Violin Forum/Message Board

kubasa · Member Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 212

Good discussion. I guess I've used both types of wood. I really like big leaf and englemann and have had good success but I do like the European woods I've used. I've found that I have to be really careful not to chip out the big leaf along the flame lines.

I recently finished making a back out of birdseye sugar maple. That was some very, very hard wood! The weight ended up being 130g for the back. I probably should have thinned the center of the back even more but I went down to 3.7 and stopped there. Oh well, it turned out fine and it was a good experience. Sounds good too. Who needs weight lifting when you can carve out a sugar maple back?

ctviolin · Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:27 am Post subject:

polkat · Member Joined: 16 Aug 2012 Posts: 32

ctviolin, you turned me on once to Francis and I went on to make a single violin (corner-less) using his bent plate technique as an experiment. I used scrap woods (top plate cut from an old piano soundboard) that I probably wouldn't use in an intended 'good' violin. I still have it and play it from time to time...and I think it sounds pretty good!

By the way, I once found a website (can't find it now) that questioned whither or not some of the masters bent their plates. I think they looked along the grain of the top (single piece plate) of some old maker, and discovered that, unlike a carved plate, the grain at the ends curved in toward the center-line (or where it would be if a split plate). This seemed to indicate (somehow?) that the plate was bent and not carved. They had some other explanations as well but I don't remember them. This was apparently seen in several old (and good) instruments!

Any opinion?

ctviolin · Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:55 pm Post subject:

polkat · Member Joined: 16 Aug 2012 Posts: 32

Found the webpage on this! You can read it here (it's not very long).

http://www.scavm.com/Gaddbd.htm

This just explains how to tell, but not whom might have done this. As mentioned, I have made a bent instrument and played one or two others. I suppose this would most likely be found in cheaper factory violins (it is, after all, a time saver-once a bending rig is fabricated) but if the results can make good sounding instruments, it might be a viable consideration.

ctviolin · Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:57 pm Post subject:

polkat · Member Joined: 16 Aug 2012 Posts: 32

Well, as I said, I used pretty much junk woods, but I did think the results were pleasing. To be honest, I didn't want to waste good wood on something I wasn't sure about. I might give it another go with good wood, don't know. I could post a pic of that violin, if I can figure out how to attach photos here.

Chet Bishop · Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:33 am Post subject:

I think it is appropriate to remember that the most costly thing you are investing in the project is your labor. Why waste it on junk wood?

It would make sense (if you are concerned about the difficulty of working with highly flamed wood) to buy the cheaper, plainer maple, just because it is a little easier to work with--but really, even then, it seems to me a cheap investment to buy an extra set of ribs and an extra neck billet, and end up with a really spectacularly beautiful instrument (if that is what you like), rather than investing the same amount of time to get a very plain instrument.

Just my thoughts.
_________________
Chet Bishop
https://bluefiddles.com
https://fivestringfiddles.com

polkat · Member Joined: 16 Aug 2012 Posts: 32

I agree whole heartedly. The only labor here was cutting and bending the top plate. The rest was put together from what I called 'junk' wood, actually meaning old parts I had in my bins. So there was no expense, and the only labor was the top plate and a little gluing. The results were satisfying for me, and it's not something I would ever try to sell. I just wanted to experience bending a top. I did.

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ctviolin · Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 6:30 pm Post subject:

polkat · Member Joined: 16 Aug 2012 Posts: 32

Yea, one piece. I've seen Fulton's article on two piece bending, but not having done it before, I felt it would be simpler to just go one piece. I had this old piece of piano soundboard thinned down years back to about 2.5mm for an experimental mandolin I was going to make. Never did, so I used it for this. I cut it about an inch too wide all the way around (this is Chanot style-cornerless), and then bent it over a fiberglass rig I made from a pic I have of the one Frances Cox made. It bent easily. I trimmed it and cut the F holes afterwards. Done.

Sounds like a bit of work but it really wasn't. Most of the time was in waiting for the wood to dry after bending. I'll post a pic here if I can figure out how. Think it involves the Img box, but can't figure it out.

PS: I didn't mean to drag this away from your original Domestic Wood post, but people started asking questions, so...sorry.

ctviolin · Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:03 pm Post subject:

kubasa · Member Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 212