Thanks to everyone who made the Lee Valley Violin Making Workshop a success!

I recently decided to try out a customizable leather punch for sale on ebay.  I’m thrilled with the results.  Wuta Leather offers a customized leather punch at quite an affordable price.  I ordered mine and provided the specifications after they contacted me.  It took about three weeks to arrive.  I added a walnut handle and gave it a test run.  I’m very satisfied with the results.

A bridge stamp is a great addition for a violin maker, particularly if you take care in the setup of your instruments.  The stamp goes on the side of the bridge facing the fingerboard, on the waist of the bridge.  It’s typically done is an easy to read font, and sized so the text is 1.5mm high.

For best results, hold the stamp in the flame of a tallow candle.  The purpose of the candle is to coat the stamp with soot, not to heat the stamp.  Press with firm against the bridge adjusting the angle slightly without removing to ensure complete contact.  The stamped name will not smudge.  Comment if you’d like to order a stamp through me, or if you’d like more information.

Work continues on the back of the Guarneri 1743 ‘Il Cannone’ inspired violin.

This tightly famed European maple back and matching neck block will closely approximate the original ‘Il Cannone’.   This beautiful wood should make for a visually stunning instrument.

The downward chevron created where the flames meet at the joint are true to the original.  Guarneri broke with tradition in this aspect of his making – an intentional statement of individuality to set himself apart from the other great Cremonese makers.

The outline is transferred from the mold with a moderate overhang.  The plate outline and overhang will be adjusted with files after this step.  Cutting is done by hand with a #7 blade on the Knew Concepts Jewellers aluminium fret saw.

This was my first cradle, I designed it so that it can fit both violin and violas of varying lengths. The cradle is intended to clamp into a vice.  This style of cradle is useful for hollowing, neck mortise work and violin setup.  However, it’s limited in the positions it can be used in, making the rotating purfling fluting jig more useful for some tasks.

A vee-board is very useful for fine fret saw work, such as for rough cutting the f-holes, I also find it quite useful for work where the edge of plate (belly or back) needs to overhang, such as using a purfling marker or cutter, or filing edges to shape.

Roger Hargrave outlines how he uses a vee-board in his article Purfling & Edgework in Cremonese Instruments in the library section of his website.

My Vee-Board

Roger Hargrave’s Vee-Board

This swivel cradle is ideal for edge fluting.  The cradle rotates in a vice.  It’s designed so that tightening the vice locks the rotation of the jig.

The jig is also useful for final shaping and finishing.  The jig is hollowed so that the inside of plates can be worked as well.

The four corner holders are lined with cork and are slotted so that they can fit a variety of plate sizes.

I’ve tried a new method for cutting purfling channels, this uses Roger Hargrave’s interpretation of the Stradivari method.  Among Strad’s artifacts, now in the Museo Del  Violino in Cremona, Italy, are two single bladed purfling cutters.  Roger believes that Strad used these to cut independently the outside and inside edge of the purfling groove.

I used this method on my most recent violin and found it worked well on the back, but was especially useful on the top, where year growth rings can cause a freely held knife blade to be pulled into the soft summer wood.

To do this I re-ground two of the blades from an Ibex-style purfling marker to be double edged (pointed) so they could cut in both directions.  A narrow taper ensures the blades won’t over-widen as they cut around the turns and corners.  I then mounted each blade in its own purfling marker.  I added a small brass ‘L’ to act as a depth stop which meant less checking of my depth of cutting.  The cutters worked well, but I did occasionally use my knife.

To setup the cutting position, test with a scrap of wood with the purfling you plan to use for the instrument under construction.  Also in the pictures above you’ll see a file which i converted to purfling picker.