Here's an update on my violin making class from last week. Scroll down to the post before this one to see how it looked when I went in to the course on Monday, then come back and look at these pictures.
You can see the back is much thinner and closer to the finished size (on the edges). When I went in on Monday it was about 8mm thick around the sides and now it's down to about 4.5mm on the edges and I'm working my way down just inside the edges. In the picture of the back you see the little thumb planes that I'm using. You can also see there's still a lot of wood to come off.
The second picture shows that I joined the spruce top together and got started on the rough arching for it.
It really makes a difference when you know how to use the tools. Not only did I not really know how to use the gouges effectively, but I was not being nearly aggressive enough removing wood. I learned how to sharpen gouges, planes, and chisels. I learned how to use planes, and the pencil calipers.
Last year when I finished the week, I came home not really knowing how to proceed, so I read about it in books. This year, I know what I have to do and I know how to do it. The only thing that'll slow down the process is my technique. It's one thing to have watched it being done, and another altogether actually doing it. What is it they say about surgery ... "See one, do one, teach one". So in the spirit of my personal motto, "How hard can it be", I expect to get a lot done this year.
Stay tuned!
