It’s lovely to have the opportunity of making one of my favourite violin models again. This is a special commission; in 2020 I made the same model for the elder brother of the prospective owner of this one, and now it is the turn of his younger sibling. I really do hope they won’t fight over which one they prefer!
As ever, I’ve started with making the ribs. As I’m using a one-piece back, there was enough wood in the slab of wood I started with to saw off a wedge which I could then cut down for ribs. Lots of work, but lovely to have the ribs perfectly matching the back.
After bending all the ribs and gluing them to the mould, I’ve fitted the linings, which reinforce the eventual gluing surface against the back and front.
While the glue dries on all the different stages of making the ribs, I make the scroll. The Stradivari scrolls have a simple grace and elegance that I try hard to capture.
It’s always lovely to start work on the back and front, which are of course the most critical aspects for sound production. The back of the violin is of maple, a lovely one-piece back I bought in France some years ago. The front is of spruce, and this is an old piece of wood, probably at least 50 years, that I bought from a friend. I’ve started by cutting the outline oversize, and then roughing the arching shapes. When that’s done, I finalise the outlines.
Then it’s time to fit the purfling, the decorative black/white/black strip round the edge of the violin. I start by cutting a channel and then bend and glue the purfling in place. Finally I carve away wood from the edge so that the purfling sits at the bottom of a hollow, from which the arching rises.
Then it’s time to finalise the arching. I use templates which I made from measurements of the original instrument. I reduce the wood with small planes, then finish with a scraper which gives a lovely smooth finish.
After arching comes thicknessing. It’s lovely to feel the solid back and front become lighter and flexible, it’s as if the thicknessing process breathes life into the wood. I work carefully, removing wood with planes then scrapers, measuring the wood for thickness and weight, flexing the wood and tapping it. When I’m happy with all of these different parameters, it’s time to stop.
There are a couple more jobs to do on the front before the body is ready for assembly, to cut the f-holes fit the bass bar.
And then a lot of gluing; ribs onto back, then front onto ribs, and in the meantime making and fitting the fingerboard ready for neck fitting.
And now everything comes together fast. The fingerboard made, neck fitted and shaped, and the violin finished ‘in the white’, ready for varnishing.
The violin is now finished. I’ve used a lovely golden brown varnish that enhances the figure of the back. After a careful setup it’s had its first test with a player. As is usual with this model, it is even and projecting, with a lovely rich G string.
