Books › Violin making and repairing, 1927 › scan 42
Scan 42
Violin making and repairing, 1927
6 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1grade glasspaper. Continue to damp and glasspaper, using finer grades of paper each time, until the back is as smooth as a piece of satin, without a single break or hollow to destroy the flowing curves. This will not be easy, but it must be done thoroughly if the violin is to look well and play well. The golden rule in fiddle-making is patience, and it will be well rewarded. Without it one may scarcely hope to become a fiddle-maker.
3Hollowing-out.—The outside of the back is now modelled, and care must be taken during subsequent operations that the fine surface is not scratched or dented in any way. The hollowing out of this plate is now to be taken in hand. First of all it must be marked out. A pencil line is first of all drawn on the flat side of the back, 1/4 in. from the edge of the back all round. At the top and bottom of the fiddle and at the four corners the blocks fit, and spaces must be left on the flat surface for these blocks, corresponding in superficial area to the actual blocks which are built into the mould. Perhaps the best way is to take out the ribs and place them in position on the back, marking the inside position with a pencil and keeping the margin even on the outside of the ribs all round the back.
5When the outline of the ribs and blocks is in position on the flat side of the violin back, the hollowing out or thicknessing must be commenced. To do this satisfactorily, three guide lines should be marked with the pencil across the back, one at the widest part of the upper bouts, one at the narrowest part of the centre
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.