Violin Forum/Message Board

Dave Chandler · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject: Current Project

I'm just about ready to fit up my latest, Opus 6, quilted maple back and sides. What a pain to work with, but the results I couldn't be more pleased. Still one final rub down and a final varnish still needed, but almost there.

I consulted the "Panel on f-Holes" presented in the Fall 2006 Journal of the Violin Society of America to layout the f-hole pattern, and not happy with results. I checked, rechecked, looked good on paper, but in the end, doesn't look right.

The grain shifts a bit in this piece of spruce which accounts for the unusual patterns.

A sideview of the ribs.

And the scroll, along with the f-holes, not a strong point. The holes are not 100% and still require final fit. I still need to take some finish down with micromesh and put a final varnish on yet.

_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

KenN · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject:

I haven't put varnish on a violin for so long. That's an exciting time. You get to see everything pop out at you. I need to finish carving the neck of the Bergonzi and finish it up! It's been sitting in the living room for months waiting for strings while I play with other instruments.
F holes are strange things. I've drawn them up several different ways, all a variation of the ideas given by Tom King (2 articles found online, I think originally in the Strad?) in "How the cremonese positioned f holes" and How Stradivari positioned f holes. Great articles, I think. Have you ever read them? You can actually figure out how any of the old masters did their f holes, at least the top and bottom holes, and the stop.
I just drew some on the Grancino viola I'm working on and they look good from most angles and not quite right from others. But then again I think Grancino does the best f holes, so I expect a lot from them. I have a Strad model started and don't expect much from them because they don't look that geat in my opinion. But I've only seen them straight on in pictures. Maybe they will surprise me. I draw them on early. The longer you have them drawn on the instrument the longer you have to tweak them in, before you actually cut them in for good.
It's hard to tell how the f holes look in that picture. Maybe you're being a little hard on yourself. F holes and scrolls are about the only ways a maker can express himself. You can be bold, elegant, wild, but it should all go together with the rest of it. Doing a copy you have to decide how the maker thought of himself. Or make a wild Strad.

jessupe goldastini · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 9:08 pm Post subject:

nice back....looks good, it'll be better when its rubbed out...

byacey · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:07 am Post subject:

What are you using for coloring the varnish? It looks pretty bright in the photos, but it may be just the lighting. F holes are a funny thing. I have heard many times that Strads were the closest thing to perfection by many critics, but I always found them to my eye to be sort of pointed looking at the top and bottom. I think this is an illusion due to how much the upper and lower wing turns towards the end holes.

I made a thin sheet brass template for marking mine out with respect to the centerline of the belly; this way they always end up in the same place.

Dave Chandler · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 10:45 am Post subject: current project

It was a bright day outside, I should have adjusted the "saturation" a bit before posting (see how green the grass is too), its not quite as bright in real life, actually a bit browner.

The wood was pretty pink all on its own, the varnish has only brown added. I've got it setting in the sun today to see if I can get it to harden some more before going over it again with a pumice rub, then maybe a rottenstone rub after that.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

Jack H. · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 2:22 pm Post subject: Re: current project

Dave Chandler · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject: new work

For ground I used 1# cut blonde shellac (maybe even a bit thinner is ok) to stabilize all that end grain, and seal it so it won't absorbe any color. It seems every other sq cm is end grain, really crazy stuff, and very difficult to work with. I scraped it again and the quilting really starts to jump out, and then another coat of shellac. Finished with oil varnish. Didn't want to get too dark and lose the impact of the quilting.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

KenN · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:43 pm Post subject:

So you say that scraping the sealed wood helped pop out the quilting? Do you seal it over again? I've seen lots of recipes using all kinds of chemicals that frankly scare me to death. Rub on some of this then wipe it off and rub on some of that. Too much time in it to risk wrecking it. I have two backs from the same board and one looks almost quilted and the other has flashy lines on it. Do you think a little of the color of the shellac goes into the end grain and doesn't sink into the hard spots? I like the subtle look of the more natural wood. Yours lets the wood show thru.

M_A_T_T · Member Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 43

Dave Chandler · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 11:12 am Post subject: Quilted back

I think the best thing to do is keep your scraps from cutting out the back and try a few different approaches. I've had good success with 1# cut amber shellac, warms the wood a bit, and some of the end grain will darken slightly.

After scraping gave it another coat of thin blonde shellac. the scraping simply helped level the end grain that appears all over the place on the quilted wood.

I like Matt's idea of THIN, 1/3# cut orange shellac, but the amber might accomplish similar results. My first coat of varnish had a touch of orange in it along with lots of brown, and later coats are brown. Since the photos, have stripped it back a bit, wanting a browner look.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo