Books › Violin making, 1902 › scan 169
Scan 169
Violin making, 1902
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 99. See the scan on archive.org.
1looks so and is. When fitted and completed, the bridge must be as near perpendicular as possible; if there be any inclination, it must tend to the tailpiece, and very slightly, thus checking the certain tendency of the strings to pull it forward, which must be always closely watched, as if it fall on the belly of the violin, it is most liable to break—not only so, but to crack that same soundboard. The outer edges may be either filed to an angle of one-sixteenth of an inch bare, or neatly rounded.
3The soundpost must engage your closest attention, and must be of old Swiss pine. There is, again, no rule as to thickness—some violins do best with a thick, others with medium to thin post. I only tell you for guidance, a medium to thin is mostly used by me. It must be evenly rounded, and both ends filed so that the angles of back and belly may fit exactly when it is placed inside. To get the exact length is not an easy matter; but you will find this hint useful: with a thin piece of wood gauge the depth through the upper hole of the sound hole from the back to the outer surface of the belly, and your post will have to be a trifle longer than this, minus the thickness of the belly. Then take a soundpost setter and fix the pointed end into the wood, sloping sides towards you, of course, and do your best to place this most exacting, but most necessary adjunct, just behind the centre of the foot of the bridge on the E side—the distance of about a good sixteenth of an inch behind the side next to the tail piece. When fitted, it must be neither slack nor tight, but between the two.
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