Hello, Cello

[tippie53]

http://asiartisans.org/content/
at the bottom of the page is a link to sending in articles. I am sure this would be of interest. Bear Auker is the editor and would be happy for this

[Dan Bombliss]

I sent him an email with the link and some information, if he likes it maybe I'll hear back.

Thanks, John

-Dan

[Dan Bombliss]

Heya guys,

Checking in again with a small bit more progress on my Cello build. I'd like to pre-appoligize for the a couple out of focus pictures, I just got them off of my camera tonight and didn't realize that they were out of focus on the small digital screen.

So, long story short since last posts, the plates have been removed and I cut the purfling channels after making purfling with LMI dyed veneer sheets and some titebond. So the trickiest part of this whole deal are corners, as they have to be cut by hand, which unfortunately I managed to lose the pictures for in the midst of changing cameras and using the same card, so no pictures for that.

And since unlike my violin I do not have any arching templates to use, I got my hands on a very nice high end cello that has seen better days (cracks/structural damage) and copied the arches with a contour gauge, and traced it to paper. So for a visual aid when I'm final arching these plates I will use my contour gauge frequently, and lay it over the tracings of the arches of this cello here. The cello I traced was appraised in the 8-10k range prior to being damaged, so it's not like using a crap build for visual aids. The arches themselves are going to play a huge part in tone and over all appearance of the instrument.

So here's some pictures:


Overview, routed channels for purfling


A corner immediately after being cut out by hand. The process is done by scribing the lines with a tool that rides the edge, and seeing where the corners intersect. It's done very lightly so that you can try a couple times to get the look you want. Also, with the corners, an option for a different effect is to add stringers, which is lengthening the point further. In this picture there is a pencil line to draw that in, so try to ignore that.




Here's an example of the same exact corner but with the stinger actually cut. The effect lengthens the purfling and makes it look a bit more elegant.


Sorry for the out of focus pictures, but it's the only overview of the purfling installed that I have. So I have to post as is, I'll get cleaner pictures later on.


Same corner, with purfling installed. The corners are very difficult to make a perfect fit, as the corners are cut by hand with a knife. A big part of the final finishing will be detailing them to fill the voids and touch them up in a fashion that the beauty marks won't be as evident.



-Dan

[Dan Bombliss]

As for copying the arches:


It's pretty simple as far as what I'm doing, it won't be an exact copy, but more so a point of reference in different parts of the cello. It's straight forward, contour gauge on upper bout, lower bout, c bout on the top and back and then the long arch on the top and back as well. The top arch on this is pretty much symmetrical from tail and neck end, where as how I needed a neck end long arch and tail end long arch for the back since they are definitely not symmetrical.


Just as easy as it looks, then just be careful and take it to paper. For those who are interested in doing a carved top Les Paul or something along those lines, same principal can be used to copy that.


So here's the lines for my reference. As I'm arching I'm going to contour gauge my work, and then lay the gauge over these lines and see how I need to change what I've got to do. What I've been finding I like to do when arching is kind of isolate these different points, both sides of the upper,lower, and c bouts, and the long arches, and then you can pretty well see what you need to do to blend it well. Lighting is extremely crucial when doing it, try to use a drafting lamp that can be moved freely and move it till you can see the shadows of what you're doing.

If someone were for example wanting to copy a les paul with out using templates and doing it this way, it'd be the same deal. You could trace the bouts, and the long arches, and then just start concentrating on those spots and checking the gauge to your tracings. And once you get the different points closer to where you want them, it's very evident where the ridges are that you can then blend into those spots you followed the tracings for.

I'll keep posting progress of this build as I get the pictures, so keep checking if you're interested,

-Dan

[Tom West]

Dan: What's the matter....??? Building guitars not hard enough. Congrats on that super project and a real interesting blog.
Tom

[tippie53]

What's next , a harp ?

[Dan Bombliss]

I don't know about a harp! Hah, but possibly another cello.

By the way John, I emailed Alton about the article at guitar maker magazine, and he seems to like the idea. So long as my picture quality improves (which it will with my new camera) he says the pictures should be usable. The only thing possibly keeping it from working out was the poor quality.

Thanks for the suggestion,

dan

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Dan, this is such a cool project, please keep the pictures and dialoge coming. I am enjoying it.

Kevin

[johnnparchem]

Dan this is inspiring. Really nice job on the plates and purflings.

[nkwak]

Wow, this is really interesting! Great job so far!