Progress Report 8/3/21

Foundational Work For 5-string Fiddles

My last post showed the six “kits” I had built. The post included bookmatching the five-string fiddle plates, cutting the profiles of the Big Leaf Maple necks and scrolls, and cutting appropriate ribs to size. As a result, I ended up with six kits, including bass bar blanks all cut from the same billet of Englemann Spruce, and a big pile of linings ready to bend. ( I thought the linings were willow, but I now suspect may be poplar, instead.)

Five of these front plates ar Englemann Spruce, but one is Douglas Fir. I rarely find Douglas Fir that will work for tonewood, but a friend brought me a pickup-load of firewood, and I found some that sounds great. (As you can see, I am not a “snob” about where I get my wood. If I need special wood, I buy it, but I frequently use Oregon woods.)

(In case anyone reading this is not aware, I build all my instruments (except the fittings, as a rule) entirely from the raw materials. I make all my molds by hand, and all my templates by hand. I have even made many of my tools. So every instrument is genuinely “handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop.”) 🙂

materials laid out for 5-string fiddles to be made in Oregon by Chet Bishop — Four of the six assembled “kits.”

I set aside four of the six “kits,” just to get them out of the work area. Then I began work on the remaining two kits.

Fiddles in pieces, waiting to become 5-string fiddles handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop — Two of the four kits in storage.

Beginning the Builds

The first step after shaping the blocks (last post) is to bend the ribs and linings. Then I can glue the ribs to the prepared blocks, using hot hide glue, and finally glue the linings to the ribs.

I rub a heavy coat of candle-wax (“paraffin” in the US) on the outer rims of my molds. This will prevent a “sneaky” drop of hide-glue from accidentally bonding the ribs to the molds instead of just to the blocks.

(A rib accidentally glued to the mold can be a disaster if I don’t realize my mistake in time. The glue is definitely stronger than the rib. It will destroy the rib, if I don’t catch it early enough to use hot water or steam to release it. But the wax coating pretty much eliminates that problem.)

I used a bending iron and a thin aluminum bending strap, to hand-shape the ribs, and then put them aside in paired sets, with the respective molds for which they are intended.

ribs and linings bent for handmade 5-string fiddle by Chet Bishop in Oregon — Ribs and linings bent and ready to install.

Installing the Ribs

I installed the center-bout ribs first: they can be difficult, so I’m glad they are first. But the real reason they are first, is that the upper and lower ribs will overlap the ends of the center ribs: they do not have a mitered corner, but a lapped corner, which if done correctly, is essentially invisible.

installing ribs on 5-string bluegrass fiddle handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishopribs — A pair of center-bout ribs installed.

I frequently use these “French-style” molds, (flush on the back) which allow me to install the front linings and still easily remove the mold. (Italian-style molds are centered on the ribs…I use that kind, too.)

I used cylindrical clamping cauls of appropriate sizes (dowels, broom-handles…whatever) and f-clamps to quickly secure the rib ends before the hot hide glue gels. If I make a mistake, I can steam the joint loose with a teapot, and do it over, correctly.

After the center-bout ribs dry, I shape the ends of the ribs to match the curvature of the blocks. Then the upper and lower ribs can be glued to the perfectly-shaped block and rib. Finally, I begin installing the upper and lower ribs.

installing ribs on 5-string fiddle handmade by Chet Bishop in Oregon — First upper rib installed: notice the shaped endes of the center-bout ribs.

Installing ribs in 5-string fiddle handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop — A pair of matching upper ribs installed.

installed ribs on five-string fiddle handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop — All the upper and lower ribs installed. (Looking from the back side of the mold.)

ribs installed on two five-string fiddles, handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop, Luthier. — Two completed rib-sets, ready to be trimmed before adding linings. (Lots of smoke blowing in from the fires this season, making the light kind of red.)

Necks!

While waiting for glue to dry on the ribs, I laid out the necks so that I will be ready to begin carving them.

Linings!

After trimming all the corners, so that they look as though the ribs come together as one, I begin installing the linings. I cut a small mortise on each side of each block, flush with the rib, so that the lining will be glued tightly to the rib, and into the block mortise. I secure them all using hot hide glue.

Next, I cut the linings to length, shaping the ends to closely fit the prepared mortises. Then, I coat about 7mm of the edge of the rib, and the entire mating surface of the lining with hot hide-glue and insert the lining into the mortises and push it to the correct level, corresponding to the ribs. Finally, moving rapidly, I secure it with small spring-clamps.

installing linings in five-string fiddles being handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop — One set of linings fully installed: one to go!

Linings installed in five-string fiddles handmade in Oregon by Chet Bishop — All the front linings installed in both molds.

I made a good deal of progress yesterday, and had hoped to make more progress today, but there were some household repairs that needed to be addressed first; so I didn’t begin working on violins until mid-afternoon.

Tomorrow I will level the fronts of the garlands and trace the front plates… I hope. 🙂

Thanks for looking!

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.

Tag: Made in Oregon

Progress report: fiddles for Fall of 2021