Back to the workbench

January 2014

 

After completing my latest violin, I have begun work on the next. I’m using European maple and spruce and it reacts differently to the gouge than the local wood. It is also much lighter. Here are a few photos of the early stages from December 2013 and January 2014. I bent the ribs around the mould (Guarneri model), traced the outline and then cut out my top and back. I use a large arching gouge to rough out the arching, using templates to help keep me on track. After various small steps I picked out the purfling channel and inlayed the purfling. I’m now working on finalizing my arching before I flip the plates over and begin gouging out the inside.