varnish

Once the violin was very warm, and quite dry to the touch, I rubbed it down with a paper towel, to remove any residue, then coated the back with a yellow varnish, and the belly with a brown varnish. I hope to even out the color somewhat and diminish the sharp contrast between the dark, curly Koa and the nearly white Sitka Spruce.

First coat of varnish on the front
First coat of varnish on the front: makes quite a difference, doesn’t it?

 

one coat of varnish
There’s the whole fiddle in the sun, with one coat of varnish.

 

And...the back!
And…the back! Look how the curly Koa is catching the fire from the sun.

 

Koa Flame
Pretty serious flame in this curly koa wood! You can see why it was tough to carve.

 

Anyway, that is about as far as I expect to go, today. I may get another coat or two of varnish on there, this evening, but it will not be an appreciable visual difference until it is done. I expect to use at least another six coats before calling it complete.

Thanks for looking.

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