First time amateur violin build in progress

[Brian in Texas]

Mike, thanks for the response. I think for simplicity's sake, I'm going to go with the seedlac route. I have some dissolving in a jar of denatured alcohol as of two nights ago. Going to filter and strain it a couple of times, apply it to some sample palette pieces and see how it looks.

[PawelP]

On 2/11/2025 at 8:10 PM, amateur.geigenbau said:

Can you please upload this document or give it to me via PM? It would be very nice.

If @Davide Sora is ok, i can share

[Davide Sora]

On 2/11/2025 at 8:10 PM, amateur.geigenbau said:

Can you please upload this document or give it to me via PM? It would be very nice.

 

2 hours ago, PawelP said:

If @Davide Sora is ok, i can share

I don't think the private exchange of documents is illegal. As long as it is not sold and no profit is made, and it is not spread indiscriminately on the internet, for me there are no problems. So sending it by private message is fine. 

If you don't mind I'd like to receive a copy by private message, too, to take a look at it.

[MikeC]

If you don't mind,  I would also like a copy.  I have watched all of Davide's videos and made some notes but it would be nice to have it all in print or PDF.  

[Brian in Texas]

Same here to the above!

Current status on this build: Stalled for a number of reasons. Too many distractions from this thing  called "real life" away from my shop, and my mental health has taken a nosedive. I've gotta buck it up and get back to it, though.

I still need to glue the front onto the rest of the corpus. I've delayed doing that because of some very cold weather here, and my tiny little space heater in my shop isn't quite up to the task. Or at least, it takes a couple of hours to get the shop warmed up enough that I'd maybe feel comfortable using hot glue without it gelling right away. I have a heat gun too, but the ambient temperature is really making me reluctant to pull the trigger and glue it up. I also had to pause to order a fingerboard so that I can begin visually lining up the neck to make the neck joint. Now that it's arrived, I need to get to the task of attaching the front and beginning the dreaded neck joint.

I've tackled each individual task of making a violin so far with no small amount of trepidation, but I was able to plow ahead anyway. Is it normal to be this much more nervous for a neck install? They have a reputation of being exceptionally difficult and I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

[Dr. Mark]

40 minutes ago, Brian in Texas said:

They [neck install] have a reputation of being exceptionally difficult and I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

Not starting guarantees failure.  My advice is to review what you need to do, measure twice cut once, and jump in.  I remember when I was about 12 years old and stuffed an animal for the first and only time - a hawk someone shot that was put in a freezer by my biology teacher.  I had no idea what I was getting into - I was reading instructions from a book and each step was outside anything I'd ever experienced: shoving wire up the legs, removing the body, preserving the skin, wiring the wings and tail...  It turned out pretty well for all that (my sister helped remove the brains) and took me about fourteen hours in one go - it ended up posed on a branch in a classroom.  I'm just saying that a lack of confidence and not committing to the task is what holds most people back from achieving things.

[Brian in Texas]

Very true. At just about every step of the way so far, I've made a mistake that I've had to correct or repair somehow. For some reason, this is the step that really intimidates me.

[MikeC]

My shop only has a small space heater as well.  So for gluing the plate to the ribs, I do it in the house, in the kitchen where it's warm.   Also the stove is a convenient way to heat the glue.   I lay an old towel on the kitchen counter to work on in case there are glue drips.   

As for fitting the neck...   I messed up on the last build and ended up with the mortice in the neck block too big and loose.   I filled it in with a block of spruce and started over.  Second try it worked out ok.  So don't be afraid of it, you can always fill it in and start over.   

Also,  I cut the bottom of the neck heel too short and had to add a piece there.  So now it looks like a violin that's been around a few hundred years.    

Here's a picture of fitting in a new block of spruce to fill in the oops.   

 

And here's the block I had to add to the neck heel.   

So when you mess up just figure out how to fix it!  

 

 

[Brian in Texas]

Got the top glued on last night. This morning I didn't have time to pull off the clamps and check that all my seams closed up properly, as I I had to drop off my kid at school and get to the ol' day job.

Nice workaround there, Mike. It's encouraging to be reminded that accidents don't have to be fatal. This is already a Franken-fiddle as it is, what's a few more stitches at this point?

[Shunyata]

I have never seen the glue, then wet, approach.  

I use the clamp dry, open sections and apply glue approach as in Davide Sora’s videos.

I would be very worried that the end block will not hold the way you have glued it.

But I may not know what I am talking about.  Very interesting to see what professionals have to say.

[Brian in Texas]

It's a method I saw Graham Vincent use before. Seems to work ok for him and he's been around a while.

[David Burgess]

On 2/13/2025 at 2:31 PM, Brian in Texas said:

At just about every step of the way so far, I've made a mistake that I've had to correct or repair somehow.

That's one of the potential advantages to being a restorer or repairperson, prior to being a maker.

1 hour ago, Shunyata said:

I have never seen the glue, then wet, approach.  

I use the clamp dry, open sections and apply glue approach as in Davide Sora’s videos.

I use the "pre-think and set up everything so that almost nothing can go wrong" approach; then apply the glue to the rib/top interface, and go fast as hell. A few practice runs can be really really helpful.

Since I have also been a violinist, I'm kind of curious why anyone would expect anything about making a violin to go perfectly on the first try. Behind every violin performance, from Suzuki level to world class soloist, there will be somewhere between tens to thousands of hours of practice preceding the performance.

[Brian in Texas]

41 minutes ago, David Burgess said:

Since I have also been a violinist, I'm kind of curious why anyone would expect anything about making a violin to go perfectly on the first try. 

Cellist here, so I get that. It's still brutally painful when you hear something go CRACK that isn't supposed to.

To further the comparison to learning an instrument, it also doesn't help that there isn't a consistent shop / practice schedule. Imagine trying to learn an instrument where sometimes you can only practice 30 minutes once or twice a week here and there, then four hours on Saturday, and sometimes maybe nothing for a week because of the pressures of real life. Oh, and you don't have an in person teacher, just YouTube videos and books.

All that to say, I'm not complaining. It's been challenging like nothing else has been, but it's been a blast, too. I just need some in person learning sooner rather than later. It would really help to have someone there to say, "No, don't do it that way. You'll screw it up, and here's why."

As for the "go fast as hell" glue up method, I did it that way for the back and it sure was stressful. I decided to switch things up on this go-around to see which approach I like better. The jury is still out on that.

[Sean Couch]

I finished violin #1 about 3.5 months ago and I can still remember fussing around with setting the neck. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but definitely take your time and go slow. I looked back in my notes and it took me 15 hours to set the neck angles and get it glued in. Light cuts and check the fit often, very often, was my way of going about it. I followed Davide’s videos for setting the neck.

Even though you already have your soundbox glued up, I would also recommend watching Davide’s videos on how he goes about gluing the plates onto the rib garland. I used his way for the back and belly and it was quite nice. His method involves dry clamping the plate to the garland, all the way around. Then, remove 4 or 5 of the spool clamps at a time and with a thin knife (I used a palette knife that I thinned to about 0.3mm), dip it in your hide glue, gently pry the plate away from the ribs with your fingers to make some room for the knife, work glue into the gap, put the clamps back on, clean up any residual glue with hot water and a stiff brush, and move on to the next set of clamps. There are many ways to skin a cat and everyone finds their own best way to get it done.

I had some serious trepidation on many parts of the build, but like Dr. Mark said; “Not starting guarantees failure.” I don’t think I will ever build violins fast enough to be able to really become proficient at it. I also self taught by watching videos and from advice here. It can be frustrating, but like you said, it has been a blast. I have the wood here for violin #2 and I am trying to wait for spring to get here before I start on it. 

While I wait on the weather, I have been trying to learn to play violin #1. I think learning to play the violin is more difficult than making it. At least with making a violin, you get closer to being done with every stroke of the plane or scraper. I don’t know what the end goal is for playing. I reckon that as long as I enjoy learning to play, then I will keep on. It is very interesting playing a stringed instrument. My last time playing an instrument was 40+ years ago when I played trombone in 7th grade.  

[Brian in Texas]

18 minutes ago, Sean Couch said:

I don’t know what the end goal is for playing.

Easy, it's sounding like Hilary Hahn. But realistically, having fun at it is good enough!

[MikeC]

Brian,  you've seen my video review of the Tsubosan files.   Today I got the fine cut four pack.   Just thought I'd mention that those are a reasonable step down from the coarse cut files.   I'm kinda glad I skipped the medium cut.   But if I was only going to get one set then maybe the medium would be the ones to get.   

[Brian in Texas]

Mike, good to know.

[Davide Sora]

3 hours ago, Shunyata said:

I have never seen the glue, then wet, approach.  

I use the clamp dry, open sections and apply glue approach as in Davide Sora’s videos.

I would be very worried that the end block will not hold the way you have glued it.

But I may not know what I am talking about.  Very interesting to see what professionals have to say.

 

3 hours ago, Brian in Texas said:

It's a method I saw Graham Vincent use before. Seems to work ok for him and he's been around a while.

I think Roger Hargrave also used the "glue, then wet" method, so I suppose it should work if done properly. 

I have the same doubts about the strength of the gluing to the blocks, so I prefer to continue with the traditional method of applying the glue with the spatula, which I'm sure works. As for David Burgess's even more conventional system of applying glue and running like hell, I used to do it in school, but it gave me too much anxiety. As soon as I discovered an alternative method I didn't think twice about changing. Any system is good if it's properly set up, which one to use is a matter of personal attitude.

[MikeC]

Davide do you glue the blocks with the spatula?  I would be concerned about not getting the spatula in far enough and not getting enough glue on the blocks,  especially the end blocks.  

I think my plan for gluing the top plate (back is already glued)  will be to put glue on all the blocks and then clamp the plate down and then use the spatula for the ribs all the way around.   

[Shunyata]

4 hours ago, MikeC said:

I think my plan for gluing the top plate (back is already glued)  will be to put glue on all the blocks and then clamp the plate down and then use the spatula for the ribs all the way around.

I use locating pins in the end blocks, whic lends itself to directly gluing the end blocks, dry setting all the remaining clamps, and then using Davide’s small section at a time method.

[MikeC]

I use end pins also, for quick accurate alignment.   

[HoGo]

I used the "dry then wet" method to glue on top of my old fiddle after some repairs and it worked well. A year or two I I removed the belly again and I think it had just about perfect strength. It held firmly but released cleanly with no splinters (didn't even pull old splinters from previous repairs I filled with new wood). I used my "bone glue" (175g) for this.

[Davide Sora]

9 hours ago, MikeC said:

Davide do you glue the blocks with the spatula?  I would be concerned about not getting the spatula in far enough and not getting enough glue on the blocks,  especially the end blocks.  

I think my plan for gluing the top plate (back is already glued)  will be to put glue on all the blocks and then clamp the plate down and then use the spatula for the ribs all the way around.   

I have no problem putting glue with the spatula in the block areas. I use a small, fairly thin (0.3mm) spatula with rounded edges so they are not sharp and slide well. I use temporary steel pins to position the plate with clamps and slide them out when I put the glue on the blocks. Once everything is dry, I clean out the pin holes with a round needle file of the appropriate diameter and glue the wooden pins back in place.