Fiddling Granny gets poetic

Suddenly September

Just yesterday we thrilled at tiny buds on all the trees,
We anxiously awaited to see dragonflies and bees.
The days grew ever longer and warm breezes melted snow,
Now it’s suddenly September, where did the summer go?

Just yesterday we tapped the trees then boiled the golden treasure,
We dreamed and planned of endless days of summer play and leisure.
We delighted when the loons came home and cried their soulful call.
Now it’s suddenly September, coloured leaves have begun to fall.

Just yesterday the phoebes built a nest outside our door.
Summer days bred evening storms, with lightening’s flash and thunder’s roar.
Giggling children paddled toes in icy water off the dock,
Now it’s suddenly September, can I turn back the clock?

As I sit beside the cracking fire and ponder coming days,
There’s turkey dinners, pumpkin pies and Christmas holidays.
When days cool down and birds fly south and the harvest moon rises high,
Carpe diem, live for today, for it will suddenly be July.

copyright wmel 2006

More on the fiddlemaking

Okay ... here's the back of my fiddle with the sides sitting on it. I traced the outsides of the sides onto it, then with great anxiety made my way to the band saw.


I was pretty anxious about cutting into this beautiful one inch thick piece of maple, so I decide that I was just going to cut the corners off and take a few big "bites" off it, then I would quit for the day. As I got going and got the feel of it, I started to calm myself a bit, and then went hog-wild and cut the whole thing out.





Here's the sides sitting on the back. I've left about 5 mm all the way around for filing, sanding and finishing. What you see on this side will be the inside of the violin, but it will have to be carved out. That comes after I carve the outside.


















This is the sides and back sitting side by side ... what you see in this one will be the outside of the back. It has really pretty flames (the sort of stripes) and you can see the really cool bird's eye lines in the grain.
















Next I take my big gouge and start cutting away everything that doesn't look like a violin.

The sides are done

Okay, so here it is. I've installed the linings and the sides of my fiddle are now complete.

It was really stressful cutting into the corner block to fit the ends of the liners in. The cuts into the corner blocks aren't as pretty as the picture in my book of "how to", but I'm really proud of how it has turned out so far.

The next step is to draw the outline on the bird's eye maple back (it's one piece) and cut it ... then start carving.

Muggins' Blog

I'd tell the story of what happened today, but I think it's better coming from the main player in the scenerio.

Check out Muggins' Blog.

Beta & other Stuff

Susane has been trying to get us all to switch to the beta-version .... I'll look at it when I have some time in between other things, but this weekend is busy. Until then, apparently she won't be commenting, which must be killing her.

This is shaping up to be a lovely weekend in Fort Irwin ... it's sunny, and supposed to be in the mid 20's both today and tomorrow. It had already cooled down enough that I'd pulled out a knitting project that I'd put away a couple of years ago. It had what seemed to be an insurmountable error. Guess what .... two hours and I'm now finishing the seams. It should be done by the end of the weekend. I've pulled out another in progress one I worked on it for a while last night and now that's smoking along too.

Today, I have to take a few deep breaths and say a few yoga "aaoouums" in the lotus position to calm myself enough to glue in the linings on my in-progress fiddle. I'll have to do a little bit of intimidating work with a razor saw to install some of them properly. But, hey, "How hard can it be?".

We have a pot-luck tomorrow so I made a big pot of Chili Mole (pronounced mole-ay). So now it's laundry, a bit of housework, some fiddling, and if the wind comes up, some sailing would be appropriate.

Nice to have another summer weekend ..... delay the nasty winter (that's for susane who can't comment with her "I love winter" b.s. LOL

More on the Wendivarius

So I've been working on my fiddle .... if you check the last posting that I did on it, you could see the corners weren't trimmed. I've spent a a lot of time with the plane, sandpaper and various other things getting the sides finished.

If you look at the corners they're nicely trimmed ... they just need a final go with the drum-sander to ensure they're perfectly square.

What you can't really see from this picture is that it's perfectly smooth and level on the top and bottom of the sides. The upper end is exactly 30 mm and the lower end is exactly 32 mm. Just as planned.

I'm still reeling with shock and awe. So next I fit the linings in, which are willow strips that support the sides and give the top and bottom a little more meat to hang onto.

After that is done the mould comes out of the middle and it will sit and wait patiently while I carve the belly, back and neck. I'm looking forward to doing the scroll!

I'll keep you posted as I go.