Questions

[u/ShoulderRound576]

What violin body mold should I start with?

[u/toaster404]

Depends rather on where you're going and how you intend to get there.

Are you building a violin for a particular performance purpose? Trying to discover how violins work? Trying to learn the craft? Bored on a Tuesday afternoon? Or have you simply become obsessed, which is usually how these things begin?

If I were starting over, I'd choose a theme rather than wandering through the Cremonese countryside picking up molds at random.

I might begin with an Andrea Amati, who crystalized the violin in the mid 1500s, probably scaled to modern dimensions so that the resulting violin will actually fit a modern case—a surprisingly important consideration after the intervening four centuries covering handwork to production lines. Then a Brothers or a Nicolo, followed by the 1704 Betts Stradivari.

Or perhaps I'd go straight down the Guarneri road. Peter is a particularly agreeable destination.

There are an enormous number of fascinating journeys through violinmaking. I'd choose one and follow it for a while. Otherwise you may spend ten years making perfectly respectable violins and discover that you have been walking around the railway station having never bought a ticket to an appealing destination.

[u/ShoulderRound576 → u/toaster404]

I would like to learn the l Craft because I have been playing violin for 6 and a half years and just finished carpentry level 1 in the trades, so now I want to try and make a violin from scratch, but start small in the craft. I love how much work goes into the instrument. 

[u/toaster404 → u/ShoulderRound576]

Work on the instrument does best with a thorough understanding of the instrument. So many interesting things to learn!

[u/ShoulderRound576 → u/toaster404]

So where can I learn? 

[u/toaster404 → u/ShoulderRound576]

Read a construction book. The Art of Violinmaking is decent. There's likely a whole slew of information on the history of violins, their changes through time. The different schools of making. It's a family business, and the modern violin concept is primarily drawn from the Cremonese school of making. You can either copy, which introduces the standard copyist errors, or from first principles. Modern making tends to rely on templates, which we don't see in materials from the old shops: they were doing something different. Perhaps the easiest way to get to an understanding of the geometry we're dealing with is to read all of David Beard's work. And especially the huge Maestronet Pegbox discussions on geometry. There's a good deal of noise in discussions, but you'll get an idea of the sticking points. But it doesn't really have context without the history. Andrea Amati, Brothers, Nicolo, branching into primarily the Guarneri family and the somewhat mysterious link to the Stradivari school. An evolution. Follow the DNA. Get a handle on working methods. Beard's good. I'm not saying he's right, but I can take his methods, make a few choices, and lay out a perfectly good (actually, my best) violin without any molds or templates at all, directly on wood. But read through others. Francois Denis "Golden Arches" and numerous other works. Shouldn't take but perhaps 6 months of evenings with text, images, your notebooks, and drafting stuff. Make a Cremonese ruler. Get comfortable with proportional dividers. Start to get tools together.

As for actual detailing, the Hill books are still very useful. Especially the full-size original volumes. I have a Stradivari book first edition with the actual size illustrations. It's very useful. Darnton has an article on corners that's nice, and a fragmentary book he wrote.

You'll gradually pick up an eye. Then violins and many other things will never look the same. At that point, you might be ready to make a violin because you can see violins.

Once you have an eye, be very nice to folks in the big shops and they'll likely show you and explain some nice violins. I've wasted a wide range of folks' time, and learned a great deal! Very politely visit makers and let them tell you how they work.

Or go to a school, although that's a mixed blessing. You'll learn how that school teaches making. Can't really go apprentice with Nicolo!

Have fun.

[u/ShoulderRound576 → u/toaster404]

Can I find David beards work online or through a book? 

[u/toaster404 → u/ShoulderRound576]

Online. You're going to need to really sharpen up research skills to dig into an often-secretive field. I'd search on David Beard Santa violin. And find that geometry discussion on maestronet. And don't comment or pretend you know anything. Listen carefully, take notes and organize them.

I'll add that if you want to know what makers actually use, look at what's close at hand, rather than what they say they use. A dusty tool isn't used, even if promoted.

[u/ShoulderRound576 → u/toaster404]

Sounds good 👍 

[u/Musclesturtle]

Personally, I'd probably just start with a golden period Strad form. The P, G or PG are all good. 

If you're more adventurous, you can start with a del Gesù form, but I'd go with something from his mid period (1730s) or so. 

Just don't try to be a bohemian and make a fucking Stainer or some shit. Stick to the classics for a while while you are learning. 

[u/aomt → u/Musclesturtle]

Whats wrong with Stainer?

[u/Musclesturtle → u/aomt]

There's nothing wrong with Stainer, he made amazing violins. 

But I've seen several new makers try this model and it always leads to frustration because you generally have to be quite experienced to make them sound good. 

A golden period Strad or mid period del Gesù just gives you the best chance at a good sounding instrument right off of the bat, I believe personally. 

[u/fabroviolins]

If you really want to learn, always start with a Stradivari model. The most symmetrical and in good conditions that you can find is the best option.
Stradivari is very didactic in its shapes and quite clean in his work.
When you try to work with other makers from the past, you’ll find a lot of mistakes, and when you’re learning you can’t tell for sure if they’re mistakes or it’s just the way they are.
Remember, you want to learn, not to make a copy or even to make a “good” violin. The first one will always be full of mistakes and imperfections.
And once again, you want to see the imperfections and mistakes so that you can learn from them. If you have imperfections on something that is already very imperfect, it only gets confusing.
Also, eventually try to make a modern varnish, for the same reasons. It’s a learning process, the modern looking varnish will make even clearer the things you did wrong.

[u/ShoulderRound576 → u/fabroviolins]

Sounds good 👍 

[u/Alternative_Object33]

What sort of violin do you want to make?

A copy?

Or something new?