Violin Forum/Message Board

[Tim McTigue]

This is my first violin. I've spent the past 2-1/2 years getting to this point, however there were long stretches of time when I was not working on it, such as last summer when I spent the summer months furiously composing music in an effort to win a contest to replace the Hockey Night in Canada theme song on CBC (didn't even place!). Anyway, note that these pictures are not all that great, they hide a number of flaws, but I think this is "not bad for a first try" anyway. Sounds real nice, at least as far as I can tell - I don't (yet) really play, but I can do "Twinkle Twinkle". This violin seems pretty responsive, at least it's very easy to make nice notes instead of squeaks and scratches. It's based (VERY loosely) on the Kruse, at least that's the Strad poster I was working from. I'm aware I didn't come at all close - for one thing, this instrument is quite oversized at 14.25", it won't even fit in a standard case. The varnish is mastic/oil according to a recipe Michael Darnton has posted, with asphalt for color. The "ground" is 3 coats of orange shellac, applied with a rag, as if doing a spit-polish prior to French Polish. The bridge at the bottom is my first bridge carving. Anyway, here she is:







_________________
Tim
-----------

[kel]

Tim
your varnish and color of it are great.
i love it, particularly the 1st and 2nd photos

i am cutting f holes today

what are the thickness at various point u have adopted?

u have finished your 1st after 2 and half
mine has started for 6 months
i am speeding up trying to get it done ASAP
several sets of wood arrived today to my house
on hand i have 5 sets, so i got to be hurry up !
_________________
Newbie Maker Kelvin

[kel]

i don't have any expectation on the craftsmanship regarding my 1st violin

Tim, once u finished your violin, in what way you evaluate the success?
Have u got any weight figure on the top, bottom, neck and whole violin?
For the arching in whatever direction, what were your actual steps taken
to measure? U made some templates?

Could u make a simple recording to let us know how your 1st sound?
Can I say a 1st violin made this way definitely better than those factory violin selling at US$1000? I don't know whether i can achieve this but this is my basic expectation. I think i would be quite upset if i spend months to make a violin that can't beat the several hundred dollars factory violin.

I am checking my top and bottom arching using simple paper template, not well made, but at least shows me roughly where to plane more
_________________
Newbie Maker Kelvin

[Tim McTigue]

[kel]

making a violin needs a lot of patience, skills, knowledge, luck? ....etc
i'd tend to expect a result after making it

u are absolutely right, the 1st , 2nd or .....may not be up to standard
hope that the result would not be so disappointing

can a black cloth or white cloth show more accurately your violin's color?
but indeed i consider your 1st and 2nd photos on your 1st violin are good
though i personally love red varnish
_________________
Newbie Maker Kelvin

[Thomas Southern]

Tim

Good job! I had to laugh out loud when I saw the picture with the props hanging on the wall. It looks like my work shop a mix of violin and RC stuff. Im just getting into making violins, and have been doig mostly repairs, collecting tools, and books to begin the making process.

Tom

[John Cadd]

Tim Lots of good things to see there.The scroll is very well done as those curly bits can give some very unexpected results.
I gave a tip 2 days ago so I can repeat it for you .Get a diamond nail
file to thin down the top edge of the bridge.This will help with a bit more tone.
Have you ever noticed you can try and get everything just right and it comes out quite successful as a first one?Boy, watch out for the second one .Thats where all my mistakes happen .All in one instrument.Third one --No problem. Seems to be an unwritten rule.

[M_A_T_T]

Tim that looks great. Better than my first.
_________________
Making a Violin II

Making a Violin III - Finally Finished

[Tim McTigue]

Thanks, Matt! Maybe, but not as good as your second! Nothing more humbling than making a violin. Hope I can get on with #2 soon...
_________________
Tim
-----------

[actonern]

After that intense summer's furrowing of the brow... what did you come up with for the hockey night tune?

Can we humm it?

[Dave Chandler]

I really like the scroll work, nice proportions, nice line in the spiral. Great color on the violin too.

Something you might do is dress up the ends on the pegs. I take a large gouge (about 1 1/2" wide and just a bit of curve) and lay a piece of 320 sandpaper over it, and press the tip ends of the pegs into the paper and rotate the peg as I sand the tip down to a nice slightly rounded end. This takes out the saw marks. Then a piece of 600 or 1000 wet and dry and rub the tips till they are nice and glossy, then another round with some emory cloth. Its a great finished look especially when flush with the cheeks of the pegbox. I also put a little black water-base stain on the pegs where they've been shaved to really dress them up nice.
_________________
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

[John Cadd]

Tim It`s strange to be coming back to an older posting like this.I had another look at your bridge and the larger "dents" for the strings seem to show the G string is left in the picture.That would make the E string too high.Normally that is tilted down (for the bowing?).If you closely measure the bridge thicknessing from the internet measurements the tone will start to jump out where you may have settled for an ordinary sound. Also check out the subject of fitting the bridge feet. Also ,if the bridge picture is the player`s view the grain pattern is "normally "reversed.to this view.The vertical streaks in the wood are a vertical growth.The angle of the wedge shape is made by cutting wood on the fingerboard side.Unfortunately some makers have turned this around the other way. Whether it makes a difference I`m not sure.The new theory is that reversing makes the bridge less likely to bend with string tension.It will still move though.So does that give the poor old belly some grief??? Maybe a bendy bridge is a better alternative ,with careless players.
You have had a good advisor with the model. By the way the overall time taken is not that important.There is a teaching course where the students took three years to complete their first instrument.I can`t imagine how that works out.
Rather than stay as you are with this one try to contact a local orchestra .An amateur orchestra would give you a rich source of fascinated musicians who would love to join in the new violin project.They would be happy to play for you and strike up a very special relationship. They are out there somewhere.
Overall though ,this is a handsome instrument.Well done indeed.

[John Cadd]

Tim I forgot to say.There was an article in the Strad some years back about photographing violins.Lighting ,reflections,background.The internet may have something on those lines.If I find it I will get back to you. Even the Strad like to reverse the photo occasionally.( G string on the right side) .Sometimes they jumble up the pictures and tell you the one on the right is a Strad when you know it`s the other one in the picture. Come to that if you see lots of thickness maps there should be a strict system to distinguish left from right and inside view or outside view.Traps for the unwary.

[Mat Roop]

re photography... try this link... http://tarisio.com/pages/about/photo_instr.php
... and nice first violin! I like the clean workmanship!
Cheers, Mat

[John Cadd]

Superb article. A project in itself.