The making of the ribs (made from the same wood as the bottom) requires great attention, especially if the wood is of a so-called “curly” quality, prone to breaking. Having prepared the ribs a little wider than the required size, I started working by fixing them with a clamp on the workbench, to then bring them to thickness with a well sharpened card scraper.
Once the model of the instrument I intend to build has been chosen (Il Cremonese) I begin by assembling the corner blocks, formerly made of willow or poplar, here made of spruce. To do this I used a special tool (the mould): the mould has recesses on the tips of the C-bouts both in the upper and lower part where, after having squared the various blocks, I will glue them with a few drops of glue.
Once the first step of the restoration has been completed, I proceed to the restoration of its paint to bring it back to its original beauty, using a mixture of oils. I finish the work by polishing the instrument with the use of a pad with a polish I personally created. This last operation requires great skill and knowledge, given the delicacy of the composition of the various resins that must be suitable to the type of paint to get a good result.
The restoration of an old violin is always exciting: observing the style of the luthier, going back to the school of origin, grasping the various details is what makes the work of restoration interesting, enriching one’s knowledge of this precious craft.
After having examined the instrument in all its parts, the restoration begins by gluing the bottom (which came unglued along the middle line in the lower part) and also gluing in some parts of the ribs that came unglued from the board. The last step is gluing the fingerboard and nut on the neck.
The copy of this violin I am building was made by the author in 1716, in its most flourishing period.
The board is made from Paneveggio spruce, while the back, the neck and the sides are made from field maple wood. This variety, unlike the sycamore maple grows at low altitudes, for example along the Po Valley to the Tuscan – Emilian Apennines. Its wood has a finer grain, its specific weight is slightly higher, but the peculiarity of this variety is its irregular flame marbling, that makes the instruments made of this wood really unique.
