Books › The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871 › scan 39
Scan 39
The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871
6 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1required peculiarity of tone, which the maker wished his instrument to possess.
3Referring to the woods chiefly used in the formation of the instrument, we find that if we make two equal-sized rods, one of pine and the other of maple, with the grain running similar in each, and nip one end of each in a vice, by drawing a well-rosined violin bow across the upper end, we put each in vibration alternately,—we will find that the pine rod gives a more acute sound than the maple one, and consequently possesses the highest normal tone. The number of vibrations given by a vibrating plate is in direct proportion to its thickness—thus, a plate twice the thickness of another, other conditions being similar, will give twice the number of vibrations. Previous to the commencement of forming a back or breast, a rod ought always to be cut from them of standard size, as a sample, and its tone found, when the woods giving the highest tone are always the finest for violin-making.
5This method may be adopted:—Cut an elongated, rectangular piece of the wood, having two sides parallel to the fibres, with the edges cut perpendicular to them, and find its centre; after which obtain a small piece of cork, and place it near to the edge of a bench or table, to allow the violin bow to freely pass the cork; then place the wooden plate exactly at its centre, upon the cork, and press with the finger to keep it firm, and draw the violin bow across the edge of the wood at any of the angles, when the sound thus obtained is the lowest that the plate can produce, and is consequently its normal tone;—or we may obtain the same result
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