Progress on the 16-1/2″ five-string Viola

Beginning the plates

When I last posted, I had traced the shape of the garland onto the plates and was ready to cut out the plates. I decided to wait on the back plate, but the front plate was ready to go, so I cut it out, using my band saw, and smoothed the edges, using the spindle sander and files. (I have built precisely one instrument without power tools of any sort: One of my early teachers required it, so I complied, but it convinced me that, at my age, I need to save my joints for the things that I have to do by hand, rather than beating them to death just on principle. Besides, I am convinced that if the old masters had possessed power tools, they would have used them without question. They were very practical people.)

So, with the front plate cut to shape, I first marked the edge at a thickness of 4.5 mm. I used a wheel-style marking gauge, with a sharp disc, to mark the thickness and scribe it into the edge of the plate, all the way around. Then I began cutting away waste wood to achieve the desired arching shape. I checked a poster (Published by The Strad) of the “Conte Vitale” 1676 viola by Andrea Guarneri . It is one of the most frequently copied violas in the world, as it is a large viola that works very well, and copies of it frequently work very well, too. I am modifying the pattern a little for superior playability, but I have made this model before, so it is not “guesswork.”

I forgot to take pictures, initially, but here are a couple, belatedly:

Remaining scribe-line for edge-thickness on the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Remaining scribe-line for edge-thickness. I plane down to the line all around, eventually.

Line beginning to disappear on the edge of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Line beginning to disappear.

Arching complete on the front plate of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Arching complete.

Arching complete and f-holes laid out for the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Arching complete and f-holes laid out.

F-hole Layout and Incision

Once the arching was complete, right down to scraping, I laid out the f-holes, and incised them deeply into the European Spruce of the front plate. Incising the f-hole outline allows me to turn the plate and sight over the edge of the plate at the profile. I want the main stem of the f-hole to be essentially parallel with the plane of the ribs, when seen from the side. I use this as a final correction for the arching, and without exception, it has required me to correct the shape of the arching before moving on.

F-holes laid out and incised deeply on the front plate of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — F-holes laid out and incised deeply.

Graduation

Once the arching is truly completed, and I am satisfied with the f-holes, I begin graduating the inside of the plate. This means that I am carving the inside of the plate to “match the outside,” in that it will be an appropriate thickness all over. I usually want the center area between the f-holes one thickness, the band running up the center to each end slightly thinner, and the wing areas outside that area quite a bit thinner. There is no “set” thickness, and each luthier has to make choices in order to achieve what he or she wants from an instrument. Getting what you hope for depends on those choices you make, and the choices were (hopefully) made intelligently, based on the type and density of the chosen wood, the shape of the arching, and so forth. Getting the arching and graduations right is a lot of carving on a large instrument, but it pays off in quality of sound.

beginning to carve the interior of the front plate of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Beginning to carve the interior for thickness graduation.

Carving away the waste wood from the interior of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Carving away all this waste wood produces a lot of shavings. Fortunately, we heat our home with wood, and the shavings are great for starting the morning fire. 🙂

Carving thickness "dots" for the front plate of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Once I am getting close, I carve “dots,” calibrated to specified thicknesses.

Connecting the thickness "dots" on the front plate of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola, by planing. — “Connecting the dots,” using a finger plane.

Frequently I can see the traces of the incised f-holes from the inside by the time I am finished with the graduation of the front plate. And, believe it or not, I always can easily see light through the spruce plate, in the thinner areas, if I hold it up to a lamp.

Cutting out the F-holes

I use a special tool to cut the upper and lower eyes of the two f-holes, then use a small knife to finish cutting them out.

f-hole cutter, boring the "eyes" of the f-holes on the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — I use an f-hole cutter to open the upper and lower “eyes” of the f-holes.

Ready to cut out the stems of the f-holes on the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Ready to cut out the stems of the f-holes. (Earlier instrument…I forgot to take pictures…)

Bass Bar

Once the f-holes are cut out and refined, the next thing is the bass bar. This is the only brace attached to the inside of a violin, viola or cello: it supports the bass foot of the bridge, and provides for clarity and strength to the bass notes. An instrument with a weak bass bar will not sound good.

With no point of reference, it is hard to realize the size of that plate: so here is a standard violin-sized plate for comparison: A 16-1/2″ viola is pretty big.

Size comparison with violin plate and bassbar: 16-1/2" five-string Viola compared to a violin. — Size comparison with violin plate and bass bar.

Bass bar glued into the 16-1/2" five-string Viola, and ready for trimming to shape. — Bass bar glued, and ready for trimming to shape.

Proposed shape of completed bass bar in the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Proposed shape of the completed bass bar.

I cut the bass bar to the desired shape, using gouges, planes and scrapers.

Completed bass bar in the 16-1/2" five-string Viola. — Completed bass bar.

Another size comparison between the 16-1/2" five-string Viola and a violin. — Another size comparison. Same violin plate.

Inner Edgework

I know it will be difficult to accomplish the inner edgework after the plate is installed, so I always do that first. I also trim and shape the linings, so that they taper smoothly into the ribs.

Installing the Front Plate

I dry-clamped the plate to the Garland, and then, using a thin palette knife, slipped hot hide glue (on the thin side, for easy removal if needed) into the unclamped areas and immediately applied padded spool clamps to tightly hold the plate until the glue could dry. Then I removed the first few clamps and inserted glue there, and reclamped. My wife thinks the instrument looks as though it is wearing hair-curlers at this point. 🙂

Front plate of the 16-1/2" five-string Viola installed, glued and clamped to the garland. — Front plate installed, glued and clamped.

And that is where the instrument rests for tonight.

Thanks for looking.

Five-String Viola in progress

Delayed Five-String Viola Completion

I have been seeing increased interest in 5-string violas, lately, so I am working to “populate” my five-string viola stock. This is the viola design I began with over 20 years ago (The mold says 1999; it was my very first instrument.) and it makes a very nice small viola. So I decided it would probably make a great 5-string viola as well.

I began the work quite some time ago, but other projects took priority, so the little viola languished on the bench. The back is curly, spalted maple from a tree that had been taken down on my wife’s parents’ place, and the belly is Sitka spruce. Both the front and back plates are one-piece in this case…something I seldom do. (One-piece front plates are uncommon. One-piece backs are quite common, and I prefer them.)

The rib-garland had been completed and the plates traced out months ago; so, after delivering the last commissioned instrument, I finally felt free to get to work again on the viola.

Completed Rib Garland for Five String viola. — Completed Rib Garland. Linings and blocks still require shaping and scraping.

Five-string viola arching complete: ready to graduate the plates

I failed to take any photos while arching…so we are beginning with that portion complete.

Front and Back Plates for Five String viola. — Front and Back Plates, completed except f-holes, bass-bar, purfling, and edgework.

Graduation of back plate for Five String viola. — Graduation of back plate.

Carving the back plate for the Five String viola. — Carving “dots” with specific thicknesses. Notice the button graft, to replace damaged wood.

On the backs, especially, I make a practice of carving “dots” to specific thicknesses, following a plan in my mind. Once all the dots are correct, I “connect the dots” using small planes, until the entire interior is a smooth continuum, and all the correct thicknesses.

"Connecting the Dots" on a Five String viola back plate. — Connecting the Dots.

The Spruce is a lot easier to plane, so I tend to just measure and plane. Most people use gouges for all this work, but I like using the planes.

Graduating Front Plate for a Five String viola. — Graduating Front Plate, using curved-sole plane.

Cutting the f-holes on the Five-String viola

Once the plates are completed (which also involved laying out and incising the f-holes) I still have to actually cut out the f-holes. I used to do this using just a knife, but it was time-consuming, and I found it difficult to get the round parts “round.” My grown children bought this tool for me, a special tool for cutting just the upper and lower eyes of f-holes. It works beautifully!

f-hole cutter in action, cutting the f-hole eye on a Five String viola. — F-hole cutter in action: this tool cuts a perfectly round hole for the eyes of the f-holes.

F-hole cutter mark on a Five String viola. — F-hole cutter mark.

F-hole cutter with plug removed from a Five String viola front plate. — F-hole cutter with plug removed.

Five String viola front plate with F-hole cutter work completed. — F-hole cutter work complete… Knife work remains.

Five String viola Plates essentially complete. — Plates essentially complete: bass bar, purfling, and edgework remain.

Beginning the Scroll for the Five-String viola

While things were being sorted around, and different tasks became logical, I decided to get a start on the scroll and neck. Didn’t get very far, but here it is:

Beginning the scroll of a Five String viola. — Beginning the scroll.

There is still a long way to go, but it is feeling more as if I was getting something done, at least.

Installing and cutting the Bass-bar is next.