DIY Network

Handmade Violin, Part 13: Finis From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-204

The final polish removes any brush marks left by the varnishing process.

In this final segment in DIY's Handmade Music series on violin making, the final steps are completed to give this instrument its voice. The final add-ons are installed -- including the pegs, sound-post, bridge and strings -- so that the first sounds can be made on this newly created instrument.

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With the vanishing and polishing done, the visual transformation is complete. But the violin needs several "add-ons" before it can be played. Expert violin-maker Fred Thompson begins the set-up by gluing on the finger-board. He first uses a knife to remove the temporary protective-block that was placed on the neck during varnishing. Then he glues the fingerboard back into position using hide-glue. With the fingerboard in place, he allows several hours for the glue to dry.

With the fingerboard installed and dressed, the remaining bare-wood section of the neck will be sealed with shellac and polish. This portion of the violin is not varnished since the varnish would wear off when the instrument is played, and could cause stickiness that could impede movement of the musicians fingers. This section will be sealed and polished, but basically kept as bare wood so that it remains smooth.

Installing the pegs.

The violin is now practically complete. The next step is to add the pegs to the scroll section of the neck. Setting the pegs is fairly simple and, obviously, important. A peg reamer sizes each hole, and the pegs are firmly put into place to await the strings.

Before string can be added, one of the least impressive looking -- but most important -- components has to be added: the sound post. This is a simple wooden dowel that must be installed without glue. "The sound post has a couple of functions," says Thompson. "It supports the top under the treble-foot of the bridge. There's quite a bit of downward pressure there from the strings. It also effects the way the top of the violin vibrates and the way it produces sound, so the position is very important. It also has to fit snugly and well inside." Fred uses a special tool to insert the post through the violin's F-hole.

The bridge.

Equally ital to the performance of the violin, the bridge is added next. From a blank, Fred carves a custom fit for this violin bridge. He adjusts the height and its relationship to the fingerboard. Also, he trims the bridge-feet to fit the arch of the top-plate.

Each string is added, one end in the tailpiece and the other end through its peg. Finally, a sound emerges from all the hard work that has gone before. This violin is now, as they say at the school, "in the books. " But students here at the Chicago School of Violin Making build cellos and violas as well. All three varieties share similar quality traits.

The instrument's outline gives an overall picture. A graceful symmetry in the arching indicates quality. Smooth transitions from all points are part of a great violin as well, and the F-holes are a dead giveaway to a job well done. Symmetry, position, size and shape are all clues to good f-holes. Fiinally, good varnish is obvious even to the layman. Even application , minimal brush marks and good color are lofty goals to which students at the Chicago School aspire. But the ultimate goal of any student is a real-world application -- the way the instrument sounds when it's played.

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
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Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use
Author: Henry A Strobel
Publisher: Henry Strobel Publisher (5th edition - July, 1989)
ISBN: 0962067326
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The Violin Makers of the Guarneri Family, 1626-1762
Authors: William Henry Hill, Arthur F. Hill, Hill Alfred Ebsworth
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Antonio Stradivari, His Life and Work, 1644-1737
Author: William Henry Hill
Publisher: Dover Publications (2nd edition - June, 1963)
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An Encyclopedia of the Violin
Author: Alberto Abraham Bachmann
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