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hey, cat..... have you started one from scratch yet? i don't have the tools to make mine perfect and fear that the violin will suffer. this post is really the reason i dove into mine. i was contemplating a kit and just said what the lllllll spruce is hard to come by. maple is a little easier but the tools to do the graduation do cost some $$$$
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eoj02 said
hey, cat..... have you started one from scratch yet? i don't have the tools to make mine perfect and fear that the violin will suffer. this post is really the reason i dove into mine. i was contemplating a kit and just said what the lllllll spruce is hard to come by. maple is a little easier but the tools to do the graduation do cost some $$$$
I have not started on my "scratch" fiddle yet - I promised the OH that I would finish Ruby first.
Whatever tools you have will do just fine, so long as you're not bent on perfection. If Strad had possessed a disc sander, you can bet he would have used it, at least to get the heavy work done faster 
There are many instructional sites online that will show you how to make your own tools if you're inclined that way.
For graduation I have a nice gouge, a finger plane and scrapers, which will likely do the job.
You might consider pine or fir for your top instead of oak - Bruce Ossman recommends you visit your local lumber yard and find a 2 x 6 with a fine grain that is quarter sawn, split it down the middle for a book-matched front. Of course, spruce is the number one choice, but there are many builders using fir and pine and getting good results. You might be disappointed with the sound of an oak belly...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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Ruby is finally getting some color! Before -
In process -
And hung up to dry -
The ground is a mixture of water, brown sugar, honey and black tea. I wanted a warmer, redder ground for Ruby - the SFF was intended to be as pale as possible, but Ruby needs a darker ground to help reflect the light through the red varnish. Several coats of the sugar mixture will be brushed on with very light sanding between coats. Then shellac, then varnish if Spring ever gets here!
I wrote a couple of long blog posts on the ground system I'm using, so I won't repeat that info here for fear of boring you all to tears 
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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damn, I LOVE that dark stripe up the middle. That thing is going to turn out so nice, you'll be afraid to play it in public! Have to get an insurance policy on it like a Strad.
Nice work... it certainly makes you wonder why more violins don't cost a lot more than they do, look at all the work and time involved. WOW
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
A lot of violins today are made on a carving duplicator and the finish is sprayed on. Hand carved can mean that a person put the wood into the machine or just touched it up.
I like how you masked off the neck so you can still blend the finish to the neck and not get that perfect line.
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cdennyb said
damn, I LOVE that dark stripe up the middle. That thing is going to turn out so nice, you'll be afraid to play it in public! Have to get an insurance policy on it like a Strad.Nice work... it certainly makes you wonder why more violins don't cost a lot more than they do, look at all the work and time involved. WOW
The stripes are pretty cool, I agree. It will be up to MGN if he wants to insure it to play in public 
It's a ton of fun and now things will move forward much faster, providing the weather warms up. The ground can be done inside and hung by the wood stove to dry. The OH is going out of town for a week or so, so I may do the shellac layers in the house, too...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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Kevin M. said
I like how you masked off the neck so you can still blend the finish to the neck and not get that perfect line.
Thanks, Kevin - I learned the hard way on the SFF that a bit of tape would be a good idea - what a mess, varnish all over my hands and a sloppy line. Live and learn. This method should clean up easily with a scraper and a bit of very fine sandpaper. I hope. We'll see...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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I feel like it would be hard to give that violin up and it's not even mine.....
You have to be strong Cat.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said
I feel like it would be hard to give that violin up and it's not even mine.....
You have to be strong Cat.
I have three good fiddles (even if one really isn't mine,) plans to build at least two more (and a viola for my son) and two more in pieces, so it's not like I'll be giving up my only fiddle
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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I don't know what to say right now but I will....
Ruby is wonderful!.
Cat n I sorta look the same...Look at our pics. My OH says the same thing.
Well anyways, the red fiddle has a name and we call her Ruby.
And I just know that Cat will finish in first place so to speak.
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You do realize that you'll only be half done after the violin is finished don't you?
Time to get in the mood of making your own bow also. Here's how a modern day bow maker does it in 20 minutes of video... very interesting stuff.
http://www.diynetwork.com/vide.....40126.html
you can get your supplies here as well...
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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LOL! Don't think I don't know it, Denny Tools and jigs first, then bows
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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CatMcCall said
LOL! Don't think I don't know it, Denny
I was reading up on the design of bows and noticed this very interesting article, complete with references, and it even mentioned about removing the silver stripping just above the frog... to make the bow sound better. referencing that pre-1920-30 violins were made with no intention of being played with steel strings. The winding on the bow acts like a dampener. WOW, this stuff is so technical... I love it.
http://www.andreasgrutter.nl/b.....r-bow.html
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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cdennyb said
CatMcCall said
LOL! Don't think I don't know it, DennyI was reading up on the design of bows and noticed this very interesting article, complete with references, and it even mentioned about removing the silver stripping just above the frog... to make the bow sound better. referencing that pre-1920-30 violins were made with no intention of being played with steel strings. The winding on the bow acts like a dampener. WOW, this stuff is so technical... I love it.
http://www.andreasgrutter.nl/b.....r-bow.html
Thanks, what a great article and insight into the bow. Until now it was just something I picked up, screwed in a few times before using, screwed out a few times after using and applied a bit of something that looked like it might contain an insect from the Jurrasic period every now and again.
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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Just a matter of time before you make one right Dennis?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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well, honestly... I think it would be an honor to make something so beautiful that sounded so good so my kids could fight over it when I'm gone, but I think I'm a little too old to start now.
Maybe not, but I don't think I have the time to devote to making it worthy of calling it a violin.
I even checked into a Luthiers School up in Utah awhile back, cost something like $10K for three years of classes, from like 8 to 5 every day of the week. You make 6 or 7 violins from scratch during that period and even go into the woods to look at trees for the wood used. The last one you make was your final grade (and the only one you get to keep).
But being able to just play a few tunes is plenty for me to satisfy the burning desire to hear the strings. I'm not interested in playing on stage, nor do I want to wear a tux and play for stuffy people at weddings, (no offense), nor do I have the desire to play bluegrass at a barn dance or anything... I'm just happy to play for me and I don't complain if a note isn't perfect in pitch and tone. LOL
We'll see, you never know what the future holds...
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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myguitarnow said
Cat n I sorta look the same...Look at our pics. My OH says the same thing.
Are we long lost relatives? My Grandpa was in the navy and often told my Mom that she likely had siblings overseas...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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Second ground coat on Ruby. The color is considerably darker than the last coat - I mixed up a new ground batch, leaving out the honey (first coat didn't dry very well, probably the fault of the honey) and adding a tsp of red tea powder. I like it a lot! The pics of the front and back are a bit darker than in Real Life, but the rib shot is pretty close.
My camera can't quite capture the shine, but trust me, it is there! This coat is almost dry already, hanging on the enclosed porch in the sun. Maybe one more coat and then it's on to shellac.
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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