This early morning building stuff might be just the ticket. I was up even earlier than normal today so I got some good work done in the shop.
My split corner I repaired yesterday turned out to be not a problem at all. In fact, it ended up being a damn fine looking bit of work if I do say so myself.
So corners finished and both sides sanded flat, it was time for Davide (slight alteration of his name to add Italian flair) to be cracked free of the fixture. The corner and top blocks are very lightly glued on to the form, so at this stage they can be separated from the form and the garland (that’s the rib structure) can be slid partially free. I’ve done this once before, so it was a little less nerve wracking. There is something really magical about this step though — the form and the fiddle are no longer one thing.
That would have been plenty of fun for one day, but it was still early so I worked on Golia (see above note on Davide). Switching on working between the two is interesting. There’s obviously the size difference, but something I found completely unexpected was that Golia already seems disposed to making sounds. For instance, when I set the fixture down on the carpet patch on my bench, the ribs scratching against the carpet is much louder than you’d imagine it would be. Davide seems like a wooden craft project like a boat or something. Golia sound like something designed to make noise.
Anyway, corners roughly trimmed, it was time to reduce the side height to the form. I did the rough reduction with the trust #65 plane and then finished it on the sanding plate.
Here’s where I started.
I didn’t get a shot of the planing, but here’s the sanding phase
This thing is starting to kinda look like the middle of a fiddle.
Next up will be finishing Golia’s corner’s and then (exciting!) splitting the two halves of the form to prepare for linings. Not a bad bit of work for a morning!
