Making a Violin | ALL THE STEPS | Amati Model 

You should see these Chine violin factories that crank out 200 whole violin shaped objects a day with 40 people.. YIKES!

Thanks!! And to think this short version is "only" 30 minutes!

Thank you so much for your nice comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the video and that it helped you discover the process :)

Great work I was wondering if you can share your mail if am interested in learning am from uganda

Grazie mille!! :)

Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much!! I’m glad you like it :)

Thank you very much! I'm glad that you like it :)

Thank you so much for commening! It's a great help to the channel :)

Thank you for your very kind message! Even if I don’t speak your language I managed to translate it, and I truly appreciate it!

@@LucasFabro Thank you.

Hi!! Thanks for your nice comment :) I'm afraid to say that this violin is long gone and I didn't manage to record it :/ The good thing is that I won't let this happen to the cello I just made as I already made the recordings for it!

Thank you very much! Well, I have to finish the series on the cello (that has actually been completed for quite some time now) and I have A LOT of other ideas, it’s just that I can’t manage to find the time to do the filming and editing :/ But I’ll make sure to keep posting consistently nonetheless :)

Hahaha, fortunatelly that doesn't happen!

It depends on whether I'm making a modern or a baroque violin. But if I'm making a modern violin using the template of a baroque instrument, then I'd still do the modern neck angle. Keep in mind, that basically "all" (at least the most famous ones) models are originally baroque, so even the most common of the Stradivari models that could be used by thousands of makers and factories should also have a baroque neck as well.

Hey! Thanks for your comment :) Are you talking about the finishing of the instrument before varnish, the finishing of the varnish or finishing as in the last steps of the making (set up)? In any case, I recently made an online course and you can find all the information there! obrienguitars.com/courses/violin

Thanks for your comment! To be honest, everyone I know who do tap tunning, always do it after the f-holes and again after the bass bar. As the size and shape of the f-holes themselves are going to have a big impact on the tuning then the idea is to have the finished plate at a certain tune and not one that'll change a lot after cutting the f-holes. I know as well that in other countries people cut the f-holes after finishing the thickness, but here in Cremona I'd say that the most common practice is to cut them before doing that.

@@LucasFabro Thank you for that replay. I'm presently finishing off another violin I had started some years ago & was taught from an English maker (in Australia) to check the tap tones of back & front front plates (a tone apart I think) prior to cutting the 'f' holes but checking after fitting the bass bar was from another source with the advice that as the bass bar reaches its optimum shape (preferably thinner & higher) the tap tones become clearer but if continuing to trim the clarity reduces again. I will take note of the tuning of both plates & see how much difference it will make before & after the 'f' holes are cut & also with a bass bar fitted, just to satisfy my curiosity in my attempt to make my violin the best I can.

@@rossthefiddler5890 that’s interesting! I’m in fact a member of the BVMA and talking to some of the other people there (and students of Newark) I discovered that they indeed do that and I was surprised to hear it, same as they were surprised at me doing the f-holes earlier (some of the people do that of course, not all!). Let me know what conclusions you get!

@@LucasFabro Yes, thanks. Yes, she is a graduate of Newark & was reluctant to tell her colleagues she was teaching students to make a violin here. She only did that for a couple of years (about 25 years ago) but continues to make violins herself.

I have been known to do that... I like to do a few violins worth at once ... Then I play matchmaker... Then. The sides complete the marriage ceremony.

It helps see the faults in the wood and faults in the cuts... Also can help see curves on sharp edges... Most Luthiers have a dark work space.

Hi! Thanks for your comment! I'll try to address all your points, but not being contemporary to Stradivari it's quite impossible to really know what he'd have thought or done, so from here on, anything that we can say would be pure speculation. First of all, as a contemporary maker, my competition is not Stradivari but other contemporary makers, so the comparison with him turns quite "irrelevant"; and for example, while some of Strad instruments are amazing, some others wouldn't be able to sell nowadays as they're not "precise" enough, or have "too many mistakes". For this reason, having his work standards as a guidance wouldn't necessarily be beneficial for me. Secondly, I'm sure that a lot of contemporary makers (if not most) use all of the things you mentioned before, it's just when you get to makers (like myself) who try to aim for a certain quality of work, that you find these small details that summed up can make a big quality difference. Having said this, and while it's true that Stradivari had many employees and could have used methods to make the work faster, I doubt that he'd have used most of the techniques or tools you listed, as they can make for some of the details that I mentioned earlier. And from here on I'll try to explain each one of them. The bandsaw is actually typically used by makers, but just to roughly cut the outline of the instrument. It doesn't really save much time (maybe 30 min or an hour) as then the borders need to be properly finished anyways. Thickness sander is another thing that some people use for taking the ribs closer to the final thickness. However they need to be finished using scrapers or other methods different to sandpaper. The reason why using sandpaper is not advisable is because it'll have a great impact on the aesthetic result of the instrument (and some people and studies would argue that it'll affect the sound too). When using sandpaper the "hairs" of the wood get squeezed against the surface, while the use of something like a scraper would trim them instead. This makes a big difference on the reflection of the wood and also on how the sealer and varnish will penetrate. As mentioned before, this is what will make the aesthetic difference, but also, if the sealer and varnish penetrate differently into the wood, then the way they'll affect it's rigidity will change, for which the sound can be impacted as well. That being said, once you learn how to properly use scrapers I can assure you that the use of sandpaper is not even considered as it woulnd't even save time at all. The use of something like a CNC would make an almost final arching or almost final thickness. In my case, I change each arching according to each instrument based on the characteristics of the wood. Some of these characteristics I can measure in advance, but many others I simply "discover" while I'm doing the rough out. This part of the process is what allows me to understand how the wood is and feels, which can change my mind on what shape of arching I want to make and how high I want it to be. Same thing applies for the thicknesses. If the wood turns out to be softer than I expect it to be, then I should make higher thicknesses, and a CNC wouldn't let me realise this. I think that if this part of the process wasn't important then factory made instruments would indeed be almost as good as professionally handmade ones, and that's certainly not the case. The glue comment is perhaps the one where there's less space for a "debate" as it's quite clear for us makers why we use hide glue and not titebond. Aside for the many theories and tests that say that hide glue will vibrate different than titebond, impacting the sound, the most important reason is that many of the parts of the instruments will need to be opened or replaced over time, making the use of titebond a pain for the restorers. Some examples of this are: if there are cracks, the top and back might need to be opened; the bass-bar needs to be replaced over time; same with the fingerboard; if the neck projection is wrong or uncomfortable, then it has to be removed and readjusted, etc, etc, etc. Another good reason for this is that in some cases we "want" for the glue not to be too strong. For example, it's quite "common" that the ribs get unglued to the top or back. The reason for this is that it's a way of "protecting" the instrument, as in some cases, if it gets hit in a certain way, instead of cracking it'll simply get unglued. With this I hope I have cleared up all your questions and that the explanations worked to demonstrate you that there are reasons why we do things the way we do, and that it's not that we're just so up our own backsides. Best, Lucas

@@LucasFabro Great answer Lucas. I know of one maker (on youtube) that uses Titebond for centre joints & cracks & I shudder each time I see it. I think that glue can creep over time too. As far as a bench sander goes, I thickness bridges on it (after reducing the size with a chisel). It actually gives it a burnished finished (maybe because I don't change the belts too often). The feet I cut initially on the bandsaw as it sets up the 90 degree angle to the back to start with & as well as the top & excess around cello bridge feet. Finishing the ribs & plates with scrapers certainly gives it a nice accurate finish without the scratches from sand paper sometimes seen on student instruments. Thanks for this video compilation.

@@rossthefiddler5890 Thank you very much for your reply! There are indeed many many reasons to do so, but in most cases you don't realise what they are until you don't do them many times and see the final result.

Most Luthiers use those tools for rough work... But detail work is quite difficult. There are a lot of very fine details that go into a violin. The scroll can tell you a lot about a maker. It's almost like a signature. As for glue... We'll there is also the clean up value... Hide glue can be fully cleaned off or neaten... It leaves no residue and thus does not inhibit the varnish from adhering to the sealed wood. This allows for a clean application of your varnish which does affect the resonance of the instrument.

To be fair, all of the things you have mentioned have been tried many times but high end violin making always goes back to traditional techniques. Whether it's for prestige or sound, who knows?