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.