Nick Allen Report post Posted August 28, 2018 The FB is about done. Gotta smooth out a few bumps on the underside. The little varnish sample I put in a bare rib is bone dry in about 36 hours with UV. Also had to fill in a little chip out on the playing surface with some ebony dust and CA. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 3, 2018 Shaping the neck before setting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 3, 2018 Hight time to flatten out the back for the violin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 4, 2018 Got the chin shaped. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 4, 2018 So this neck just looks thin to me. The measurements add up, but it looks thin. Near the nut it's at 19.5, and near the heel it's at ~21.5. I think that's standard. I'm sure that I made the FB the proper dimensions. 5mm edges and a 37mm radius, so the FB shouldn't skew overall thickness. I guess that I'm getting worried like I did with the top being too thin. At any rate, I'm setting the neck now. It's all going jolly well. I'm shootin' for a 31mm projection and a 150mm length. 375mm string length is coming into place too. I'm using another viola bridge as a dummy bridge because it's 51mm and gives me a nice visual reference when sighting down for alignment. It also happens to fit the shape of the tp plate exactly. What are the odds. Even so, it overhangs the bass bar by a good 2.5mm or so. So I think that I'll go with a 48mm bridge for this guy. I'll still sound test it with this wider bridge. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arglebargle Report post Posted September 4, 2018 A 31mm projection seems really high for a violin, and what is the 150mm length in reference to? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 5, 2018 7 hours ago, arglebargle said: A 31mm projection seems really high for a violin, and what is the 150mm length in reference to? This is a viola. Sorry if I didn't clarify. 150mm is in reference to the neck stop length for the viola. 150mm seems to be optimal, with a 375 fixed scale length, regardless of corpus length. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted September 5, 2018 Looks right on the money. Nice mortice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arglebargle Report post Posted September 5, 2018 3 hours ago, Nick Allen said: This is a viola. Sorry if I didn't clarify. Damn right it is! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 9, 2018 On 9/5/2018 at 3:27 AM, lpr5184 said: Looks right on the money. Nice mortice. Thanks! I worked really hard to make sure it fit really well and kept the neck within the right parameters. I focused on not cramming the root into the mortise too tight. Just enough to be able to lift the body up by the neck and move it around a little. Here it is strung up in the white: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scordatura Report post Posted September 9, 2018 How does it sound/play Nick? If you are interested, I am friends with some of the Pittsburgh Symphony players to try it out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted September 9, 2018 Nicely done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 9, 2018 4 hours ago, scordatura said: How does it sound/play Nick? If you are interested, I am friends with some of the Pittsburgh Symphony players to try it out. I'm not sure how it sounds just yet. I got it set up in the wee hours of the night and I live in an apartment. But it's a new day and I'll be able to sound test it in short time. I'd love to have an experienced player give it a whirl and give some feedback/advise. If we could arrange for that it would be a tremendous opportunity. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 9, 2018 54 minutes ago, lpr5184 said: Nicely done! Thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Janito Report post Posted September 9, 2018 11 hours ago, Nick Allen said: Here it is strung up in the white: If you use the neck button chamfer to create 2 tiny triangles where it intersects the chamfer of the back It will help define the shape of the button. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 9, 2018 17 minutes ago, Janito said: If you use the neck button chamfer to create 2 tiny triangles where it intersects the chamfer of the back It will help define the shape of the button. Oh yes. I'm thinking about compensating with the chamfer where it leads into the edge. The button is a little wider than it is tall, so I think that I can coerce the perceived shape to make it appear more full-round. Like blend it into the edgework with a slightly heavier chamfer so the chamfer edge that meets the face of the button makes a nice circle. I've found out first hand that it's really easy to over do the triangles at the button junctions. It's one of those features that I think is the mark of a good craftsman, along with nicely executed scroll eyes, perfect purfling miters and gracefully carved f holes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted September 9, 2018 I'm jealous of your east coast pizza... hard to find good pizza on the west coast....enjoy your viola! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted September 10, 2018 On 9/9/2018 at 9:35 AM, Janito said: If you use the neck button chamfer to create 2 tiny triangles where it intersects the chamfer of the back It will help define the shape of the button. On 9/9/2018 at 10:00 AM, Nick Allen said: Oh yes. I'm thinking about compensating with the chamfer where it leads into the edge. The button is a little wider than it is tall, so I think that I can coerce the perceived shape to make it appear more full-round. Like blend it into the edgework with a slightly heavier chamfer so the chamfer edge that meets the face of the button makes a nice circle. I've found out first hand that it's really easy to over do the triangles at the button junctions. It's one of those features that I think is the mark of a good craftsman, along with nicely executed scroll eyes, perfect purfling miters and gracefully carved f holes. This concept is new to me and I don't understand the two triangle thingy...can one of you draw an illustration, please? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Janito Report post Posted September 10, 2018 25 minutes ago, lpr5184 said: This concept is new to me and I don't understand the two triangle thingy...can one of you draw an illustration, please? The Lady Blunt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted September 10, 2018 OK I get it...are these also known as Guadagnini cuts? Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 11, 2018 9 hours ago, Janito said: The Lady Blunt Aww. You beat my crude sketch... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 11, 2018 Anyways, I've made some more progress on both the viola and violin. I found a nice little local shop and bought some strings on their advice. C - Spirocore G - Spirocore D - Larsen A - Larsen The Spirocore C and G really clarified the originally wooly sounding Tonica. The Larsen added some much needed clarity as well. I'll post some audio samples hopefully in a day or two once I get my audio interface and mic set up. All I can say for now, as far as tone goes, it has a very "juicy" low end, with lots of power. But I don't know if I'm entirely sold on the upper registers yet. Maybe let the strings break in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 11, 2018 I've flattened the back batten and scribed the outline. The back comes to 356 straight across. I imagine measuring over arch will add a mm or a little more. As far as the corners go, I don't know if I'll keep that outline for them. I'll eyeball them as I finalize the outline, hopefully in the next day or so. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 12, 2018 The real work. Hopefully one day I'll have an apprentice to do this stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Allen Report post Posted September 18, 2018 Okay here is a sound sample recorded in FL Studio with an MXL 990 mic into a Presonus Audiobox USB. Please excuse my very bad playing, as I've been spending a lot of my free time making rather than playing anything. CrappyViolaSoundSample.mp3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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