Mike's DIY Projects

In part five I'll be finishing the rib garland. Bending the remaining rib stock for the upper and lower bouts, making and installing the rib linings. Once this part is complete the outline of the violin is established and I can begin working on the tonewood for the top and back plates. Enjoy!

In part four I'll be bending and gluing in the "C-bout" ribs, and trimming the blocks to their final shape. The bending can be a bit stressful as there's a possibility of breaking them in the process. First I'll need to bend and glue in the center ribs, then I can finalize the shape and dimensions of the blocks. Enjoy!

In this third part I'm preparing the rib stock for making the violin outline. The ribs need to be thinned to roughly 1.1mm thick. The figured wood can make this a bit tricky as it likes to chip or tear out as the grain direction changes. Once they're thicknessed, they're layed out and cut to length for bending. Enjoy!

In part two I'll be making the blocks, gluing them to the form and beginning to shape them. These blocks are used to attach the ribs (sides) around the form once they're carved to shape. The ribs are glued to the blocks, and then the basic outline of the violin body is done. The first step is to shape the "C-bouts" and glue in the center ribs, then the upper and lower bouts follow. Enjoy!

I'm going to attempt to build a violin. It's an incredibly daunting project so I'm probably in over my skis...but why not give it a try? This is part one of...many I'm sure, it's quite a big project to take on. In this part I'm building the form. It's based off of the "Forma P" made in 1705 by Antonio Stradivari. I adjusted the outline a tad to make it symmetrical. Enjoy!

In this video I'm building a platform bed for my guest room out of common 2x6 lumber. I'm not much of a woodworker, or a videographer, but perhaps if I'm lucky, doing these projects will give me the opportunity to get better at both.