Violin Making Course part 2

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Violin Making Classes at Warwickshire College Part 2
Here we take a look in more detail at some of the instruments being made in one of the evening classes. Several violins and a cello are underway, all at different stages of construction.	This is the second part of a feature article on violin making at Warwickshire College.For more about the classes,see part one and part three, or the FAQ. For more on violin making, watch Derek Roberts make a violin by hand.

Work on the belly or front of a violin. The belly is carved from solid wood, first to rough measurements with gouges, and then to fine measurements.

Here the student is drawing the contours of the arching of the belly with a pencil gauge. The final contours will be worked with tiny planes and then finished with scrapers.

On another violin front, the arching and thicknessing are complete. The student is marking the position of the F holes before cutting them with a fretsaw and shaping them with a knife.

On the right you can see part of the cradle in which the front is held while it is being worked.

The body of this violin is finished. The next step is to fit the neck, seen on the right, to the body. The neck has already been fitted with the ebony fingerboard. The scroll has been wrapped up to protect it from damage.

At another class member's bench, the fingerboard has yet to be fitted to the neck. A discussion takes place on how to proceed. Derek Roberts (right) checks that the correct dimensions have been achieved for the fingerboard, and explains how to hollow its underside with a thumbplane and scrapers. The aim is to reduce its weight without compromising its strength.

The body of a cello is cramped up to test the fit between the back and the ribs before glueing. Special-purpose cramps are used for this operation.

Old-fashioned hot animal glue will be used for the joint; unlike modern woodworking glues, this glue has no gap-filling qualities. Therefore it is essential that the fit is very accurate, in order to guarantee structural strength of the finished instrument.

Derek checks the fit and advises that it is not good enough yet for glueing. There are some gaps in the area of the corner block. More work will have to be done on levelling the glueing surfaces with a small plane.

On to part three where we visit a different class.
Back to part one.
The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page will answer some questions if you are interested in joining the course. For more on the different stages in violin making, follow Derek's progress as he makes a violin by hand.

Are you interested in learning to make a violin, developing your violin making skills or acquiring set up and repair skills? See our choice of short Violin Making Courses held in Derek Roberts' workshop in Leamington Spa.