Violin Making
Day
6 The back
This is one page in a series about violin making by hand in the traditional way. Please see the introduction for more, and our violin making courses if you are inspired to make a violin yourself.
Today the back plates are marked and sawn out
and the rough arching of the back is done. The plates of maple wood
have already been flattened and jointed.
Violin maker Derek Roberts marks the outline
of the rib structure (completed in the
previous stage
onto the plates. First the line of the ribs is followed.
Then Derek uses a washer to mark a second line outside the ribs.
This is the outline of the plates, as they must overhang the ribs.
The inner line will be used to position the ribs exactly on the
plates.
Derek uses a bow saw to saw round the outer line.
The roughly sawn back emerges from the plates.
A marking gauge is used to mark
the edge thickness of the back, and a knife to trim the roughly sawn
edge down to the marked lines.
The rough arching of the back is done with
a large gouge. A skilled maker works quickly, removing large amounts
of wood with each sweep of the tool.
The back is held in a holding jig while Derek
works on it. The same jig will be used to hold the front when
that is rough arched.
This is an exciting and dynamic stage of the
making. The glorious curves of a violin back take shape very rapidly
under the gouge.
The marks of the gouge remain to be smoothed off in a later stage.
Now that the rough arching is complete, the
final outline and the corners are worked with a file.
In the next stage, Derek will mark
and saw out the front plates, complete the rough arching and begin
the final arching.
Are you interested in learning to make a violin, or developing your violin making skills? See our Violin Making Courses. Our resources page has recommendations for books and suppliers for violin making.
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