DIY Network

Handmade Violin, Part 8: Interior Linings and Blocks From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-203

This third episode of DIY's five-part series on violin-making focuses mainly on creating the violin's neck and scroll. Previous episodes have focused on the violin's rib construction and the top and back plates. Becky Elliott and Fred Thompson, directors at the Chicago School of Violin Making, lead viewers through the process of creating and shaping the neck. Some of the schools students share some of their techniques and experiences as well.

In this first segment, the violin form is removed and work begins on trimming the interior wood blocks and adding wood linings to the inside.

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Work begins with removing the form from the back plate and ribs. The form is not part of the violin, but is a temporary means of holding the blocks in place from the inside until the ribs and plates are installed. Now that we've glued the back-plate to the ribs, the form has served its purpose. Third-year student Jeremy Koons taps the blocks to loosen the form (figure A) then removes the form once and for all (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

With the form removed, it's possible to see the back plate glued to the ribs (figure C). The linings for the back-plate are now visible. This view also hints at the next phase of the process. The inside edge of each block (figure D) needs trimming and the front-plate linings have to be added. Only then can the front plate be added to the body.

Figure C

Figure D

Jeremy begins the process of adding the linings (figure E). Just like the back plate's linings, these are made from spruce and they're bent with a bending iron to mimic the violin's outline. The purpose of the linings is to give the thin ribs more glue surface. This gives the plate a wider perch. They have to be snug to prevent the violin from "buzzing," and the mortises cut into the blocks enhance the fit. Multiple clamps hold the linings in place as the glue dries (figure F).

Figure E

Figure F

With the linings in place, second-year-student Trudy Scott trims the blocks to remove the extra wood that dampens the violin's sound. The process includes smoothing and refining the inner blocks by hand with a scraper (figures G and H). She leaves the end blocks with plenty of excess because those spots will support more violin structure -- like the neck and endpin. But the corner blocks are trimmed flush with the ribs.

Trudy first became interested in violin-making when her children were taking Suzuki lessons to learn how to play violin. In that program, young students start with small violins, then graduate sequentially to larger ones as they grow. Renting or purchasing multiple violins for three children can get very costly, so Trudy researched the possibility of making violins. That led her eventually to the Chicago school.

Figure G

Figure H

	Trudy Scott, second-year-student at the Chicago School of Violin Making, explains how she first became interested in violin making. With three children learning to play violin, her original incentive was financial.
	Fred Thompson, co-director at the Chicago School of Violin Making, works on a cello.
	The violin body is prepped for the addition of the top plate.

In the segment that follows, work continues with gluing on the front plate to finish the body. Then work begins on to carving the neck.

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