MIMF

I've seen it mentioned both ways for the cello (depending on the source) and will definitely look into it further before tuning the back.

Tom

So I jumped in with both feet and started the tuning process on the belly, or front plate. When played, a cello acts as an air pump to produce sound, and the front and back plates must be tuned to the same frequency so they vibrate at the same rate and don't fight each other. The tuning process cons...

The scariest part of the project so far was thicknessing the Spruce front. Most of it all needs to be about 4mm thick, a little less where the bass bar mounts. It was first roughed out with a Forstner bit, set 4.5mm above a plastic pad. I think I checked that dimension at least a doezen times before...

The reaming of the tapered hole for the end pin went without a hitch. The tapered reamer was one of the necessary special tools that I'll never use again, unless I build another cello. The purfling on the front proved challenging, but I think a lot of it had to do with my state of mind. Hopefully it...

I lost my 28 year old son August 12th., so life has pretty much been on hold. I'm just starting to get my head screwed back on straight enough that I trust myself to get back on the cello project. We'll see. All you parents out there give your kids a hug, because life is fragile and comes with no gu...

Bob Francis wrote:These posts are great lessons Tom!
Thanks

Thanks Bob,

I just started cutting the grooves for the purfling, so I will be posting some content on that procedure shortly.

Tom

Thanks for posting this! How does the tool work to draw the topo lines? There is a fixed stylus in lower position of the fixture and a pencil that can be set at different distances from it. By dragging the fixture around the edge of the cello with the pencil set at various heights, a series of topo...

Not mush progress on the cello with summer in full swing, but I did manage to get the top and bottom profiles nearly complete. I thought they were farther along until the tool I made to mark topographic lines on them said otherwise. I haven't tried to correct any of the irregularities yet, but it sh...

Spring chores have slowed the progress down a bit, but I managed to get a few things done on the cello. The arching is pretty close, but still a bit high because it was done before the 1.5mm deep channel was cut around the edges. The channel was a little scary because I had never used a gouge before...

I'll probably do a rub joint on the Maple, just because it works so well to spread the glue and eliminate the excess, then throw a couple clamps on for good measure.

Tom

I used a Kutzall wheel on the mill to flatten the edge of the soundboard and it worked so well I decided to use it for the rough arching as well. It saved a heck of a lot of elbow grease. The drawings included contour lines so I transferred them to the wood and went to work. Still have a little more...

I mustered up enough courage to cut into the expensive chunk of Sitka Spruce for the sound board. The first task was to sand the ends so I could see the grain pattern and decide how to best orient the two quarter sawn pieces so the grain is as vertical as possible relative to the bottom surface. The...

I love the mold set up, especially how versatile the clamping system is, brilliant! Off to a great start, watching with interest Thanks Rick. I can't take credit for the mold design, it belongs to Henry Stoebel. I tossed around other ideas, but he pretty much nailed it so I used his. The clamps do ...

It's starting to take shape. I made up the lower, one piece rib last night and got it glued on. This morning's task was to plane all of the ribs down close to the mold in preparation for sanding, and trim the four "C" rib joints to size. Next in line will be to glue up the upper and lower ...

This is inexperience talking and not, in any way, a critique. I have never used an inside mold so this may be a dumb question/observation but I would have guessed that the mold would be shallower than the intended rim thickness/depth to allow the linings to be glued in while still around the mold. ...

Thanks Bryan. I put a few hours in yesterday making the two upper ribs and gluing them on. The larger radii were definitely easier to work with, even at full thickness. The area where the curve reverses was a bit of a challenge getting it all to follow the form, but the curves can be moved around as...

Maybe your next build should be a dust collector! A DIY Oneida Dust Deputy, a bucket, and a small shop vac will build a fine one cheap. Can't wait to see this come together! I'm actually in the process of building a new shop up north, and it will have a built in dust collection system. Up until the...

I got two comments - you got one kick-ass shop there, I am jealous, and I really enjoyed your post! Nice job! Thanks Brian, It's actually more of a machine shop than a wood shop, but you'd never know it from the amount of sawdust on everything. The combination of sawdust and oily metalworking machi...

I've spent most of my life as a machinist/fabricator/designer creating stuff out of metal and after recently retiring, have decided to spend more time working with wood. I started by building a Maloof rocking chair for my new granddaughter and am now focusing my efforts on building a cello. I played...