TRADE SECRETS Makers reveal their special techniques | ¢ Using a skeleton mould TO ucting violin ribs OLIN MAKER BASED IN SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA, US THE RIBS OF A VIOLIN are most commonly constructed using six thin strips of wood, reinforced where th the corners and ends by small wooden blocks. The problem struction is how to hold those blacks and ribs uring n place while they are being shaped and assembled. Several solutions to this problem have been found, and the most popular these days is the inside mould, which was used by the major classical Cremonese makers. One solution th is rarely mentioned, however, i the skeleton mould. I started touse this method a couple of years ago, when | want .o make violin on a Guadagnini model but was too imp 10 go through the process of constructing anew inside mould I decided to make one that hi racture to hol just enough the blocks in place, but carried no information about the ‘outline ofthe finished instrument. This method is simple to set up and allows ether control orf I dont thinkit’s anew m > some older German makers using it, ut its not mentioned dom, depending on the maker’ personal inclination. thod, as have heard passing reference in most reviews of construction techniques that l have seen Unlike the traditional Cremenese-style mould, which exacty follows the inside line ofthe ribs, the steleton ‘mould provides no indication ofthe finished instruments shape. I merely serves to hold the blocks in place while | am shaping and locating the ribs A single skeleton mould can accommodate an infinite arety of rib outlines, 50 making adjustments to the outlines i far ease. | simply cut a new template rather than constructing a complete new mould, Using a skeleton mould aso helps in terms of storage, since templates take up much less space than moulds, | start each new instrument with a clean sheet of pape toa work board, and a pair of locating pins set in placeTRADE SECRETS _4 | use a template keyed to the locating pins to make a clear outline ofthe rib patter. In this case Im using a halfstemplate that i fipped to make a symmetrical layout but if want to capture a litle of the asymmetry of an original instrument, | use a fll template Bh etre on toa pis. sre ett the C-bouts makes a useful backstop when | fit the out ribs With the corner-blacks glued to the moula, | mark the outline pattern on the corner- and end:- blocks. I cut the corner-blocks to receive the C-bout rib, The work board provides a cheap, disposable surface cutting and trimming, and allows me to clamp the job easly and safely to the bench. Ths is particularly handy when chopping in the C-bout lining mortises, | glue the C-bout ribs to the comner-blocks. The skeleton ‘mould allows me to clamp directly to the back edge of each comer-block, to check the final fit of the rb on the block, land to clean up any glue that has been squeezed out, none ‘of which is possible with the Cremonese mould.»TRADE SECRETS i have cut he remaining blocs to shape bend the outer ribs and fit them in place. Its surprisingly easy to bend the ribs toa line rather than to the edges of a traditional mould, After bending on the hot ion, | can do a certain amount ‘of fine fitting by changing the ribs location on the blocks, causing them to bend alte + pp elue the ribs to the blocks ~ using a backing board ensures tat the ribs end up folowing one straight plane. The paper liner keeps me from accidentally gluing the rib structute to the board. The linings can be trimmed ether ‘now or once the ribs are removed from the mould Iggy | ring othe inside of he ribs, Beng abe to check theft ofthe linings and clean up any squeezed-out glue (not to mention avoiding sticking the linings and ribs tothe mould by mistake) sa great advantage over the Cremonese mould, where the linings’ undersides are hidden until the ribs are removed from the mould Bp 22 # pec. wanstr the nib shape othe back pate | use a washer as an offset forthe overhang or margin ofthe plate, as | would with a Cremonese mould | also mark the inside line ofthe ribs directly on tothe top and back plates ‘This isnot possible when using the Cremonese mould ‘One final advantage of using this method is the extreme. cease of detaching the ribs from the skeleton mould. ll Po eed New to The Stad Library: The Best of Trade Secrets 2 120 more pages ofuthere techniques To order call +44 1371 851800 or vst vwwyathestradlibrary.com. PENNS