Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 126
Scan 126
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
14 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 100. See the scan on archive.org.
1In order to ascertain the height of the sound post, one should take a piece of steel wire or a knitting needle, let us say, and passing it through the upper curve of the F-hole, lower its end until it rests on the inside of the back of the violin. The steel is then nicked or marked at the surface of the sound board, it is drawn out and the proper length which the sound post should have has been established.
3The grain of the pine or spruce of which the sound post is made should run in the direction contrary to the grain of the spruce of which the sound board is made. This important detail should not be forgotten, in order that the remainder of our explanation may be entirely understood.
5The back and the sound board of the violin not being perfectly flat, but well arched, it is necessary, in order that the head and the foot of the sound post join the two parts in question absolutely and perfectly, to cut them slightly on a bias. A perfectly sharpened knife is used to give this slight bias to the sound post, and the bias should be cut with and not against the grain of the pine or spruce of which the sound post is made.
7A sound post setter is then taken, its point is thrust into the sound post at about 10 to 11 millimeters (1/4" to 1/3") below its head, and in the tender part of the wood. Then the sound post is passed through the curve of the right hand F-hole of the violin, and its foot is rested against the back, its head inclining toward the lower end of the violin. Once the foot has been placed approximately in the position it is to occupy definitely, the sound post is raised and allowed to slide beneath the sound board, until it has assumed a vertical position. The point of the sound post setter is then withdrawn from the sound post, and, laying this tool aside, the work of giving the sound post its proper position is completed by means of hooks.
9The place it should occupy is 2 millimeters (1/12") to the rear of the bridge, and exactly 21 millimeters (3/4") distant from the central point of the sound board; that is to say, if we imagine a line drawn parallel to the joint of the sound board of the instrument, the exterior part of the foot of the bridge and the exterior part of the outer portion of the head of the sound post will both be on this line, whose distance from the joint is about 21 millimeters (3/4").
11The sound post having now been put in position, it is necessary to place the button, which should be introduced somewhat forcefully into the block, in order to fix it there solidly.
13The mounting of the strings is now all that remains in order to complete the violin, and they should be most carefully strung, care being taken that they do not become entangled in the peg box. This operation is so simple a one that it seems superfluous to detail it.
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