Bending the ribs ...

I am always fascinated by the structure of the violin and, despite its aesthetic beauty, its remarkable structural qualities. 

Not being familiar with the mathematics of structure and just using my layman’s intuition, I am amazed that violins have withstood the passage of time considering that the average thickness of the ribs (sides) is around 1.1 mm thick!

So whenever I am bending the sides on the hot bending iron I am in total wonderment at how delicate the pieces are, yet as a structure they can support so much tension. So I guess the old adage comes to mind that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.

Regarding the bending of the ribs. There are numerous methods in doing this. Some violinmakers bend the ribs precisely to a pencil line marked on a flat board of wood. Others use a full depth outside mould (the French system) and then there is the Italian way of using an inside mould about a third of the ribs height in thickness. This is what I use and owing to its nature adds a unique dimension to the violin of the inner c bout ribs being slightly concave and the top and bottom ribs slightly convex, thus naturally adding a unique character to each instrument.

On doing the bending I have developed a system of using the natural moisture and flexibility of the piece to fit snugly against the mould – not by bending the ribs to the exact shape but bending them ever so slightly and then pulling the rib around the mould.  Thus the curves have a natural tension in them as I mentioned in an earlier blog post. They tend to fit better around the mould and retain their flexibility without becoming too brittle from excessive heat bending.

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Bending the linings ...

The linings are thin strips of wood 2 mm in thickness and 7.5 mm deep. They reinforce the ribs and add an extra gluing surface when finally gluing on the back and front. The wood I prefer to use is spruce although many violin makers use willow and Edi my one student used an old cricket bat!!  

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