Tag Archives: 2022

Completed Viola #2

This is a repeat of a first very successful commissioned instrument. It is small with a body length of only 390mm (15.4″) that is based on an 1830 Guadagnini and the record of that first build can be found here.

I visited Steffen Nowak again in Bristol to select the wood.  His selection was a little limited due to Covid but still had some lovely figured sets to choose from.  What I ended up with choosing was some well seasoned Bosnian maple from 2011 for the back sides and neck and some Alpine spruce from 1992 for the front.

I am keeping the design the same and the build process for #2 is recorded below:

  • Wood from Steffen Nowak. 30 year old spruce and 12 year old maple.
    Wood from Steffen Nowak. 30 year old spruce and 12 year old maple.
  • Neck blank rough cut out to give it a chance to settle before final shaping.
    Neck blank rough cut out to give it a chance to settle before final shaping.
  • Spruce blank sawn through
    Spruce blank sawn through
  • rib blanks
    rib blanks
  • Ribs thicknessed to 1.1mm
    Ribs thicknessed to 1.1mm
  • Maple back blank resawn before bookmatch jointing
    Maple back blank resawn before bookmatch jointing
  • Rubbed joint on back
    Rubbed joint on back
  • Ready to glue in the willow blocks
    Ready to glue in the willow blocks
  • Spruce front rubbed joint
    Spruce front rubbed joint
  • Willow blocks glued into the form
    Willow blocks glued into the form
  • Blocks marked for carving
    Blocks marked for carving
  • Blocks carved ready to take ribs
    Blocks carved ready to take ribs
  • Inside of the back flattened
    Inside of the back flattened
  • Front flattened
    Front flattened
  • Front rough thicknessed to 18mm
    Front rough thicknessed to 18mm
  • Back rough thicknessed to 16.5mm
    Back rough thicknessed to 16.5mm
  • Ribs cut to length and grain patterns oriented
    Ribs cut to length and grain patterns oriented
  • Glueing in the C bout ribs
    Glueing in the C bout ribs
  • Gluing in the lower bout ribs
    Gluing in the lower bout ribs
  • Gluing on the remaining ribs
    Gluing on the remaining ribs
  • Marking out the back profile around the ribs using a washer to give the 2.8mm overhang.
    Marking out the back profile around the ribs using a washer to give the 2.8mm overhang.
  • Back marked up ready to cut out on the bandsaw
    Back marked up ready to cut out on the bandsaw
  • Front profile marked ready for cutting out
    Front profile marked ready for cutting out
  • Gluing in C-bout linings on the back
    Gluing in C-bout linings on the back
  • Linings fitted to back and levelled off flush with top of ribs.
    Linings fitted to back and levelled off flush with top of ribs.
  • Back cutout on bandsaw
    Back cutout on bandsaw
  • Front cutout on bandsaw
    Front cutout on bandsaw
  • Rough carving the back with chisels
    Rough carving the back with chisels
  • Carving the back using thumb plane
    Carving the back using thumb plane
  • It's a long process and the maple is really hard!
    It’s a long process and the maple is really hard!
  • Back profile finally finished after days of chiselling, planing and scraping
    Back profile finally finished after days of chiselling, planing and scraping
  • Started to chisel out belly outside profile - so much easier than the maple on the back
    Started to chisel out belly outside profile – so much easier than the maple on the back
  • Nearly finished with thumb planes on the outside profile - scrapers next
    Nearly finished with thumb planes on the outside profile – scrapers next
  • Temporarily tacking the back and belly to ribs in order to set the edge overhang before marking and cutting purfling grooves.
    Temporarily tacking the back and belly to ribs in order to set the edge overhang before marking and cutting purfling grooves.
  • Standoffs taped to file for finishing the edge overhang
    Standoffs taped to file for finishing the edge overhang
  • Edges all trued up ready for marking purfling slots
    Edges all trued up ready for marking purfling slots
  • Veneer cut ready for gluing up the purfling sandwich
    Veneer cut ready for gluing up the purfling sandwich
  • Gluing the purfling sandwich
    Gluing the purfling sandwich
  • Started purfling slots
    Started purfling slots
  • Purfling slots cut on the top
    Purfling slots cut on the top
  • Purfling sliced up on bandsaw
    Purfling sliced up on bandsaw
  • Purfling slots cut on the back
    Purfling slots cut on the back
  • Purfling dry fitted to back
    Purfling dry fitted to back
  • Purfling levelled off on back before cutting the purflng channel
    Purfling levelled off on back before cutting the purflng channel
  • Finished cutting and fairing in the channels on the back
    Finished cutting and fairing in the channels on the back
  • Finished cutting and fairing in the channels on the top
    Finished cutting and fairing in the channels on the top
  • Carving out the back with gouges
    Carving out the back with gouges
  • Carving out the inside of the back with thumb planes
    Carving out the inside of the back with thumb planes
  • Mode 5 309hz - early stage in plate tuning process
    Mode 5 309hz – early stage in plate tuning process
  • Mode 2 - early stage in plate tuning process
    Mode 2 – early stage in plate tuning process
  • Roughing out inside of top with gouges and thumb planes
    Roughing out inside of top with gouges and thumb planes
  • Mode 2 @ 130.8Hz on belly
    Mode 2 @ 130.8Hz on belly
  • Mode 5 @ 260.9Hz on belly
    Mode 5 @ 260.9Hz on belly
  • Final contours on back
    Final contours on back
  • Mode 2 @ 126.8Hz on back
    Mode 2 @ 126.8Hz on back
  • Mode 5 @ 263.2Hz on back
    Mode 5 @ 263.2Hz on back
  • Marking out f holes
    Marking out f holes
  • f holes cut
    f holes cut
  • Gluing in bass bar after chalk fitting
    Gluing in bass bar after chalk fitting
  • Initial mode 2 @ 133Hz after fitting bass bar
    Initial mode 2 @ 133Hz after fitting bass bar
  • Initial mode 5 @ 282 after fitting bass bar
    Initial mode 5 @ 282 after fitting bass bar
  • Mode 2 @ 127.1Hz on back
    Mode 2 @ 127.1Hz on back
  • Mode 5 @ 262Hz on back
    Mode 5 @ 262Hz on back
  • Mode 5 @ 255.9Hz on belly after bass bar tuned
    Mode 5 @ 255.9Hz on belly after bass bar tuned
  • Mode 2 @ 127.8Hz on belly after bass bar tuned
    Mode 2 @ 127.8Hz on belly after bass bar tuned
  • Blocks carved back ready for glueing on the back
    Blocks carved back ready for glueing on the back
  • Gluing on the back
    Gluing on the back
  • Adding the linings on the front after removing the form
    Adding the linings on the front after removing the form
  • Measuring mode 5 frequency (dropped to 227Hz) on the attached back
    Measuring mode 5 frequency (dropped to 227Hz) on the attached back
  • Blocks carved back and cleaned up ready to glue on the top
    Blocks carved back and cleaned up ready to glue on the top
  • Gluing on the top
    Gluing on the top
  • Box closed up
    Box closed up
  • Neck blank trued up and marked up ready for carving.
    Neck blank trued up and marked up ready for carving.
  • Just needto add flutings now
    Just needto add flutings now
  • The finished scroll
    The finished scroll
  • Fingerboard shaped
    Fingerboard shaped
  • neck joint cut
    neck joint cut
  • Finished neck and fingerboard ready to glue onto body.
    Finished neck and fingerboard ready to glue onto body.
  • Gluing on the neck
    Gluing on the neck
  • After a couple of coats of Vernice bianca
    After a couple of coats of Vernice bianca
  • Finished instrument after 2 coats of Vernice Bianca, 1 coat of shellac and 10 coats of oil varnish.
    Finished instrument after 2 coats of Vernice Bianca, 1 coat of shellac and 10 coats of oil varnish.

Here are some pictures of the finished instrument which weighs in at 522g (without chinrest):

Viola #2 front
Viola #2 back
Viola #2 side view

Making Cello No.4

Design

I decided to have a go at another cello because I enjoy building them so much!  Of course I also wanted to improve on the cellos built so far by making a few judicious design changes and tweaking the build process based on experience with the earlier builds.

The key design changes were:

  • Sight changes to the archings (25mm belly and 23mm back)
  • Reduce f/b side thickness to 7.5mm from 8mm
  • Change break angles over the strings to improve playability (19.5 degrees ADG and 24 degrees DGC)
  • Changed f/b profile to match change in bridge profile
  • Increase over-stand by a few mm to 22mm
  • Attempt to increase Mode2 and Mode 5 plate frequencies to around 65Hz and 130Hz
  • Colouring the instrument a richer chestnut brown 

The resultant design drawings done using solvespace are below.

cello template da2 top

cello #4 back profile

cello #4 belly profile

fingerboard profile #4

cello #4 side view

cello #4 neck

I also decided to make use of my CNC router to build new 6mm MDF templates based on these drawings.

Build process

As usual, not everything went perfectly to plan but most of the desired changes seemed to work.  The one area I had real difficulty with this time was tuning the plates especially as i was trying to hit higher resonant frequencies this time around.  As I was trying to tune the top I was having real difficulty getting mode 2 and 5 and octave apart – the ring mode just didn’t want to drop.  Then I happened to wash the outside of the top to get rid of some surface bruising (from when the top was drilled out) and the following morning it suddenly started to behave properly!  My assumption is there must have been some latent stresses in the spruce and the wetting allowed them to settle out – a bit like annealing.  Anyway I ended up with Mode 2 and 5 exactly an octave apart and matching on back and top at 60Hz and 120Hz respectively.

The finished instrument is a beautiful chestnut colour and has wonderful a rich singing tone using a set of Larsen Magnacores.  I have christened her “Doris” and she weighs in at 3.01kg.

I am delighted with her – a definite keeper!

The finished instrument

The following gallery illustrates the build process.