You've probably noticed that there hasn't been much going on here lately. That's because our house recently sold, and we're moving. I've been way too busy packing boxes to work on my viola. I'll start up again on it as soon as we're settled into our new place, wherever that happens to be. That could be as early as August, or as late as September; we'll just have to see. Life is exciting!

I cut out the places for the corner blocks, and finished it with some clear polyurethane. This will protect it so I can use it in the future, and keep the wood from changing.

Gracie cut out her violin back.

I glued the corner blocks on mine, and cut out the points.

Here we are at the violin making class!

Cutting the Ribs

Yesterday evening, my Dad helped us cut the ribs using a table saw. The maple is very hard, so it was sometimes difficult for the saw to cut through it. 

A couple days ago, I used a band saw to cut out my viola mold, leaving about 1/8 inch of extra wood around the line. I used a sander to trim it down the rest of the way.

This is the wood that I will be using to make the ribs and neck.

Next, I drew all the reference lines I would need on the wood.

After that, I traced around the template on a piece of wood. I then bolted another piece of wood to the first one, so that they were exactly 30 mm. thick.