A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 9/28/09

Monday, September 28, 2009
Final Arching and F Holes Drawn

I stopped by Indianapolis Violins to photograph the progress Ben had made on the top and back arches. Also, Dr. Samuel Siurua's friend, Neil Handley, was to drop off Sam's Mathew Furber 1830's violin for any new fittings and adjustments it might need.

Above Ben is holding the top of my violin so that the arching is clearly visible against the contrasting background of Sam's violin case.


This second shot gives a clearer view of the height of the top arch.

Here Ben displays the maple back to show the beautiful flaming .

The shape and height of the back arch are more clearly seen in this photo.

To my surprise Ben decided to layout the F holes. He began by locating and drawing a horizontal line extending across the top from immediately under the bottom of the purfling at the point the corners turn up. Next he carefully located the center line along the line of the seam where the two pieces of wood were originally joined. Finally checking the photographs and measurement of the Medici and Cremonese Strads he decided on the closest measurement from the two violins that fit the proportion and look of my top. At that point using both a ruler and the calipers he marked and the drew in the two vertical lines against which he will lay the Strad F hole template.

To the left Ben locates the template with the horizontal and vertical lines and begins drawing the outline in pencil. The outside of the top eye lays against the vertical line and the top of the lower eye lays underneath and against the horizontal line.

The left F hole outline is drawn.

Both F holes having been drawn are clearly seen in this photo.

The violin begins to have a life of it own. Ben has clamped the pieces together in a mock up so we can see the progress and the pieces won't be lonely at night.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 9/22/09

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Inlaying the Purfling

To the left is a photo showing various knives, gouges, finger planes, and the purfling marker used in this stage of marking, incising and inlaying the purfling.

Below Ben is carefully incising purfling groove in the lower right C Bout corner on the Spruce top. his is a tedious process due to the nature of the wood grain in the corners. It is very easy for the wood between where the corner grooves meet to splinter off either during the carving process or afterward during the fitting of the purfling into the groove.

In order to create a smooth and level bottom to the groove a small gouge may be used as seen below.

Continued incising on the next corner. After finishing each corner Ben applies a light coat of glue to the corner area to strengthen the wood and prevent splintering during the final stages of fitting and inlaying the purfling.

Below the top corners are shown after incising.

Below is a strip of purfling a sandwich of maple with the outside pieces dyed ebony black.

Here pieces of purfling have been cut and bended to fit in the right lower C bout corner. For purling pieces to fit properly at the corner joints they must be cut diagonally like a mitre cut. This way the shorter inside of the corner has black meeting black as does the outside.

Below you can see the purfling fitted on the lower bout of the top before final gluing.

Here the maple back is shown with all purfling glued and dry.

The next phase includes final carving of the outside arches followed by drawing and cutting of the F holes on the top.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 9/14/09 to 9/15/09

Monday and Tuesday (9/14-9/15/09)

Marking and Incising the Purfling Groove


Comparing the photographs from the previous entry it is possible to see the refinements Ben has made in shaping the arch and groove of the violin back. At this point is the preferable time to mark the purfling groove and cut it before inlaying it.

Below Ben is marking a side of the groove with a purfling marker tool. Often the sides are marked one at a time with single bladed markers.

After the initial markings the side must be cut deeper with a knife making a couple of passes to the proper depth of 1.5 to 2 mm depending on the purfling material and the level of completion of the violin channel surrounding the arch.

Finally the groove itself is cut out between the two incised sides with a knife.

When all of this hand work is completed on the top and back the actual gluing of the purfling into the groove can be done.

While the spruce top yields fairly easily to the knife the hard maple back can be a slow and arduous task.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 9/1/09 to 9/3/09

Shaping the Outside of the Top and Back

Tuesday September 1, 2009

After two weeks in England I entered the reception area of Indianapolis Violins very excited that work was about to begin on the top and back of the violin. Before departing Ben had completed all work on the ribs and linings.

I glanced at the audition room as I walked toward the shop area.



A few steps further and I entered the workshop.



Although Ben had told me he had not worked further on the violin after I left he had a surprise for me.




He had in fact drawn the outline of the Medici model on the top and back and rough cut both of them to the their fiddle shape using his band saw.

To begin the carving process on the Spruce top Ben first scribed the thickness with an additional millimeter to spare on the edge of the top.

Now ready to begin rough cutting he clamped the top to the workbench with the outside up.

He then began rough gouging the piece at a 45 degree angle to the grain and sometimes working with the grain.

Working this way leaves the wood looking the nicest. He works around the violin top clockwise.

After completing the rough gouging he begins using various size small planes and finger planes to smooth the surface and sculpt the arch.

He has to plane the thickness down a bit and leave a smooth flat surface on the top of the arch so that it easier to carve the inside of the top when is is turned over.

Ben checks the arch against the template.

The whole process from tracing, and rough gouging to finger planing takes about an hour.

Wednesday September 2, 2009

The Maple back is much harder wood the the Spruce top. Ben rough cuts it with an ArborTech wood grinder. This saves a great deal of physical effort and time.

This grinding gives overall shape and thickness to the outside of the back before finishing.

The back is now ready to be finger planed and is clamped to a flat surface.

Finger planing is done using similar technique on both the top and back.

Further work needs to be done to the C Bout outline and corners. A spindle grinder is used for this. This step includes cutting the shape carefully all of the way back to the pencil outline.

Here you can see the top and bottom both with basic shape and arches applied to the ribs. the violin is now really taking shape.

Thursday September 3, 2009

Today Ben continues finger planing, grinding, fine filing and sanding the outline of the body.
As well he carefully matches the shape of the C Bout corners to the full size photograph of the Strad Medici.

Welwyn Garden City, England Vacation - 8/10/09 - 8/25/09

I apologize for the interruption in progress on my violin blog. I needed to travel to Welwyn Garden City in England to see my niece Leslie and her family and offer a helping hand with their move and unpacking. Welwyn Garden City was a planned city begun after WWI and is Northwest of London. The urban plan was to provide integrated green spaces with commercial and residential areas. Industrial parks were limited to separate quadrants. The planning prevented the development of urban blight, slums and overcrowding.

Below is a view of their new home taken from the garden bench at the rear of the house.
The center of the house was originally constructed in the 1920"s. Wings were later added at both ends and the Dining room was extended forward toward the Garden.

Below is the store front of Hill and Company String Shop in The Very Old Village of Welwyn. In 2008 I had visited my niece in St. Albans and had learned of this string shop.


I was very curious about it since the name Hill in my mind was associated with the famous William E. Hill and Sons of London. The rosin I have had since childhood was under their label. I later learned of their fame for expertise in restoring and appraising great violins. As well they made fine string instruments and bows. Furthermore, they had donated the great collection of 16th and 17th century string instruments including the oldest Amati and the Strad Messiah to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

W.E. Hill and Sons ceased to exist in 1992. Last year I looked up their original location at 140 New Bond Street and discovered that their business address and facade no longer existed. So I was curious as to whether or not this Hill and Co. was in any way related.


Above is the front counter at Hill and Company String Shop in Welwyn Village
On the cabinet next to the violin in a cast metal stand are early 1900's photos of the famous Mirecourt Violin district in Paris.


Below are Charlotte, Marguerite, and Leslie at Hill's. This was a trip to further inspire 4 year old Charlotte's interest in the violin. Hill's had a lovely sounding 1/8th size violin that was much better than the 1/16th size violin Charlotte was using. Leslie rented the new one on this trip.

While we were their I had the chance to meet the proprietor, Howard Hill. I learned that while he and his father who started the string shop were not related to W. E. Hill he had worked for them 12 years and acquired a great deal of his knowledge on restoration from that experience. Restoration is his primary focus rather than making violins.


Above is a framed 1976 poster commemorating Siegbert Reinhard's Paper Sculpture Titled "Rehearsal" of a string quartet. (I have a cutout art piece of this at home. Small world isn't it.)

This is the collection of string instrument for sale in the audition room

Below I am trying out a 1746 violin by French luthier Pierre Saint-Paul(1728-1746). He worked in Paris on Rue St. Andre. This was a remarkably powerful and resonant instrument. The G and D strings had warmth and power. I later deduced that this was probably an example of one of his smaller Amati models. I had some difficulty with intonation since it was smaller than the Strad model my current German violin is based on.