A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 9/16/2010

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Removal of Remaining Neck and Ribs

Ben saws off as much of the remaining neck as possible.

 The part too close to the back to be safely to sawed must next be removed.

Ben finger planes the rest down to the back plate.

Below after finger planing Ben will need to remove built up glue.

He applies hot water below.  There is a sweet but nauseating odor given off as the glue liquifies.
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Then he can scrap the softened glue down to the button which will eventually need to be replaced inserting a keystone linked new button just outside of the perfling.

Below Ben is examining the remaining ribs that will need to be removed again using hot water to soften the glue.

Here Ben is working with the C bout corner blocks some of which can be saved while others will need to be replaced.

He needs to separate the C bout blocks and rib lining so that he can remove the bottom bout.

Below is the back plate after the bottom bout ribs have been removed.

Because the bottom bout ribs were formed from a single piece of maple Ben was careful to remove them in one piece. 

Next he needs to clean them up by removing the cracked end block that will need to be replaced.
Below he is using a chisel to cut the block back to the rib.  Interestingly when he examined the bottom bout block and saddle he found additional indicators that this was probably a Mittenwald, German made violin.  The varnish appears to be soft, there is a notch in the rib for centering and inserting the saddle and there was a rosewood or ebony alignment pin that had been nailed through the top plate into the block.