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Handmade Violin, Part 1: Blocks and Shaping Form From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-201

The first phase in building a violin is the creation of the curved "c-curve" at the violin's waist.

Welcome to "Violin Making 101" -- literally. This episode of DIY's Handmade Music introduces viewers to the students and faculty at the Chicago School of Violin Making. It's an introduction to the very first steps of building a violin.

This first episode in the five-part violin series focuses on the first steps of building a violin. The rib structure is the foundation of a violin, and Chicago School co-director Becky Elliott demonstrates the step-by-step process of creating a rib structure for a beautiful violin.

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For nearly five hundred years, violin-makers have passed trade secrets to apprentices who develop their skills over many years of study. The Chicago School of Violin Making revels in that tradition, and it demands from its students more than three years of dedicated study. This is one of the few schools in America where students can learn the art and the profession of violin making. Very few "high-tech" improvements are offered in these classrooms. That means students benefit from the same techniques and secrets passed from Antonio Stradivarius. The school's directors Fred Thompson and Becky Elliott tell us that violin-building breaks down into a few basic steps:

• First, a rib structure is built.

• Next, a top plate and a back plate are crafted.

• Then the plates are joined to the ribs to create a body.

• A carved neck, scroll and fret-board are joined to the body.

• Finally, varnish is applied before set-up. From there, the instrument is ready to play.

  According to Becky Elliott, the main attribute needed to be a violin-maker is patience: "Patience with yourself and with your work. If you can deal with that," she says, "then you'll learn and get the skills you need."
  

Violin building is about working in stages and building on each stage. Today's stage and goal is to complete the rib structure. The rib structure requires a foundation. The foundation is a series of blocks glued to a temporary form (figures A and B). Becky's first lesson demonstrates how to create four spruce corner blocks and two end blocks.

Figure A

Figure B

First-year student Miles Mibeck uses a butter knife to cut the blocks, but the cuts are quite precise. The goal is to see the grain pattern run up and down the spruce block. The best technique for splitting is to keep the blade even and parallel with the surface of the stock (figure C). First, Miles breaks-off the four corner-blocks and the two end-blocks. When all six blocks are cut, they're still fairly raw (figure D).

Figure C

Figure D

Figure E

The blocks are then refined a bit after Becky planes them. Each block requires tight ninety-degree angles, and each block should be about an inch and a half thick (figure E). It's necessary to create a gluing surface on all six blocks so each one can be attached to a form.

Forms (figure F)are just templates used to hold the blocks temporarily in place. Different violin styles require different forms. Makers who develop a unique violin use a unique form. The forms used here at the Chicago School of Violin Making are patterned after the greatest violins ever made. Students have the option of building violins like those of made by masters such as Stradivari (figure G) or Guarneri.

Figure F

Figure G

After they're planed the blocks are temporarily glued to the chosen form (figures H and I). It's important to note that the form is not actually part of the violin. Its only purpose is to hold the blocks in position until the ribs are added. Then the form's usefulness will have run its course and be removed.

Figure H

Figure I

Figure J

When the blocks are dry and holding firmly to the form , Becky uses a template to scribe the violins shape onto the blocks (figure J).

The violin's beauty and elegance will be defined by the c-curve or c-bout. That's where the corner blocks hold the ribs in place at the waist. When the ribs are glued into place the blocks must be shaped perfectly.

Becky's next Challenge after marking the corner blocks is to carve away the excess spruce and shape the block precisely to make way for the ribs (figures K and L). This work is slow and methodical. Careful cuts are required because the fix for going to far is to take the block from the form and start all over.

Figure K

Figure L

In the segment that follows, Becky demonstrates how thin maple strips are bent to form the c-curve using steam and a hot iron.

RESOURCES :

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Authors: Chris Johnson and Roy Courtnall
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Order this book from Amazon.com.

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