I had removed most of the rough wood, in the last post, and had smoothed the outside of the turns of the scroll.
Now it is time to undercut the turns of the scroll so that they have a more delicate look, and are physically a little lighter.
Carving the volute and neck.
Completing the volute and pegbox.
So, at this point the one scroll is essentially done, and the other will soon be done as well. I will complete the purfling on the two instruments before setting the necks, so that is next.
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In the last post, I demonstrated how I use a thin saw, to cut to the layout lines, so as to facilitate removal of the rough wood, preparing to carve.
Now I complete the removal of the rough wood and begin to carve.
Removal of remaining rough wood was quite easy, because of all the saw-cuts.
Scroll-Carving
Next, I begin to incise the outline of the eye, and to carve the volute to size.
Trimming the scroll to the layout lines, before beginning to undercut the turns of the scroll.
Starting to look like a scroll…barely. I planed the cheeks of the scroll to the layout lines.
It is always nore encouraging when the scroll begins to take shape.
I want to complete the two instruments side by side. I have to stop and work on the other scroll.
Carving the pegbox.
One scroll is nearing completion, the other has just begun to take shape.
The next web-log post should include two completed scrolls, the installation of two fingerboards, and the setting of two necks. But perhaps that is too ambitious. The holidays seem to be a difficult time during which to get things done. (sigh…)
However, along with the graduation of both back plates, removal of the inside forms (molds) and the final assembly of the instruments, that is pretty much all that is left to do. Oh, yes, and purfling both plates on both instruments. I used to install purfling before completing the arching of the plates, but it frequently resulted in uneven plate overhang (with which I was quite disappointed) just because the purling had locked in the shape of the plates, and so, if the rib garland had changed shape at all, I was stuck. When I began purfling afterassembly, the overhang problems pretty much went away.
Anyhow, that is how the project is progressing.
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I began by making sure that I had appropriate wood for both instruments: I wanted a one-piece back for the Guarneri model instrument, with deep flames sloping downward from left to right, and I wanted a heavily flamed two-piece back for the Stradivari model…both of European Maple, with ribs to match them, and European spruce tops. I had them, all right, so I bookmatched the two spruce tops, and the back for the “Titian” Strad attempt, and left them to thoroughly dry. Afterward, I visited my son’s guitar shop and used his power planer to flatten the plates, and bring them each down to the thickness I wanted for the arching height.
Prepared plates: European Maple and Spruce
Working Vacation
I took a week off from work, intending to “get a lot done” on the violins, but ended up sick for most of the week. Besides, Winter is coming on, and we needed to get firewood in, so Ann and I loaded and hauled and stacked firewood for a couple of days, and I got about two good days of work on the violins. During that time, I installed blocks in the molds, shaped them to receive the ribs, thinned and bent the ribs, and installed them. Last, I installed linings, to add stiffness to the edge of the rbs, and additional gluing surface. The ribs, like the back plates, are European Maple, but the blocks and linings are willow…not sure what variety. I like weeping willow the best, because it carves and bends so nicely, but other willows work well, too, sometimes.
Guarneri form with blocks and ribs.
Ribs shortened
Adding linings.
Linings installed, glued, and clamped.
Then, once I had the linings in place, I trimmed the rib corners to their final shapes, and flattened the front face of garlands, after which I used the garlands themselves to trace out the shape of the top plates. Finally, I cut out the top plates and shaped them to the exact outlines I wanted, and I was ready to begin arching. I will do the same thing for the back plates later.
All four plates, both garlands, with neck blocks. Strad model on the right, Guarneri on the left.
Slow Start
I didn’t get much of anything else done, this week, as I was at work, mostly, annnd, Thursday, some fellow failed to yield on a roundabout, and totalled my wife’s car, as she was coming home from the grocery store. The roads were very wet, which may have contributed to why he was unable to stop, and why the impact spun her car around, 180 degrees, and hurled it off the road, into a field, next to the roundabout.
Ironically, she had also just gone to DMV, and had paid $193 to renew the DEQ testing, and registration, as well as filling her gas tank, to the tune of $40. So all that was wasted, too, but she is completely unhurt, for which we are deeply grateful. Guess it is time for her to get a newer car. 🙂 There was also a dented can of beans, and two squashed bananas…but I ate the bananas, and tonight we ate the beans. No loss there. 🙂
This evening, however, I got home fairly early, and I got most of the arching done on the Stradivari-model top plate, so at least that feels better, in terms of productivity. I will try to complete it tomorrow and repeat the effort on the Guarneri top plate.
I will post more pictures later.
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A fellow approached me a few months back, asking whether I could build a five-string fiddle of some exotic wood which he had bought almost 33 years ago, and which he had hung onto all this time. Of course I am delighted to make an instrument that is special to a client, so I said “Sure!”
Wood
Here is the wood (Nice stuff! I can see why he hung onto it!):
The wood from which this fiddle will be built.
The neck, back and ribs will all be cut from this block. Actually there will be a fair amount left over, so I will try to use it in an efficient manner so that he can use the scraps for something nice, too. The front plate will be spruce. The blocks and linings are willow…not sure which specific variety.
Templates–Patterns
Here is how the pattern will fit–with lots of room left over:
Plenty of extra from which to cut rib-stock.
The section from which the back plate will be cut will be sawn into two pieces, each half the thickness of the original block. The two pieces will be glued edge to edge, so that they are “bookmatched”: that is to say that the straight edge of the mold template will become the centerline of the back plate. (I will show photos of how it is done when I get to that part.) The same thing will happen with the spruce for the front plate.
Progress and Plans
The five string fiddle will be built to my usual “Oliver 5-string” Pattern. So, the first thing I needed to do was to cut the ribstock using a band-saw. (I sliced them off at 2mm thick, later to be thinned to 1mm thick before bending to shape.) I also cut willow blocks for the four corners and the two ends.
Ribs and blocks with wood and patterns
Then I needed to glue the blocks into the mold, and mark them for their outer shape. This shape will be the inside shape of the ribs, and the blocks will become a permanent portion of the finished instrument. The mold will be removed as soon as the rib structure is safely glued to the front plate (not pictured here.) Once the glue was dry, I laid the mold-template on the centerline of the blocks, and scribed around it with a pencil.
Blocks glued into the mold, and marked for shaping.
After the blocks were marked, I was ready to begin shaping them. I really only want the center curves shaped to their final profile: the rest of the corner blocks need to stay a little thick, so as to guarantee they will not deform when I am gluing and clamping the center ribs in place. I went ahead and shaped the end blocks as well, as that does not hurt anything.
C-bouts and end blocks shaped to receive ribs.
Here’s a side view of the same thing:
Blocks and Mold, side view.
Once the center ribs are bent to the correct shape, I will glue them to the center bout surfaces of the corner blocks, and after the glue is dry, I will shape the outer surfaces to receive the upper and lower ribs. From that point forward, it will begin to look more and more like a violin.
I will keep you posted.
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