Books › An encyclopedia of the violin, 1925 › scan 111
Scan 111
An encyclopedia of the violin, 1925
16 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 87. See the scan on archive.org.
1that the grain of the wood is on the same side as this breadth, and runs parallel with that of the sound board itself, when the bar is glued to it.
3This piece of spruce having been trimmed as indicated, the compasses are opened 21 millimeters (3/4") and, placing one of the points on the central point of the bass-bar, the other point of the compasses is used to make a point which will be, consequently, 21 millimeters (3/4") distant from the joint of the sound board. This is absolutely the same process described in order to find the square of the sound board itself. A line is then drawn at the point marked, parallel with the emplacement joint of the bass-bar.
5In order to give the bar the curve necessary if it is to adapt itself naturally, and as though of its own accord to the sound board, one must proceed in the following manner:
7The prepared bass-bar, as was the case when obtaining the models of the archings, is laid edgewise on the line which has been drawn on the interior or inner side of the sound board, and, opening the compasses as far as necessary, one of the points is laid down flat on the sound board, while the other is laid flat on the bass-bar. The compasses are moved from one end to the other of the bar, and thus the curve of the arch of the sound board is obtained.
9The knife is then used to remove all unnecessary wood; the bar is brought to the place at the sound board where it is to be glued fast, and, little by little, all the wood which might prevent its entire adjustment to the sound board is removed. Then it is set up squarely and is ready to be glued fast. That part of the violin on which this bar rests should be cut slightly on a bias, since, being glued, it forms a right angle with the sound board.
11In order to glue the bass-bar to the sound board, wooden tools, known as sound-bar cramps are employed, as shown in Figure 16, Plate 32.
13The foot of the bass-bar is covered with glue and is then attached to the line already drawn on the sound board, in such a manner that the two ends are each equally removed from the top and the bottom of the sound board. The sound board is taken up by the four fingers of the left hand and held in place while the bass-bar is pressed and held in place by the thumb of the same hand. Thus the right hand is free to act, and is used to pass a bar clamp below the sound board on the one side, and one above the bass-bar on the other. Then, by pressing a little, the clamp is forced forward until the bar is adequately fixed in position, when five or six more of these bar clamps are introduced, at equal distances one from another, until the whole bass-bar has been attached to the sound board. Then, with a brush and some hot water, the glue which may have run over along the joint of the bar is removed, and it is allowed to dry.
15The glue used in affixing the bass-bar having dried, the clamps are removed, and taking the sound board on the knees, the larger segments of superfluous wood are removed with the tooth plane or scraper. Compasses are then taken, opened to 10 millimeters (a fraction over 1/3"), one of the points
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