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Posts: 1708
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: Nice violin making video (in reply to JuanDaBomb)
I found that blotting of the finish with his hand interesting, too. I guessed that he was removing some of the first, darker, finish to make space for the second, lighter, color. Something akin to the sunburst pattern used on some steel string guitars that violin makers do, it seems to me. But I'm just guessing.
I got to hand it to you guys its such a labour of love , so fiddley (no pun) and so many chances of things going wrong and breaking ... we need a more realistic video of a luthier putting the chisel straight through the back plate or cracking the side .. and hence a stream of choice words can be beeped out ...
but really it is good and must be a great sense of achievement to finish one .. guitar or violin. and remember it will still be around and playing long after the maker is gone ...
i really dont know how you guys do it .. i was so pleased when i made my curvey ash wood mantelpiece recently 1.6 mts by 7 cm deep ..awsome
anyway , also the playing of an instrument you just finished, thats got to be a special moment ... and a lot of worried listening ... how do you celebrate /? anything special .. or , like him , just say ..well thats one violin .. and then start another..?
its just something not anybody can do and to do it well , even less people ... and yet behind every musician is an instrument or 2
wood has such a nice smell too , but maybe it would be easier to work with plastic sheets .. easier to cut and bend , and glue together ... and a big range of colours available ...
Yes, nice video. My way of building violins is basically the same. I just find it scary how he rests the plate on the ends only while chopping out the inside of the plate 1:42. Standard is to use a crate that supports the edges all around the plate. In the video he´s making the soundboard which is soft wood. The back (maple) is a lot harder to work and you put a lot more pressure into the gouge, so this jig looks a bit fragile in my eyes. But i expect the builder to know better than me
The dapping of the lacquer is to make "patina", give life to the violin and make it look older than it is. This is not done by everyone. I personally like it a lot: (my #4)
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When you have the edges finish paling as if worn out like with antiques, the bright maple is coming through. To my eye appearing conflicting, for with an aged instrument the woods surface right under the finish would have oxydised or stained from usage.
Would it be uncommon / undoable to prepare the wood at these sections, like say by rubbing it a bit with ashes, or whatever method to make it appear a bit dirty / aged?
Ruphus
PS: As violines ought to be traded pretty expensive the minute they bear decent quality, while yours very likely are pretty good; if I may ask, what prices do you realize, Anders?
Padding ('blotting') is also a strategy for getting a lot of color on evenly in the violin world. The variations are something of a quagmire of specialized nomenclature, goals, and individual practice.
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I cringed when he chisels towards his hand though 
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