Need More Fiddles! Beginning Six New Five String Fiddles!

I Failed to “Keep Up!”

I shipped the last three fiddles I had made, so the “cupboard” is looking pretty bare!

Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time messing around, this year, trying to build a travel case for the Travel Bass I built last summer. (I really need to complete it. The bass isn’t going anywhere without the case.) Also, the last two fiddles I had made were literally hanging around the house, and so, I wasn’t feeling pressed to build more of them right away. I found it to be a busy year in a lot of other ways, too.

Sudden Changes

Two customers came, and rather abruptly, those two most recent fiddles suddenly found homes. I only have two five-string violin-size fiddles left, both of which I had made several years ago, and they both play very well. However, the ones I am building currently are my best work, and that is what I want to put in players’ hands.

The Plan

Therefore, I decided I had better “hit the Lutherie trail” in a big way. First, I selected six of my molds (five in the photo, below: the sixth shows up later.) Then, I glued the blocks in place, to begin a group of six new fiddles. Next, I plan to select and prepare materials, and match them together into “kits.” In this way, I know which top plate goes with which back plate. neck, and ribs, etc.

Afterward, I plan to begin building them in pairs, but I will always have another pair ready to begin, if things slow down at all.

5-string fiddle molds with blocks and a transparent template. — Five molds with blocks and a transparent template.

The Process:

Look closely, and you soon will see the transparent plexiglass template in the photographs above and below. Because the template is clear, it is hard to see, but it gives the precise shape I want for the outline of my blocks. I use a ballpoint pen to trace the shape onto the blocks.

Template tracing block shapes for 5-string bluegrass fiddle made by Chet Bishop — I use the template to trace the exact shape I want for my blocks.

Next, I use a saw to roughly cut out the shapes. Afterward, I use an oscillating spindle sander to shape them more precisely. Using an old candle, I rub parrafin wax on all the exposed edges of the molds, so that an accidental drop of glue can’t bond them to a rib. Initially, I glue the ribs only to the blocks and linings. Ultimately, I will remove the mold, before closing the body of the instrument.

Molds with blocks shaped for 5-string bluegrass fiddle by Chet Bishop — Here are the blocks, shaped and ready for ribs.

Wood Choices

Then, I cut the ribs from wood that match the back and neck, as closely as possible. Usually, I try to get them all out of the same billet of wood. Over the years, I have harvested some of my wood, myself. However, A friend (the late Terry Howell) gave me a great deal of curly maple, in log form. Immediately, I had someone mill it up for me on a large portable bandsaw mill. In other cases, I have simply bought wood from tonewood dealers.

I have used a variety of woods for the back plates. These (below) are all Big Leaf Maple. But, I have used a wide variety of other woods. When I build classical orchestral instruments, I use only European Maple and Spruce.

I bought the wood (in the pictures below) from Bruce Harvie, of Orcas Island Tonewood Company. That piece of Big leaf maple on the right measures 2″ thick, about 6″ wide, and 16″ long, or more. The large billet allowed me to cut the ribs, neck and two-piece back all from the same billet. I cut up the Englemann Spruce billet on the left. to provide two tops and nine bass-bars.

Wood for 5-string bluegrass fiddles made in Oregon by Chet Bishop. — Englemann Spruce and Big Leaf Maple.

MAple wood for a 5-string bluegrass fiddle made in Oregon by Chet Bishop. — Same piece of Maple…closer view.

Processing the materials:

To begin with, I used a bandsaw to slice off the rib material. Then, I laid out the actual shape I needed for the back and neck. (I did not make the traced “shape” visible in the above photo. That is just the way tonewood dealers “spark the imagination” of their customers.)

I sliced the back plate shape in half lengthwise, originally. Next I planed the two edges perfectly smooth and flat. Finally, I glued the halves together, to form the back plate.

planing center joint of a back plate for a Chet Bishop five-string fiddle. — Hand-planing the center joint.

Maple back for 5-string bluegrass fiddle made in Oregon by Chet Bishop. — Same billet, made into a back plate blank. The rest became ribs and neck.

While the glue was drying on the plates, I traced out all the neck billets. I used a bandsaw to cut them out, to produce “neck blanks.”

Neck billets for 5-string fiddles made in Oregom by Chet Bishop. — Looks like a “bouquet of fiddle necks.” They will be matched with their respective backs and ribs.

In addition to the preparation of the heavier components, I used a bandsaw to slice rib material from appropriate wood to match the wood of the backs. For example, a darker maple back required darker maple ribs. I then sanded them to 1 mm final thickness, using the oscillating spindle sander.

Ribs for 5-string fiddle. — I was glad I had rib material that matched the color of the old wood for this fiddle. That back (below) was harvested in September, 1983.

Wood for 5-string fiddle made in Oregon by Chet Bishop — Matching ribs and neck to back wood.

After thinning the ribs, I used a knife to cut the ribs to size.

Wood for ribs for 5-string fiddle made in Oregon by Chet Bishop — Each set of ribs requires three pairs, in lengths for upper, center and lower bouts.

Douglas Fir

Usually, I make the top plates of my instruments from some type of spruce. (Sitka, Englemann, European or other species all work well.) But, sometimes (rarely) I use other woods: this one is Douglas Fir.

Otto Erdesz used Douglas fir for the front plates on many instruments. I have seen and played one of the violas he made of Douglas Fir. When I found some Douglas Fir with great tone qualities and very straight grain, I decided to try it, emulating his success. Thus far, I have only used Douglas Fir once, but it turned out to be an excellent fiddle, so, I am doing it again.

Wood Kit for a 5-string bluegrass fiddle handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop. — A Douglas Fir top plate with a Big Leaf Maple back, neck and ribs.

And, finally, I see the “kits” beginning to emerge!

Materials for 5-string fiddles handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop — These Kits will help me keep focused and encouraged about building the six new fiddles.

I will try to provide updates and to post progress reports.

Thanks for looking.

June 3, 2021August 10, 2021

New Five-String Fiddle Completed!

Five-String Fiddle from the Vallery Tree

The Beginning:

This instrument was actually begun last winter, but is only now coming into completed form. The back, sides and neck are all salvaged from a tree taken down years ago on my wife’s parents’ property, where she grew up. (I built a commissioned instrument from this same tree last year.) I wish I had a lot more of it, but much of the tree was lost to rot. Too bad… it is pretty wood. The Sitka spruce top came from somewhere here in the northwest, but I don’t know exactly where: all I can say is that I bought it from a local wood dealer.

Early stage Oregon five string bluegrass fiddle by Chet Bishop — Early stage… at this point there was a long way to go!

Eventually, I had the corpus (body) completed and had begun working on the neck and scroll. Additionally, arthritis was plaguing me a little, so it was slow progress.

handmade Oregon 5-string fiddle in progress — Completed corpus with partially carved scroll and neck.

hand carved five string fiddle scroll for oregon 5-string fiddle — Nearly-completed scroll joined to fingerboard, for final shaping as a unit.

completed scroll and neck assembly with fingerboard ready for installation on Oregon five-string fiddle — Completed neck assembly, ready for “neck-set.”

Then it was time to set the neck. This is one of the most exacting steps in building a violin: everything has to be correct, or it will be impossible to correctly set the instrument up for playing.

Beginning the neck mortise on an Oregon handmade 5-string fiddle by Chet Bishop — Beginning the neck-mortise into which the neck heel will be set.

Final Assembly

After the neck mortise is completed, so that the neck fits perfectly and all angles and dimensions are exactly right, I liberally coat the mortise and neck-heel with hot hide-glue, and then I quickly ram the neck into place. Then, I checked all measurements one last time and clamped it with a single clamp at the heel.

neck set completed on a handmade oregon 5-string fiddle by Chet Bishop — Successful Neck-Set! (The button and heel still need to be trimmed…)

back view neck-set handmade Oregon 5-string fiddle by Chet Bishop — Back view

After all the woodwork was completed, I varnished the instrument: The first coats are quite yellow, to provide a “golden glow” from under the color coats.

five string fiddle handmade by Chet Bishop in Oregon — First coat of (yellow) varnish. The Spruce shows the yellow strongly.

varnishing a 5-string bluegrass fiddle handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop — Back view: the Maple was darker to begin with, so the yellow is not as obvious.

Final Set-up

Finally, the instrument was fully varnished and set-up:

Oregon handmade five-string bluegrass fiddle by Chet Bishop — Front View of the completed instrument.

Oregon Bluegrass five-string fiddle, handmade by Chet Bishop — Side View:

Oregon five-string bluegrass fiddle, handmade by Chet Bishop — Back view. (I love that grain!)

The Verdict:

The sound on this fiddle is very strong and clear: it has a well-focused C-string and is well-balanced across all five strings. I think this is possibly my best instrument so far.

Thanks for looking!

April 10, 2021

Five String Fiddle Finally Complete

Finally Done!

This one took awhile: Lots of sidetracks and other projects to complete. But it is finally done!

Back, Neck and sides

The back, sides and neck are from the “scrap” left over from building that five-string double bass last summer. This is the “sister-instrument” to the commission I built last winter, from the same wood-source, but the other side of the bass.

This and several other of my instruments are all from a log given me by the late Terry Howell. I have made one cello, one bass and several five-string fiddles from the wood of that log, and I still have a lifetime supply, thanks to Terry’s generosity. (see that story, here)

Front Plate

The front plate, however, is a first for me: Douglas Fir! This is unusual, but not unheard of: there are a number of professional instruments by Otto Erdesz out there being played whose front plates were made of Douglas fir. Will I always use it? Nope! But this turned out very well indeed! I am more confortable using spruce, and probably will continue to mostly use spruce, but it was quite an eye-opening experience to try the Douglas Fir.

The sound is very big, with a very clear, deep C-String, and perfect balance across all five strings. This fiddle will “cut through the mix” in a band, but can also play pianissimo when needed.

Overall, I am very well satisfied with the final result on this fiddle. I am confident that a buyer will find it a thrill to play.

Front view of handmade five-string bluegrasss fiddle. — Front is made of Oregon Douglas Fir: this is unusual, but not a first. Otto Erdesz used to use Douglas fir for front plates.

Side view of handmade 5-string bluegrass fiddle, made of Oregon Big Leaf Maple and Oregon Fouglas Fir. — Sides and neck are made from Oregon Big Leaf Maple. I have the entire log they came from.

Back view of Oregon handmade five-string fiddle, or Oregon Big Leaf Maple. — Back plate is also that same Big Leaf Maple.

Scroll of handmade 5-string bluegrass fiddle by Chet Bishop. — The Scroll, too, came from that same log.

Thanks for looking!

March 22, 2021October 6, 2023

Varnishing a New Handmade 5-string Fiddle

5-string Varnish progress

Sealer

Last post included the sealer, which, to be honest, looks awfully nice. But it isn’t varnish: it was just a resin dissolved in turpentine. The sealer is used to lock in the mineral ground and seal the pores against excessive varnish saturation (which could dampen the tone.) It looked like this:

So, from that point forward, the varnishing began:

Early Varnish

The first coats of varnish I use are pretty intensely yellow. I want that golden glow to shine through the other colors, wherever there is any wear, or deliberately thin spots in the color coats. After the yellow varnish I begin selectively darkening certain areas, corners, etc..The purpose of the selective shading is to enhance the overall look and feel, visually.

So, here are the front and back after the early coats of varnish. Pretty much all of this is from the first day or two of varnishing:

Front view of handmade five-string fiddle with early coats of varnish. — Front view, with early coats of varnish.

Back view of handmade Oregon 5-string fiddle with early varnish coats. — Back view with early varnish coats.

Later Varnish

After the early varnish is well-cured, I scrape or sand away any sags, drips, or brush-marks. I also remove any brush-hairs that might have been overlooked earlier. Then, I lightly sand over the entire instrument. The aim is to produce a smooth surface upon which to deposit subsequent coats of varnish. (Usually, there will be about eight coats, overall, by the time I am done varnishing.)

I add the deeper color coats, still striving to produce the shading that would go along with the old instruments that everyone finds so attractive. (I have numerous excellent photos of “old-master” instruments to study, from which to gain ideas as to what is “normal” wear.) So, here are photos of the front and back of the same instrument after further layers of varnish have been applied.

Front view of Handmade Bluegrass 5-string fiddle with later layers of varnish. — Front view of same 5-string fiddle with later layers of varnish.

Back view of handmade 5-string fiddle made of Oregon Big Leaf Maple. — Back view with later varnish layers. I like that back, of Oregon Big Leaf Maple!

Future plans:

I anticipate about two or three more coats of amber varnish to deepen the shine and improve the clarity. There will be some re-touching done as needed, of course. This will be especially true after I re-install the fingerboard and fit the pegs, to begin set-up. But, the varnish is looking pretty much the way it will when it is finished, in terms of overall color. The red will probably look a little less intense, but it will still be there.

I hope to have it playing next week sometime.

This is the “sister instrument” to a five-string fiddle made last year. Each was built from wood salvaged from the scraps after I built a five-string Double Bass last Summer.

Here are some clips of the sister instrument played by Andy Pastor: https://fivestringfiddles.com/2020/12/21/first-complaint/

And, here is a 15″ 5-string viola, currently for sale in Charlotte, North Carolina, at “The Violin Shoppe!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFC9cYB7fdQ&ab_channel=GlenAlexander

Thanks for looking.

March 19, 2021October 6, 2023

New Handmade Five String Fiddle

Handmade Oregon Five-String Fiddle in Progess!

Just an update: This week was a hard one, in terms of getting things done. Unfortunately, I had some repairs to do; but I did complete the varnish prep work on the most recent five-string violin. Then I rubbed into it the mineral ground I use to fill the wood pores and prevent excessive varnish saturation.

The mineral ground (a suspension of fine particles of Gypsum, in coffee) dried rapidly. This allowed me to accomplish the final rubdown before varnishing began. Consequently, this evening, I applied the sealer, (a solution of rosin in turpentine) which is designed to soak in, and lock the mineral in place. After the solvent evaporates, leaving only the resin in the wood, I can begin varnishing. I rubbed off the excess with a rag and alcohol to make sure no unwanted residue was drying on the surface.

Next Step: Varnish!

So, here is how it looks today. From here on out, it will be varnish and set-up: It promises to be a great fiddle! (And, it did!) I will post varnish progress soon.

This is the “sister instrument” to the earlier one I made of off-cuts from the Five-string Double bass I had made. This one is from the other side of that Bass back plate.

front with sealer — Front view with sealer. I must have moved just a little, as I see it is blurred a little. But the color is accurate.

Treble side of five-string bluegrass fiddle, with sealer — Treble side, with sealer. I think those ribs are going to be beautiful!

Bass side of handmade Oregon 5-string fiddle with sealer. — Bass side, with sealer. Looks even nicer on this side!

Back view of Oregon Big Leaf Maple five-string fiddle with sealer. — Back view, with sealer. I like this best of all.

Drying Time

I always hang the fiddles in the dining room to dry, since we heat with wood, and that is where the woodstove is. The room stays warm, especially up near the ceiling. It really pays to allow sufficient time between coats, for the varnish to get dry.

Back of oregon five-string blurgrass fiddle with sealer drying. — Hanging in the dining room to allow the sealer to dry.

This is a pretty accurate view of the color, so far: I intend to use yellow varnish as my base coat(s) to produce a golden glow from within the color-coats.

Thanks for looking.

March 13, 2021August 10, 2021

Newest Development

15″ Five String Viola in North Carolina!

A shop in Charlotte, NC has agreed to take one of my fiddles on consignment.

The shop is called “The Violin Shoppe” and is a pretty important outlet in that area for stringed instruments, so I am thrilled to be represented there.

One of the owners, Glen Alexander, is a great fiddler, and demonstrated the posiblities offered by my little five-string viola, on his facebook page as well as on YouTube.

Here is the YouTube video: Glen Alexander putting my 5-string fiddle through its paces.

I’m gratified to see an Oregon Five-string fiddle, there, and to hear him play it!

Meanwhile, I have others on the way. 🙂

Thanks for looking!

March 1, 2021October 6, 2023

Five-String Progress

Handmade 5-String Fiddle coming along!

Oregon Douglas Fir Top Plate

Otto Erdesz, 1917-2000 often made top plates for violas and violins out of Douglas Fir. Professional players bought and played his instruments. They are still playing them today, although many classical players insist that European spruce is the only “proper wood” for an instrument soundboard.

Frankly, I usually agree: all my experience with Douglas Fir has seemed to indicate that it would not be a very good choice. (I believed this, even though I have played one of his instruments, and it was excellent.) So, I simply didn’t try it, until this instrument.

Game-Changer!

Earlier this winter, a friend gave me a load of clean, dry Douglas Fir firewood. I use wood heat, and we had all been told it would be a bad winter (it wasn’t.) So I felt truly grateful for the gift. Later, as I split some of it, I noticed that, unlike most Douglas Fir, it had no twist at all, and it split easily and cleanly. I picked up a chunk and tapped it, and it gave a very clear, bell-like ring. (Hah! That spells “time to try some Douglas Fir!”)

So, I searched through the pile, and found one of the few pieces long enough to use. Then I carefully split it into useable billets. Next, I sawed along the center-line to book-match a plate.

Douglas Fir billet with Rib Garland — Douglas Fir billet with Guarneri Rib Garland

I frequently use a pattern modeled after the 1735 “Plowden” Guarneri del Gesu. And…I like it, so I installed blocks in the mold, bent the ribs, and got going!

I had one more piece of “scrap” of Oregon Big Leaf Maple. Happily, I had saved it, too, from the 5-string Double bass I built last year. Understandably, I was looking forward to making a fiddle out of it. I had already made one 5-string fiddle from scrap from the other side of the bass-back, (which I sold to a bluegrass fiddle player in Ohio.) It had turned out very well, so I was anxious to get the “sister” instrument made.

Back Plate Arching Nearly Complete:

Back arching nearly complete. — Back arching nearly complete

And, the Neck

I obtained the neck billet from a tree on my wife’s parent’s place. Every time I looked at it, I found the wood very attractive, so I got started on it, as well:

neck billet in progress — Neck billet in progress.

First. I began to carve the scroll and pegbox. I find that this task requires a lot of saw-cuts, to outline the actual curl of the scroll, and then to remove the waste wood. Alternately, I can use either a saw or a gouge, but I find that the saw saves a lot of effort. Here, I use the saw.

beginning the scroll cuts — Beginning the scroll cuts

Then, I used various gouges and chisels to complete the scroll and the inside of the pegbox.

I prepare and attach the fingerboard after the scroll and pegbox are very close to complete. Then I can carve and shape the two as a unit. That hasn’t happened, yet, so the handle portion of the neck is still rough and untouched.

Scroll ready for fingerboard; Arching complete on back plate. — Scroll ready for fingerboard; Arching complete on back plate: ready for Graduations.

Completing the Front Plate

Meanwhile, I completed the carving of the front plate. Then, I laid out and cut the f-holes and began the purfling. Cutting the purfling slots by hand on Douglas Fir is quite difficult, because the winter reeds are exceedingly hard, compared to the softer summer reeds. The knife just “pops” over them so that it feels as though it is running over corrugated roofing.

As a result, I took much longer to purfle this plate than I usually do for a spruce plate. (Ah, well! Perhaps that is one reason so few luthiers are willing to use it!) But, I still have high hopes for the power and tone of the resulting instrument. This plate has exceptionally strong and clear tap-tones.

Garland leveled and Front Plate installed!

(Unfortunately, I neglected to get photos of the bass-bar process. I made it also of Douglas Fir, from the same billet. I hope to show it after I remove the mold…sorry.)

Front plate installed and waiting for glue to dry.

Well…I’m tired. I nearly completed the graduations for the back plate, but today was a long day. So, I will simply have to finish them tomorrow. However, the progress stands here, for tonight:

Completed front plate on garland, with nearly completed back plate.

Tomorrow! (yeah, tomorrow!)

I hope to get the back plate completed tomorrow, except for the purfling, which will have to wait until after I install the plate. Then, I will prepare the fingerboard and get it glued onto the neck, and I will feel as though I am “On the Home-stretch!” (But it won’t really be true: there still will be a great deal of work left to do, before it is anywhere close to completed.)

Thanks for looking!

January 26, 2021August 10, 2021

2021: Two New Five-String Fiddles on the Way

Two New Handmade Five String Fiddles Begun

One Guarneri-Style, One Oliver

The last two commissions were a five-string on the original Oliver Pattern and a five-string on the slightly-wider Guarneri pattern. Both sounded great, and both customers are very happy. So, that left me wondering which one to do next. The obvious answer: Both!

Five String fiddles Guarneri and Oliver, side by side.

I’m trying a new neck and scroll design on the Guarneri model. I hope it works well, because I really like the graceful look.

The instrument on the left (modeled after the 1735 “Plowden” Guarneri, with modifications to acommodate five strings) is left-over Oregon Big Leaf maple from building a five-string double bass, during the summer of last year (same as the Andy Pastor commission fiddle.)

Heavily Flamed Maple for the back plate.

The scroll (also Oregon Big Leaf Maple) is from a tree on the property where my wife grew up, and so are the ribs. The back is from a tree on the next ridge of hills west: about ten miles by road, probably three miles in direct line-of-flight. (Same one from which the recent double bass was taken, as well as several other instruments I have made. The late Terry Howell, of Howell Tree Farm, gave me the entire log, so I have a good supply.)

Experiment:

I have also decided to try an experiment: This will be the first time I have attempted a 5-string bluegrass fiddle with a belly of Douglas Fir, as opposed to Spruce. Otto Erdesz was famous for using it successfully in many of his instruments, so, when a friend gave me some very straight, split Douglas Fir, I decided to make the attempt, on the Guarneri model. It is quite dense compared to spruce, but it rings like a bell, when I tap it with my finger, so, I think it will be good.

Bookmatched Douglas fir top plate with Guarneri-model garland.

The back, as well as the ribs and the scroll on the right-hand instrument above (the Oliver-model) are all from the tree on my Mother- and Father-in-law’s property. The belly, as usual, is Sitka Spruce.

Spruce belly, Oregon Big Leaf Maple back and scroll.

So, that is where things stand, today:

All the parts for the two new 5-string fiddles.

Slow Start due to Repairs and other Responsibilities

This has been a slow start: 2021 saw me needing to repair my ancient bandsaw, and, even more depressing, my drill press had succumbed to the misguided attention of a marauding mouse. (The little wretch had crawled up through the ventilation holes of the electric motor and chewed off all the insulation from about 4″ of wire!)

Saw:

The bandsaw required disassembly and drilling out a worn, threaded hole, and retapping for a helicoil. The machine will probably outlast me, now.

Drill Press:

The drill press motor had to be taken apart and a new wire soldered in place. (A friend did that one for me. I really lack confidence when it comes to electric motor repair.) Fortunately, the damage was limited to just that one wire. (Maybe the plastic insulation gave the mouse a belly-ache.)

Back in business:

At any rate, I now have both machines running again, and I was able to saw out the profiles for the remaining plates as well as drilling the pilot holes in each scroll.

I should be able to get more done, now. (Gotta prune the apple-trees, too… Spring is on the way!)

Thanks for looking.

December 25, 2020October 6, 2023

Another new 5-String in Progress

Last five-string fiddle for 2020!

Most Popular Style

This is my original mold– my first five-string was built on this mold, as was the commissioned instrument from a year ago. Unfortunately, I will not complete it before the end of this year, obviously, but it is on the way.

The neck and back are made of spalted, heavily flamed Big Leaf Maple, salvaged from the yard at the home where my wife grew up. Her mom and dad had the tree taken down a few years ago, and my son and I salvaged a little of it. The front plate is sitka spruce.

front plate arching complete — Front plate arching complete.

back plate arching complete — Back plate arching complete.

It will be a few weeks…and there is another coming right behind it, but on the Guarneri mold.

Thanks for looking.

December 21, 2020October 6, 2023

First Complaint!

Nice Problem to have!

Addictive Fiddle!

I got a text message from Andy Pastor, stating his only complaint so far, regarding the new five-string fiddle he bought last week:

He isn’t getting enough sleep!

He finds that fiddle to be utterly addictive, and has been staying up ’til midnight playing the thing, even when he knows he has to get up and go to work in the morning! 🙂

Great problem to have!

Here is Andy, playing his new fiddle:

Playing the new 5-string Fiddle — Happy Fiddler!

And here are two sound clips (actually recorded in his bathroom where there are high, vaulted ceilings, producing a bit of an echo-effect…which he likes. )

🙂

First one is “St. Ann’s Reel” Second is “Arkansas Traveler.”

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=a7311bb001&attid=0.1.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1686643027999616458&th=176828e5d2ce6dca&view=att&disp=safe

Thanks for looking!