Official Luthiers Forum!

I was looking at the little baroque guitar/uke after eating dinner. I hadn't noticed at all that one side is even, and the other isn't.

By the way.

It doesn't bother me in the least. Now if the binding could magically appear on it, that would be great.

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Why be normal?

Wabi-sabi Ken-son.....

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Come up with a clever name for it, call it a feature that's ergonomically superior, and you're good to go.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I'd love to time travel back to the 1600s and see how one would shop for a guitar or violin...

I bet the aristocracy had access to the best of the best luthiers. I'd also bet the "bars" of the day and the public squares had common folk musicians playing for fun or tips and probably played instruments with far more imperfections than yours.

So, yours is probably much more representative of the time than what is displayed in museums.

Build it, play it and enjoy it. I get better with every instrument I make. I wouldn't sweat it.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Brian, I like the quirkiness of it. It was built on the belly, free form. The bridge was glued on first, and it is centered on the neck. I even drilled the little holes for the strings in the bridge first; because it would be easier, and they seem to be right where they need to be. I used the rods on the go bar deck to locate the ribs on the outline, so the outline on the belly is like the drawing.

Everything worked out as planned.

Yesterday, after filing and scraping the sides smooth, I started to scrape the back smooth. Wow. I never even saw that! One side on the bottom is rounded out, instead of having a tight curve at the bottom. It adds more complexity?

The corners on my viola are all different. I don't really notice it, even looking for it. I remember Jeffery Holmes, on maestronet, talking about a violin maker who makes all his corners different, and he thought that was interesting to look at. I don't even notice such things, unless they are pointed out!

I'd say that this back is sorta easy to notice.

I have the little Katalox strips glued in, to keep the tied on frets from digging into the soft spruce. One step closer to binding.

Binding is my least favorite job.

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Why be normal?

I like it and your approach too Ken. I've built some small buildings and other assorted things by just starting out with anything I had that might work. Figuring each next step as I went without any real detailed planning. So you kind of let the object self design. It's fun and you never know for sure where you will end up. Sometimes you end up with nice features you'd miss if you planned it all out ahead.

Keep up the good work, it's always interesting to follow along.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED