DIY Network

Handmade Violin, Part 11: Mortise and Assembly From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-204

This fourth episode of DIY's five-part series on violin-making focuses the final stages in the creation of violin -- final assembly, varnishing and polishing. Previous episodes have focused on the violin's rib construction, the top and back plates, the neck and the scroll. In the final episode dealing with the instrument itself, Becky Elliott and Fred Thompson, directors at the Chicago School of Violin Making, lead viewers through the final stages in the completion of the violin process of creating and shaping the neck. Some of the schools students share some of their techniques and experiences as well. In a later episode, the process of creating the violin bow will be addressed.

In this first segment Kwangho Lee, a third-year student at the Chicago School creates the mortise in the violin body to accommodate the neck, and glues the pieces together.

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We've been observing the process of building a violin in stages at the Chicago School of Violin Making. Now, with the help of some of the school's students, students, it all comes together. We've watched the students and their instructors build a body. It began with the sides, or ribs. Then after crafting two plates (a top and a back) everything was glued together. From there, the neck was carved with particular attention to the scroll. Now the neck and the body have to be joined. Then the instrument will be varnished. Set-up will follow, butt first a mortise must be cut into the body. This will make way for the neck.

The Mortise

Kwangho Lee is a third-year student at the Chicago School of Violin Making, puts the final touches on the mortise. Before the neck is glued to the body, final measurements are taken. He checks two things: how high the fingerboard rises over the top-plate, and the all-important centerline.

The fingerboard and the center of the scroll have to line-up with the instrument's center. It's another way of saying it must be balanced. Previously the neck's width was carved with the fingerboard as a guide. Now the neck's thickness is carved. Kwangho marks the where the ribs contact the neck and uses those marks to shape the button. He carves the shape primarily with a knife. Additionally, the button helps determine the remaining proportions of the neck. Kwangho shapes the neck to those new proportions first with a gouge and then with a knife.

Finally, with the carving complete, the neck can be glued to the violin body. Remember that the fingerboard is only temporarily attached. It's been used to align the neck and serve as a template, but when the neck is firmly attached, the fingerboard will be removed. Only after varnishing will the fingerboard be permanently mounted to the neck. This step really should be a "no-brainer" since all the difficult work and tough decision were made when the mortise was cut. If that's done properly, the gluing is a simple, stress-free process.

	Fred Thompson, co-director of the Chicago School of Violin Making.
	Co-director and expert violin-maker Becky Elliott.

In the segment that follows, students at the Chicago School receive a valuable lesson in violin history, and our handmade violin receives its varnish and final polish.

RESOURCES :

The Art of Violin Making
Authors: Chris Johnson and Roy Courtnall
Published by: Robert Hale & Company (1998)
ISBN: 0709058764
Order this book from Amazon.com.

Violin Making: A Practical Guide
Author: Juliet Barker
Publisher: Crowood Press [UK] (2001)
ISBN: 1861264364
Order this book from Amazon.com.

Violin Making: A Guide for the Amateur
Author: Bruce Ossman
Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing Company (1998)
ISBN: 1565230914
Order this book from Amazon.com.

Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use
Author: Henry A Strobel
Publisher: Henry Strobel Publisher (5th edition - July, 1989)
ISBN: 0962067326
Order this book from Amazon.com.

The Violin Makers of the Guarneri Family, 1626-1762
Authors: William Henry Hill, Arthur F. Hill, Hill Alfred Ebsworth
Publisher: Dover Publications; (Reprint edition - October, 1989)
ISBN: 0486260615
Order this book from Amazon.com.

Antonio Stradivari, His Life and Work, 1644-1737
Author: William Henry Hill
Publisher: Dover Publications (2nd edition - June, 1963)
ISBN: 0486204251
Order this book from Amazon.com.

An Encyclopedia of the Violin
Author: Alberto Abraham Bachmann
Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 1975)
ISBN: 0306800047
Order this book from Amazon.com.