2012-05-14
In early May I had 2 productive shop days. The linings are now in place on both instruments.
The ribs for the larger fiddle are the same height as the form, so I broke the glue
joints holding the rib garland in place, slid it up about 6mm, and used aluminium tape to hold
it in place. This is sufficiently stable for the next few steps.
I tapered the
linings by clamping them to the edge of the workbench at both ends, then used a small carving
knife to taper one side. This worked very well. Soaking in warm water made the willow pliable,
making the process of bending to suite the rib shapes easy. With the linings preformed, gluing
them in place was easy.