Violinum Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hello, I got some maple wood today. It has wood grains which are not parallel to the surface of the wood blank. Please give me advice on how to mach two blanks of maple for the back of my future violin. I made a quick drawing, the are two options of jointing, but what option would be better? Or maybe it's not SO important? Also I was wondering if it has any effect to the acoustical qualities of an instrument? I don't know if Cremonese makers always followed some kind of rules here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not telling Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 How hard will it be to join? The flip joint is great for softer wood. ...yes the wood grain affects sound, depending on what you do to the wood. Lol Reading is free, even I know this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oded Kishony Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Wood is stiffer and more stable on the quarter so IMHO #1's surface at the arch will be closer to being on the quarter than #2. So theoretically, you should be able to take #1 thinner, it would probably be a bit brighter and more stable than #2. An excellent reference book for wood technology that every violinmaker should read and own is "Understanding Wood" by Bruce Hoadley Oded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not telling Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 I will send Sam Z's arching article to OP if you want it. There is a bit about negotiations with grain orientation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Jacoby Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 As a rule, we follow many much more rules than the old masters ever did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violadamore Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 As a rule, we follow many much more rules than the old masters ever did... Perhaps with some reason, so you don't get "wood grain sound effects".. Yesterday I was doing final string tightening on a Sudeten refugee made post WW II "Mittenwalder", when the top join came loose from the saddle to just under the bridge with a noise like a .22 going off. Inspection showed that the glue joint could have been a bit more square on the underside. Relatively easy fix, but a darned nuisance anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lusitano Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 So very true, DG's choice of wood would make modern makers crawl up a wall in disgust as he pretty much did the exact opposite of what we today consider "lawful and appropriate". LOL What's that about "green" wood not being able to produce amazing instruments? 16million dollars begs to differ WebRep currentVote noRating noWeight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Smith Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 #1 first choice,, Oded's right again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhook Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 I guess I'm the odd one here. Your drawings seem to show the center of the tree at the center of the plate. I don't normally do it that way. I would put your outside edges in the center and go with #2 (so that the grain tends to be more perpendicular to the arch). I doubt that the sound will be impacted either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violinum Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 I guess I'm the odd one here. Your drawings seem to show the center of the tree at the center of the plate. I don't normally do it that way. I would put your outside edges in the center and go with #2 (so that the grain tends to be more perpendicular to the arch). I doubt that the sound will be impacted either way. The wood I have is fugured in the center, if I joint outside edges the center will be with almost no figure. Hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhook Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 Then I would go with #1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anders Buen Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 Do you have enogh wood to test both configurations on the same violin model? Working with pairs of instruments with slight diffrerences between them to test is a good route for learning, I've being told by experienced makers. I agree with Oded. The crossgrain bending and possibly the along grain bending should be somewhat stiffer with configuration #1. That is: with equal graduation patterns #1 should have somewhat higher tap tones, and thus, to a somewhat lesser degree, the B1- and B1+ (Signature-, or main breathing) modes of the assembled body should lie a bit higher in frequency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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