Official Luthiers Forum!
http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/

progress photos if a violin.
http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=15841
Page 1 of 2

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:22 am ]
Post subject:  progress photos if a violin.

Here are some shots of a violin top I am hoping to finish today. there is a shot after the rough arching has been done. The next shot is after the f- holes have been cut and th last shot is the on bass bar just lying inside the top. I will start the chalk fitting process next and should be finish shortly if I don't have too many interruptions.

Author:  LanceK [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Gorgeous! [:Y:]
Barry, do you know of a violin builder in Ann Arbor?
I saw a PBS special about him years ago and cannot recall his name.

Author:  WaddyThomson [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Beautiful work, Barry. I am impressed with the intricacy of your detail. Violins are in a world of their own, construction wise. Many subtle little details that have to be pulled together.

Author:  John Kinnaird [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Looks great Barry
I want to see the purfling channels cut!! And i would like to see the rest of this build sequence.

John

Author:  ChuckH [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Hey Barry,
I just wrote a big long reply and lost all of it when I tried to submit it. Now I don't feel like retyping it all over again.
Anyway, it looks really good. What is your method of fitting the bass bar? I mean once you get the rough shape do you lay sandpaper the entire length of the bar and gently sand to the final shape and then chalk fit? There is nothing straight on the bottom where bar meets plate. It took me a couple days to get this bar to fit perfect. Since it is curved length ways and also curved width ways when I'd shave a bit from one area, it would cause a gap in an other area. Finally with much patience it was done.
Also, everytime I use my gouges I seems to nick myself and alway have to have band-aids close by. Have you ever got blood stains on the wood and if so, how do you get them out?
Here's a bass bar I replace a month ago with my blood signature forever signed.
Attachment:
DSC02297.JPG

Attachment:
DSC02298.JPG

Attachment:
DSC02302.JPG

Author:  ChuckH [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

One other question. Do you use the wooden bass bar clamps that kinda look like bit cloths pins without the spring? I wonder, could you use a Go-Bar deck to hold the bar after gluing? How about springing the bar, would you do that for a fiddle you've just made?
One more thing to pick your brain. This violin I have don't have corner blocks in the upper bout, just in the lower bout. I've decided to go ahead and put them in but I'm torn with the ethics of it. Some say that this was the intention of the maker and to change that are we destoying authenticity or are we correcting the maker's mistakes, and should we do either?

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Chuck it is very very important that the bass bar fit as absolutely perfect as possible. I hold my square stock along the line I have laid out on the inside of the top. Then I take a washer and as the washer rolls the length of the bass bar I hold a pencil in the hole of the washer and scribe the line onto the bass bar stock.
Then I rough cut to that line with a small block plane or a knife. That is where the bass bar in the picture is. Then rub chalk on the inside of the top wher the bass bar wil fit and place the bass bar down inplace on the top and move it ever so slightly end to end...only a couple of m/m's. When pick the bass bar up chalk will be transfered to the spots that touch the top. With a knife I cut ONLY the place wher the is chalk and then repeat the process several time. Each time you will find more and more of the bass bar it touching the top and eventually you will have the entire bass bar touching and then your finished!

It also helps to make sure the inside surface of the top where the bass bar is to fit, is as smooth as possible by using scrapers to smooth out the graduation makers.

It is also important that you have the top attached to something that holds it flat anf firm while you fit the bass bar. so that the top does not flex during the fitting process and cause false readings.

I do not use the bass bar clamps, I use wooden cam clamps.

I hope the explanation makes sense.

Author:  Parser [ Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Beautiful carving job!

I understand that the profile is a cycloid...would you be able to shed a little light on what thicknesses you carve the top and back to?

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Here are the back and sides for the top shown above. As you can see it is not your standard violin wood...maple. It is bubinga. This is the 2nd 5 string made from bubinga and the first was the best violin I have ever made. It was made for Tania Elizabeth with "The Duhks"
This violin is being made for Darol Anger.
Image

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Image

Author:  KenH [ Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

I dont know enough about violins to even make an intelligent comment. I will say that I am blown away with the skill you have for carving. I am deeply fascinated by this!!

Author:  Zach Ehley [ Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Wow. Knowing absolutly nothing about violin making, I'd really love to see some more pics of the inside. What sort of bracing goes into these? Just a bass bar?

Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Man, that is gorgeous Barry! Love the choice of woods for the back and sides!

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Thanks, carving bubinga is really tough. It is hard line a brick and hard on the gouges.
I violin only has one brace, the bass bar. It also has a sound post that is placed between the top and the back under the treble foot of the bridge.

Author:  Laurent Brondel [ Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Beautiful work Barry, and it's refreshing to see something different. I'm also very curious as to how a denser wood than maple affects the sound of the violin.

Author:  Arnt Rian [ Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Lovely looking violin, Barry.

Barry Dudley wrote:
This violin is being made for Darol Anger.


The Darol Anger? Wow...

Author:  D.L.Huskey [ Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Barry,
That looks excellent. What kind of neck will you use?

Also, what other woods have you used besides maple?

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Here is a neck I made out of the bubinga. It was bi@#h to carve!! The violin was awsome. It is being played by Tania Elizabeth. I also have some very loosely constructed ideas/theories about vibrating mass in the neck. On a side, if any of you have done any work with stiffening necks, adding weight/mass into necks etc as a method to concentrate the sting power into the body I would love to hear it.
Image
The neck I am making for the violin under construction is going to have a maple/ebony laminated neck like this.
Image
This is a neck that I put on David Blackmon's 5 string.

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Here the box is being closed.
Image

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

The neck is next.
Image
The neck joint.
Image

Author:  Barry Dudley [ Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

the scroll.
Image
A little more work and I'll be ready to glue the neck on.

Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Wow Barry, I'm speechless. Cool stuff.

Author:  Dave Higham [ Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

Darrol Anger AND the Duhks! Violin maker to the stars, eh? Well, I think they're stars.

Beautiful work, Barry. Close-up photos like that show your level of craftsmanship.

Author:  crich [ Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

WOW. I don't know a thing about building violins, but I can appreciate the craftsmanship. How do you approach installing purflings. By hand? Clinton

Author:  Michael Jin [ Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: progress photos if a violin.

wow... :shock: stunning

Page 1 of 2 All times are UTC - 5 hours
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/