Preparing for gluing the back plate. Heating up the work area.
The clamps are put in place first, then re-open to insert the glue in the joint, progressively.
Cleaning up with hot water.
The clamps are removed one after one to clean up the local area with a brush, then tightened again.
Preparing a blank for the sound post.
The wood is split in order to get a perfectly straight grain.
Woodturning.
6.5 mm for a viola, 6mm for a violin.
The sound post is prepared at this stage because, while the top is not yet glued on, it is easy to match the tips of the soundpost with the top and back plate profiles.
This tool's purpose is to measure the required length for the sound post.
Adjusting to the top and back plates arched profiles with a knife.
Taking a tiny shaving.
The top must be under a slight tension. With the top open, I leave 1 mm open in the C. The soundpost will be inserted later, after gluing the top, when doing the setup.
It is time to glue your label, before closing the box.
Gluing the top. I use some wedges to open the joint and insert the glue progressively.
You must be rather fast. But the heating helps here.
Cleaning up.
The clamps must be close one to the other.
Moving to the fingerboard. Tracing the edges on the pre-shaped purchased blank.
I use my homemade scraping plane to dress up the edges.
Sold as ebony, it's actually rosewood.
A jig is made to support the fingerboard during the planing. A paper template giving the targeted profiles is glues at each end.
Nut side, there is more wood to remove.
Planing with the scraper plane.
Chocolate chips.
Finishing with a scraper shaped at the right profile.
The fingerboard is not exactly plane. It must be slightly hollowed to leave room for the strings to vibrate. The hollow is more pronounced on the bass side.
After a light sanding.
Trimming the edges and dressing perfectly square.
Indexing to prevent any sliding when gluing.
Temporary gluing.
Setting up the neck. I keep the edges parallel in order to be able to use the table saw to precisely adjust the heel angle.
Tracing on the heel. At top, the width of the fingerboard, at bottom, the diameter of the button.
Shaping the sides of the heel.
Checking the eveness of the slope, and of the symmetry.
Tracing the mortise.
Sawing the edges.
Working with the chisel.
The bottom of the mortise must be perpendicular to the plane of the back plate.
Checking the alignment.
Very progressively, the neck must go down to the line.
For removing a tiny bit of wood, I trace exactly in the angle, which leaves a thin line on the edge of the mortise.
Very carefully, I remove wood just on the line.
Sawing square to the heel.
Touching the angle. The Angle Finder allows for a 10th of degree precision.
Verifying the neck angle using the projected heigth of the fingerboard on the bridge. I am still too high.
After a fraction of a degree taken on the heel, I reach the desired heigth.
Light chamfer on the angles at the bottom of the mortise.
Shaping the button.
Shaping the handle. The spoke shave can not be used a lot here, the neck is too short.
The most useful tool keeps the hand stitched rasp (the orange handle, on the table).
Checking with the template.
Tracing the so called poiriette. The treble side is higher than the bass side.
Planing the poiriette.
Thin shavings.
Gluing the neck and the fingerboard at the same time.
Unfortunately, my pressure angle when gluing the neck must not be good, and my neck angle is too low. I will rectify that later.
Finishing the button in the continuity of the heel.
Adjusting the sides of the neck to the fingerboard.
The elliptical rounded handle shape must continue in the thickness of the fingerboard.
Preparing the blank for the bridge. A piece of maple.
The bridge must be perfectly quarter sawn, and we must see the medulary rays.
The rear face is square to the top plate plane.
Cutting the bridge. The shape is the same as the original Charles IX.
Jeweller saw.
Special knife for shaping bridges. Must be very sharp.
The knife allows for carving in the smallest holes.
Adjusting the bridge feet to the arch of the top. tracing in the angle.
For fine adjusting the feet, I proceed like for shalk fitting, but with graphite, which is more visible.
The adjustments are only done with the knife.
Voila
Making the nut out of ebony (genuine). Dressing the right angle at the bottom of the fingerboard.
Shaping the pegbox side using a file.
Light sanding.
Temporary gluing with a drop of glue.
Tracing the saddle.
Carving the mortise for the saddle with the chisel.
The fit must not be too tight in prevision of a possible tightening of the grain of the top in dry environment.
The blank for the saddle. The angle at the bottom of the mortise is adjusted first.
Finishing the sides.
The saddle finished and glued in place.
Turning the peg for the tailpiece. (end pin)
Profile. The details are very sharp (bead radius smaller than 1mm)
The end inlay is from local abalone shell.
The finished end pin.
Sharpening at the angle of the reamer.
This tool is homemade.
Reaming the hole for the end pin.
In place.
Soaping the pegs (purchased)
Sharpening.
Reaming the peg holes.
Putting in place the sound post with a homemade tool.
Verifying with a mirror.
Setting up and stringing.
Tracing the string slots on the nut.
Adjusting to the width of the string.
And here is the viola mounted in the white !
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