Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 12/28/2009

Monday, December 28, 2009

The Ground, Varnish, and Glaze

The set of photos below were taken after two coats of ground and two coats of dark amber violin varnish had been applied to the "Saint".

Below is a piece of poplar shaped to act as a cover for the neck of the violin while glaze and/or varnish is being applied.

I show this because it contrasts with the light spot on the second photograph. This neck cover shows the resultant darkening from up to 10 coats of dark amber violin varnish versus then underside which received no varnish.


Last week Ben hand rubbed two coats of a ground compound on to the violin. This compound was composed of dark amber violin varnish mixed with ground white pumice stone. Tom Robson of Violin Varnish, Ltd. Trumansburg, New York made the dark amber violin varnish that was used as the base. The varnish is made from powdered Baltic dark amber and linseed oil with a turpentine solvent. Baltic fossil amber is a resin from coniferous trees that grew and were buried under the Baltic sea floor over 24-40 million years ago. It is the hardest of resins and being nearly inert must be fused at high heat to make it soluble in linseed oil. It lends itself to a high polish and is an extremely protective violin finish.

The process of rubbing in the ground takes approximately 5-6 hours per coat. The pumice embeds in the wood pores sealing the wood and causing increased surface tension. This limits the amount of varnish that the wood can absorb. It is thought that the more varnish that is absorbed the greater the dampening of the tone of the instrument.

The prior Wednesday, Ben temporarily fitted the instrument so that I could try it out and experience its sound. The violin had a great deal of power and resonance and was uniform across all strings and all positions. These were specific qualities I had noticed in the other violins of Ben I had played and were qualities I had requested. At that point Ben had applied only the two coats of ground.

As of this morning he had finished spreading and drying two additional coats of dark amber varnish with no color pigment added.


Below Ben has removed the nut and is removing the finger board prior doing some finish work under the fingerboard and starting the color glazing



Here with the fingerboard removed you can see some build up of the pumice from the application of the ground done after the finder board was in place. It has been deduced from the condition of the finish under the fingerboards of many old Cremonese instruments that the fingerboard was probably in place prior to the finishing of the instruments. Ben has chosen to use that approach on the "Saint".


Below the thickness of the neck is seen with the fingerboard removed.


Below Ben has scraped some of the excess pumice from under the fingerboard.


Ben holds the nut and fingerboard he has removed.


Ben is using his finger tip to dab a small amount of varnish on to spots that were too thin.


Here Ben is demonstrating use of a brush technique to apply larger amounts of varnish


The neck cover is being glued in place prior to starting the glazing.


Here Ben has donned a glove to apply the glaze using his fingers. The glaze is a mix of black and rose madder pigments added to the dark amber varnish.


The glaze coats are applied and then allowed to dry 1-2 days prior to application of the next coat. Depending on the color desired 2 or many more coats may be applied. Below Ben holds up the "Saint" with the first glaze coat applied to the lower treble bout to show the color contrast between glazed and unglazed sides.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 12/21/2009

Monday, December 21, 2009

Carving Done Wood Darkened

With the busy holiday schedule I was unable to take time to photograph the carving of the neck and assembly of the instrument. Ben pushed hard to ready my violin for a temporary setup just before Christmas.

Below in a lovely shot, Ben is showing the backside of the violin with finished neck and scroll assembled.

From this angle we can see the top with fingerboard temporarily in place.


Ben applied a single coat of a solution to enhance the darkening process. The weakened solution of potassium nitrate and water was applied, then the instrument was placed in an ultraviolet light box for twenty four hours. The result was a darkening from white to an aged/oxidized tan color which gives the wood a rich natural color very quickly. In the summer this color could be achieved simply by placing the violin in bright sun light for a number of days.
Below the arch is clearly shown with the beautiful flaming of the ribs.


The flaming of the neck and scroll is apparent in the picture below.

A Strad Inspired Violin - 12/16/2009

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Dr. Samuel W. Siurua's 93rd Birthday Party




Dr. Samuel Wasson Siurua celebrating his 93d birthday (portraits taken by Clyde Hochstedler) .

To the left, above is a snapshot of Clyde Hochstedler taken by me yesterday. As is often the case photographers do not appear in the photos. So Clyde's image was added here along with credits. He contributed 6 of the photos shown including the portraits of Sam above.

Many of Sam's friends over the years gathered in the Lounge at Robin Run Village to celebrate his 93rd birthday. Below in the early arriving circle of guests are shown from left to right four of his musical friends Anne Duthie McCafferty, Dr. Robert L. Rudesill, and to the further right Diantha Degraw and Beth Lawrence.



Here to the left and above in the early arriving circle of friends are those from North Methodist Church and Robin Run Village as well as Sam's musical past. Pat Thorlton in the left foreground from church, Emma Lou Endres, a greeter from Robin Run, Susy Smith Watt daughter of Sam's great friend and luthier Tom Smith, Mr. Louie Cain from church and Robin Run, and again Ann Duthie McCafferty and Dr. Robert Rudesill.


Seated on Sam's lap is my ever vigilant canine, Noble, keeping an eye on me and the camera. In the center background stands a Robin Run staffer behind Ada Dunn, a friend of Sam's in blue.

Standing below Neil S. Handley is graciously thanking everyone for the celebration. To his left seated are Anne, Susy, Jerry, Bob and Joie Kipka who has gotten to know Sam through Susy, Jerry and Bob.


To the left stand some of Sam's later arriving friends from church and Robin Run including Harold Dove who will turn 93 in 2010. On the table in front of Sam is a pale green box in which Sam found a copy of his biography completed with written contributions from a number of his closest friends.

Anne insisted on taking a photo of me, Noble and Sam's cake for history's sake. If you look closely you will see the chocolate cake with dark fudge icing is decorated with a chocolate violin.
All concerned agreed the violin looked a bit more like a viol da gamba without the frets than a modern day violin.


While Sam begins cutting the cake, Beth Lawrence is looking over Sam's biography


Here Sam is cutting and serving the cake. Next To him are Diantha Degraw and Beth Lawrence looking over his biography and to the far right in a red vest is Dottie Gerner, Sam's friend from North Methodist Church. Seated by the windows are David Klingeman and Karl Patton.




Neil S. Handley, Sam's dear friend and Ann Duthie Mc Cafferty are assisting with the cake and ice cream while Suzy Smith Watt, Jerry Allen and Bob Rudesill look on.


While the cake was being served friends signed the tributes page of Sam's biography.

Starting at the top left hand corner working across and down I have transcribed their birthday greetings and signatures below.

"Sam, you are such a special person I'm happy to share your 93rd birthday." Love, Dottie Gerner.

"With love & gratitude for your ongoing inspiration to me! Happy 93rd" Anne Duthie McCafferty

"May God Bless You" - Mary Snell

"Congratulations on 93 years, you inspire us all." Louie Cain

David & Rhea Klingeman - Younkin Dr. Robin Run

"I'm proud to have had your acquaintance and to have had the rides you gave me to North church." Clyde Hochstedler

"And Many "More"" Joyce and Malcom Hults "Love & Blessings"

"Thanks for sharing your life, music & birthday with us." Susy Smith Watt

"YOU ARE THE MAN" Neil (Handley)

"Best wishes on your special day!" Karl & Jean Patton (Robin Run)

"Happy Birthday Sam." Randy (Russell) "Much love on your 93rd Birthday!" Donna (Lively Clark Russell)

"Sam, Thanks for 60+ years!!! of music & friendship." Diantha Degraw

"It has been a pleasure getting to know you through Jerry" - Joie Kipka

"Happy 93rd Birthday" Jerry Allen

"Happy Birthday, Sam! I have such happy memories of playing music with you & Martha." With Love, Beth Lawrence

"Keep it going." Bob Rudesill

Saturday, December 5, 2009

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 12/1/2009


Tuesday December 1, 2009
The Scroll Looks Like a Scroll

Ben called me Monday and told me he had continued carving over the weekend and thought I might like to come down to take photos. He said, "The scroll looks like a scroll."

I met Ben, Susy Smith Watt, and Donna Lively Clark at Indianapolis Violins, Tuesday at 10:00 A.M. Susy had borrowed a viola her father, Thomas Smith, made and needed Ben to adjust it before the Friday party in celebration of the 100th anniversary of her father's birth. Since Donna was to play the viola she joined Susy to see it, play it and recommend strings and adjustments.

Below is a photo of Thomas Smith taken in the late 1930's with one of his violins at about the same point of completion as the one Ben is working on for me.

This meeting also gave Susy and Donna an opportunity to see my new violin, 'The Saint', for the first time. In the photo below the carving to the treble side of the scroll done over the weekend is shown off.


Now the violin is beginning to look like a violin with the scroll taking shape.


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 11/23/2009

Monday, November 23, 2009


Carving the Scroll

The basic shapes of the neck and scroll were laid out in pencil using measurement and tracing rubbed on to the surface of the block of wood. The tracing was done from an accurate full size photo. The use of the tracing and rubbing techniques result in more accurate dimensions than use of a template. Using a band saw the shapes are cut out. The basic shape after sawing and tracing are shown in the photo below.

Before further carving of the scroll and peg box the center line must be determined, scribed very lightly and penciled onto the wood. Below Ben scribes the line.



Below, again using the photo from the Strad Medici as an accurate basis, dividers set at 26mm are used to mark the maximum width of the scroll around the center line and lines are applied in pencil.



In the next photo the shape of the back side of the scroll is clearly visible in pencil.



Below the lines of the peg box, top of the front, and treble side of the scroll are shown.



Next we can see the saw and saw cuts made on the bass side of the peg box and scroll and are perpendicular to the side. The wood has been clamped to the work table for greater ease of carving. These cuts are sawed down to the outside pencil line. This will also be done to the opposite/treble side once this side is carved.


Then the process of chiseling away the unneeded mass of the wood block begins.


Below the bass side of the peg box has been carved.



Using the sawing technique cuts are made tangential to curves around the lower spiral of the scroll. However these cuts are not an exact 90 degrees. Since Strad scrolls tend to be some of the closest ones to 90 degrees he will do that later in the finishing.



The process of chiseling begins.



Ben has unclamped the wood block and will hold it in his hand to allow more control to the finer cuts with gouges, chisels, and files.



Here having chiseled the rough shape Ben refines it with a file.



Ben shows the block as initially carved on the bass side. He observed that he was taught in school to finish the scroll in steps with each step completely finished before moving on to the next. However, he tends to work in a somewhat less methodical process working on it keeping in mind the whole piece rather than individual parts.



Before proceeding further with carving of the scroll Ben has measured and marked the points at which he will drill the peg holes. Although it is traditional to do otherwise, he prefers to drill these pilots hole early on before mass has been removed from the peg box. In his opinion there is less chance of splitting or splintering of the holes using this approach. There is a total distance of 52mm from top to bottom of the peg box. The holes have to be positioned so that when the pegs and strings are in place no strings rub across other pegs.



Below the pilot holes for the pegs are drilled using the drill press.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 11/10/2009

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Dedication

A few weeks ago I spoke to Ben regarding dedicating my new violin to my long time childhood violin teacher, Dr. Samuel W. Siurua. We agreed that his name should be written on Ben's violin label. Because Ben had lost his original label file due to his computer failing, I volunteered to create a new file to Ben's specifications. This I did as a personal contribution to completion of this violin.

To the left Ben is cutting the new labels which he printed from my file on to a copper acid free parchment paper. The border motif was produced as Ben specified by scanning a copy of a Petrus Guarnerius of Venice label. The script, I selected to match as closely as possible that which Ben had originally used. It was 96 point Arabic typeset which I inserted and then reduced when the label was re sized to fit 10 labels per page.

Here is the label after Ben has written "To: Samuel W. Siurua" and positioned it roughly where it is to be glued.


Ben applies the glue.

The label is now glued in place, positioned so that it can be seen through the Bass side F hole after the top has been glued in place.

I drove up to Robin Run Village with these photos and uploaded them to my laptop for Sam to see the same afternoon. I told Sam that I was giving him naming rights to the violin since it was being dedicated to him. We discussed several options but rather than choosing one that included his name he settled on the expression that he had told me he used to refer to his violin teacher at at Chicago Musical College, Paul Stassevitch. Sam of course has always been a modest person so I could understand his reluctance to call it Samuel or Siurua or a variation thereof. However, I fully understand his reasoning in selecting the expression "The Saint". To Sam this choice recognizes the genius of Paul Stassevitch as both a teacher and violinist. Paul Stassevitch taught many wonderful violinists and chamber musicians including the great violinist, Ruggiero Ricci.
Paul was himself a student of the famous Hungarian violinist, Leopold Auer, who taught early on as head of the violin department at the St Petersburg Conservatory and later at the Curtis Institute having as pupils over the years such violin greats as Jascha Heifetz, Efrem Zimbalist and Mischa Elman.
The violin will symbolically carry on the line of a kindly, understanding, and nonjudgmental interpersonal style that inspired both Sam in teaching and through Sam me in my career as a human services professional.
Sam and I agree this name recognizes and honors him and his teaching approach. When I pass the violin down to another person who loves the violin, hopefully, it will inspire in them love for music and the violin whether or not it remains in my family with a grand niece or goes outside of it.
I called Ben after meeting with Sam and asked him to write the Expression "The Saint" inside the violin in a position that could be seen. He agreed.

The next major step will be carving of the neck and scroll from the block of maple pictured here to the left.