The violin I’m showing you today has been crafted on Giuseppe Guarneri’s model from 1734. Guarneri have been one of the most famous luthier families of that time, together with Stradivari and Amati. Many famous violinists have played their violins: one of them is the famous Niccolò Paganini. Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri (1698 – 1744), also … Continue reading Giuseppe Guarneri Violin: photo gallery
Category Archives: Violins
The card scraper is an essential tool for a luthier and it has to be always well sharped. For this step, having to carve the scroll of the violin, I shaped the card scraper very carefully to enter the scroll cavity and began working on it with great care.
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 … Continue reading Manufacturing a copy of Stradivari’s Cremonese: the ribs
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 … Continue reading Planning the making of a Stradivari Cremonese violin: the first steps
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 … Continue reading Manufacturing a copy of Stradivari’s Cremonese violin from field maple