www.timtheenchanter.net

Viol building photo diary This page is a photographic record of the building of a seven string bass viol after Nicolas Bertrand, Paris, circa 1726. I started it in the Summer of 2007 and I finished it at Christmas 2008. The ribs (sides) back and neck are made from European walnut (Juglans regia). The blocks of the body are cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani). The front is Alpine spruce (Picea abies). The bridge is made from maple (Acer spp) stained black and the nut is boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) also stained black. The pegs, hook-bar, fingerboard and tailpiece are pearwood (Pyrus communis), the fingerboard and tailpiece are veneered with some beautiful burr London plane (Platanus × hybrida) with edges of black-dyed maple. I use no tropical hardwoods.
	The mould with corner and top and bottom blocks attached and the first rib bent and cramped to shape. The piece of wood to the left is the second rib before bending. Click here for a larger image.
	All six ribs bent and fitted to the mould and glued to the blocks. Click here for a larger image.
	Fitting the lining strips around the back of the instrument. The slope on the ribs of the upper bout leading up to the top block is visible too. Click here for a larger image.
	The back jointed together and ready to be thicknessed. Click here for a larger image.
	The back thicknessed and glued onto the rib assembly. Click here for a larger image.
	The back trimmed flush with the ribs and the purfling inlaid. Click here for a larger image.
	The body of the viol finished, ready for the soundboard to be glued on. The mould has been removed and the linings round the top of the ribs have been fitted. Also visible are the reinforcements to the central back joint and the fold, and the plate which supports the lower end of the soundpost. Click here for a larger image.
	Beginning to rough out the front. Bertrand used the "carved" method for his soundboards. It is made from two wedges cut radially from the log (like slices of a cake) and jointed "bark to bark" to make the blank from which the soundboard is carved. Click here for a larger image.
	The finished front. Click here for a larger image.
	The inside of the finished front showing the bassbar. Click here for a larger image.
	The front glued onto the walnut box. Click here for a larger image.
	The purfling around the front Click here for a larger image.
	The finished body of the viol. Click here for a larger image.
	Roughing out the neck. Click here for a larger image.
	The head and peg box roughed out. Click here for a larger image.
	The neck ready to glue onto the body. The "heel" at the body end of the neck will be shaped to blend with the body after it has been glued. Click here for a larger image.
	The clay maquette of the head. It's based on a Roman female portrait bust from Pompeii, now in the archaeological museum in Naples, where I was able to photograph it.
	The finished carved head. Click here for a larger image.
	The finished viol before varnishing. Click here for a larger image.
	Varnish drying on a rare sunny day. Click here for a larger image.
	The fingerboard and tailpiece. The tailpiece has had some oil rubbed into it to protect the wood and bring out the colour. The fingerboard will be finished in the same way. Click here for a larger image.
	Sawing the outline of the bridge. Click here for a larger image.
	The stages in making a peg. The peg itself is pearwood, two cheeks of scrap maple are glued on to the head end so that the head may be turned as a complete ball without wasting a thicker piece of pear. Click here for a larger image.
	The blank is turned roughly round. Click here for a larger image.
	The taper is finished. Click here for a larger image.
	The turning is finished on the peg in the foreground. The peg in the background is completely finished. The gold "pip" on the tip is a 9 carat gold ear stud. Click here for a larger image.
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