Dear Michael, Alas it's not as simple as the shrinkage of parchment tapes, in fact if you draw out a cross-section of the joint complete with tape at hugely large scale, you'll immediately see why it doesn't work like that. If there is any effect, it is to produce a slight bulge down each side of the joint, which is not quite what we're after.
It is a natural effect of bending a long ellipse of wood whose long grain strength is higher than its cross-grain strength, especially if the ribs are very thin. Some pieces of wood do behave better than others and indeed the effect is often very slight. You can improve the scallop by stretching a wire down the centre of each rib and pulling the rib into the scallops on the mould. But beware upsetting the angle of the joint faces. I find it better to make a counter mould and pre=scallop each rib before fitting. This was done on http://www.vanedwards.co.uk/1a.htm the result showed much more in real life than in the photo but still not quite as much as the fresco at the bottom of the page. Best wishes, David At 23:41 -0700 16/6/07, Michael wrote: >I've seen some lutes that have ribs that are 'scalloped', i.e. somewhat >cupped in from the lines where the ribs meet. Some lutes appear to have >this to only a minor extent, as though it was the unintended (or at least >un-prevented) result of the building method; others accentuate this in what >can only be an intentional manner. > >I've seen moulds that exhibit this scalloping, but I've never seen mention >of any extra steps needed to achieve the look in a finished lute. Once you >have scalloped the mould, will the ribs 'scallop themselves' as the result >of fitting the ribs tight to the mould, or is there additional >pressure/clamping required to force the centerline of the rib down into the >dip to create the scallop? > >This look appeals to me, when done subtly... I don't want to mimic one of >those scallop-backed vihuelas or anything, I just want to visually >accentuate the construction of the lute. Opposite-colored spacers get me >part of the way there; I think this scalloping technique could cover the >rest of the distance. > >Thanks, > > Michael > >-- > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- The Smokehouse, 6 Whitwell Road, Norwich, NR1 4HB England. Telephone: + 44 (0)1603 629899 Website: http://www.vanedwards.co.uk
