While the glue was drying I cut some rosewood to make a nut to guide the strings over the fingerboard, and then carefully measured and cut some dowel for the sound post. I didn’t bother with a bass bar as I figured the body was narrow enough to take the strain without the extra support of the bass bar.

I then shaped the bridge and soon it was time to remove the clamps and fit up the instrument. With such a narrow instrument (only four inches wide) I chose a chin rest that mounted over the tail-piece.

And quite suddenly the instrument was finished.

As I tightened the strings I could hear that at least some of my wild guesses were right, and I was rewarded with a warm sound almost as loud as a normal violin. In fact it is as loud as my Maggini copy. That was my first surprise. The second was that with the first tuning up the wood moved to accommodate the strain and the strings quickly went out of tune. But after a couple of hours it stabilised and I was rewarded with quite a reasonable sound at good volume. Not too bad for a first attempt!

Here is the instrument that inspired mine

And finally – what does it sound like? I’ll let you be the judge!

Cheers
Jerry