Hi Paul,
Ted Woodford here. As a relative newcomer to the lute-building game myself,
I've noticed a few of those little omissions in the Lundberg book.
You will definitely want facets. Unless you are building a multirib with
27+ ribs, you will find that getting the angles to mate is nearly impossible
without losing alignment. I spent a week observing Grant Tomlinson at the
Lute Society symposium in Vancouver a couple of years ago, and it really
opened my eyes.
It's a serious mystery how Lundberg managed such tight-fitting joints using
the rough-and-ready rabbet plane and file technique he demonstrates, while
at the same time cranking out 20+ instruments a year. Another byproduct of
his technique is that you end up cutting your mold up quite a bit, which is
disheartening after spending a few days carving it to perfection. Tomlinson,
and many other builders use a "planing board" to keep their lines straight.
This really helps when making historically accurate bowls that deviate
substantially from hemispherical. You can see pictures of mine on my new
blog www.woodfordinstruments.com
It's just a handplane suspended upside down in a recess carefully cut from a
double layer of melamine shelving material purchased at the local home
center.
Some hints:
1.Try cutting your mold through the cross-sections transfered from the plan
and tracing the shape of the bowl onto them. You can bandsaw or carve the
facets into the block to give you a guideline. Travis Carey
(www.traviscareylutes.ca) presented an excellent paper on this technique at
one of the symposia. He may be able to send you a copy if you ask nicely.
(He's a friendly fellow and an excellent luthier).
2. Use a flexible rule or one of those bendy blue drafting curves to mark
out where your facets should be on the surface of your precarved mold (in
the state where Lundberg leaves you). Make these lines as straight as you
possibly can. You will use them as visual guidance when planing your ribs to
fit.
3. Don't make the facets flat. Dish them slightly using a curved scraper.
If there is anything like a hump the rib will be held above its intended
location and you will find yourself cursing as you try to contort your rib
to fit, or you'll find that your bowl bulges oddly.
4. Make certain you use a flexible pallette knife to free the bowl from the
form after every rib or two!
As for inlay designs, Dover has a huge catalog of clip-art, including
celtic and floral stuff . www.doverpublications.com
Hope this helps! Feel free to send any other questions.
Ted
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Daverman" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 9:35 PM
Subject: [LUTE-BUILDER]
I have two questions -both related to Robert Lundberg's book on
Historical Lute Construction - that perhaps some of you veteran lute
builders can comment on.
First. In his Practicum 1, he shows the steps to making a lute mould.
The last photo in this chapter shows a mould completely smooth and
rounded. No mention is made regarding placing facets/flats
corresponding to the ribs which will later be assembled on it. In
subsequent chapters, moulds are shown with what appears to be the
facets constructed on the mould. Is facet/no facet an option based on
preference? I can think of possible advantages to either, but I have
no actual experience to know. Any thoughts?
Second. Does anyone know where templates for floral inlay (such as on
a neck) can be obtained? I would like to try this type of inlay, but
don't think I'm artistic enough to create my own.
Thanks for your thoughts!
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