Precut and thicknessed rib material?

[polkat]

Does anyone offer rib material that is precut and thicknessed and just needs bending? I was thinking maybe of maple veneer or slmething along that line. Ideas? Thanks!

[lyndon]

violin supply shops sell unbent maple ribs but i think there a little on the thick side say 1.5mm instead of 1mm etc you can also buy pre bent but not glued together ribs

[Stephen Byrne]

Veneer is definitely unsuitable for ribs as it has no strength due to the way it´s processed. As far as I know the veneer is skimmed off the log with very long sharpe blades similar to sharpening a pencil.

[MANFIO]

Violin wood can distort a bit while being seasoned, that's why ribs comes a bit thicker.

The way veneer was cut was different in the past, I remember reading that in the 18th and 19th centuries some English makers used veneer wood to make basses and celli ribs.

[Nicolas Temino]

I use precut ribs, but they come in a standard 1,5 mm thickness. Using a toothed plane or a drum sander there is no problem to reduce the thickness to the 1,1 mm I use. I usually buy them from Atlantic Violin Supplies or International Violin (the first ones are, in my opinion, better)

[Doc Eastman]

Does anyone offer rib material that is precut and thicknessed and just needs bending? I was thinking maybe of maple veneer or slmething along that line. Ideas? Thanks!

Internationalviolin.com provides pre-cut and thinned rib stock for violin, viola, cello, and bass, matched to the maple back. They give you enough extra that you can afford to waste some learning to bend. Not directly related, but it is much easier to bend ribs on a bending iron if you have a piece of lead sheet (rib is between sheet and iron) that distributes and holds the steam better and reduces break-out. I have opted for this because stock matching the back is not available. You can resaw a maple board, but you need a good bandsaw and a wide blade (3/4")for rewsawing. My teacher uses an old modified (shimmed down to get to ~1.5-2mm) Ryobi thickness sander to thin resawn rib stock. I have priced one that can sand to violin rib thickness, runs about 1K. You can buy enough ribs for about 30 violins for that amount, so I have passed. I use an inexpensive drum sander with a jig to get the purchased stock ribs down to the thickness I want.

[Michael_Molnar]

I suggest scraping down the outside rib while it is still flat. Hold the rib up to the light and look along it at the surface reflection. This will reveal faint sanding marks. I scrape away all sanding scratch marks, then I bend it and glue into a garland.

Stay Tuned.

Mike

[Doc Eastman]

I suggest scraping down the outside rib while it is still flat. Hold the rib up to the light and look along it at the surface reflection. This will reveal faint sanding marks. I scrape away all sanding scratch marks, then I bend it and glue into a garland.

Stay Tuned.

Mike

I posted that good maple for ribstock is not available to match the back. However, a cello neck block is a good source of rib material if you have a bandsaw setup for resawing thin slices. I just set up my Grizzley 14" saw with a 3/4" blade (not the carbide imbedded type) and was able to saw thin slices (1.5mm) from leftover pieces of a cello block. If you want highly flames ribs probably better to buy them directly (int. violin, for example sells highly flamed finest-flamed violin sides for $33/set, and nicely-flamed for $6.50, other suppliers may have better prices). In contrast, a slightly flamed cello neck block is $63, and select finest-flamed block is $285. Resawn ribs still have to be dimensioned. I thickness sand the inside surface with a "Luthier's Friend" drumsandeer/jig), and use a cabinet scraper on the outside. As I have become more confident in my planing, I am also planing the inside surface. Hope this is not too much info but think my experience as a beginner with about 12 instruments experience might help other people new to making these instruments.

I have no conflict of interest and no vested interest in int.vio...<grin>