Hello world! I make Viola-Shaped-Objects. It's fun and requires no training!
i'm just now starting to make VSO#5, please join me for a good laugh if you like.
i begin my “process” by drawing. there are many things I like about many different violas, so I try to cram as many favorite qualities as i can in a Frankenstein instrument.
In drawing a “design”, I’m looking to put the bridge almost center on the top and keep a stop length appropriate for a 365mm string length, which works out best for my fingers. The stop length is the distance between the shoulders of the viola where the neck joins the body to the bridge of the instrument. This length must be within a certain ratio in relation to the length of the neck of the viola (nut to shoulder). Otherwise the instrument will feel out of proportion as you shift hand position.here's an interesting article about those proportions i'm referring to in pdf: http://www.maestronet.com/m_library/violin_violinist/19431210.pdf
another thing to consider is the width of the middle C-bouts. on my first viola, the bouts were too wide, bowing the C or E string (5 string) meant bowing onto the bouts. the neck has to be reset at a more acute angle to compensate. i'm not the first to encounter this of course, have a read here.
you'll find i won't offer much by way of measurements and templates, i don't how how. every instrument is about deaing with whatever i happen to get closest too. the arching on the back for instance is determined by how thick my planks happen to be, i don't own measuring calipers, so everything is done by touch and eyeballing the sucker.
things in my life seem to happen backwards, so back starts making with. I bought this $35 two piece maple back from International Violin Company and proceeded to try and join the planks. this is hard stuff... I spent 3 hours planning ½ an inch off each side and still couldn’t get the halves to join seamlessly! i prefer one piece backs because there is less work to do. plus one or two makes no provable difference in sound.
I can keep going and will probably join it eventually, but what am I going to do with a ½ size violin?
on with "Plan B"
Plan B requires me to rough out the back arching on both planks with my Wecheer powered carver (my favorite little monster) and then plane them on a make-shift shooting board. The thinned edge on both planks makes it easier to join. Joining is done by nailing one plank down and wedging the other tightly up against it. All the available neck material I have is laid on top of the planks to prevent them from flipping up due to clamping pressure. I use 5 minute epoxy for joining.
Once the (yes, you read it right) epoxy is dry, I cut out the viola form and proceed to thin the edges with the Safe-T planer, which is this wheel armed with sharp mowing blades underneath it. Having mounted the plane on a drill press and adjusted to a specific height, anything taller than my height setting is sheared off. Wonderful… the process creates a nice flat border around the fiddle in preparation for the purfling process.
unfortunately, the planks flipped up overnight, and now we have a strong glue line showing down the length of the back. if this was hide glue, we could undo the join and start all over again, but it's a little too late for this one. oh well... what the heck, I'm no Stradivarius. It's close enough for jazz, we're not saving lives here! On i go with the hollowing out of the back.
turning to Michael Darnton's website is always a help:
http://darntonviolins.com/viola.php
to be continued...
