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Showing results for tags 'willow'.
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I am about to get started on making a small viola (15.5"). I am wondering what differences there are between using poplar and willow for the back. Any insight is greatly appreciated.
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Hello, Here, on MN, and elsewhere willow is often recommended as an alternative to maple for cello and viola backs. I know that willow can have rather pronounced knots. My gut feeling is that one should not worry about the small knots, which may make nice visual features, but what about larger/largish knots? Are they a problem when preparing the back? Will it be a problem to get the surface smooth? Or, when is a knot in a willow back a problematic knot? I would be grateful for your thoughts. Thanks.
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I've been looking at Cremonese and Venetian celli and I've noticed a pattern where celli with poplar or willow backs have ribs made from pear or beach. I didn't find a lot of examples so maybe these were just a coincidence. My other thought is that while poplar and willow backs work well for celli backs they are not appropriate (structurally?) for ribs. Is this true? I've seen tonewood suppliers of European poplar and I can get Tulip poplar (not from the Populus genus) locally. However, I have no idea where to order European Beech or pear. If needed with willow or poplar for ribs, does anyone know reliable suppliers of beech or pear? Thanks, Jim
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Hi guys! So, I'm about to re-glue a top plate to a clunker violin I opened up recently. I noticed that there's lining/ chamfering that helps support the glue joint where the ribs meet the back plate. I also noticed that I might have cut through some kind of lining between the ribs and the top plate when I removed the top plate. My questions are 1. Am I correct in thinking that when a violin box is initially closed up construction, there is lining/chamfering (of willow or spruce) installed to re-enforce the connection of the top plate to the ribs? 2. If so, any tips for installing that lining? 3. When re-gluing the top plate, must I first do something to prepare the lining/ chamfering? Is is acceptable to not pay attention to the lining when re-gluing a top plate? (I'd rather err on the side of caution and *pay attention to it*, that way the repair is done as well as possible ;D ) Thanks for the help, guys! I really appreciate it! - Sarah