How it's made: A Little Violin + Bow
This tutorial will help you make your own violin and bow. You will need:
- one standard length of 1mm thick bass wood (bass wood is available in most craft stores);
- small piece of 2mm thick bass wood;
- PVA wood glue;
- Standard craft blade & assorted small carving blades;
- fine sandpaper;
- Synthetic hair or horse hair.
Violin
**Note: the measurements given below are for 1:24 scale. If you would like to make the cradle in 1:12, double the measurements (including the wood thicknesses).
1. The body of the violin is made of three parts. The upper layer, the bottom layer and the middle (as shown in the diagram above).
- Cut the upper and bottom layer from 1mm thick bass wood;
- Cut the middle of 2mm thick bass wood.
2. You must now shape the top and bottom pieces to give the surface a curve. Do this with sandpaper. You can see in the above right image the first stage of sanding.
3. Now you must carve the "F" holes in the front panel of the violin. Do this with a very sharp blade.
4. Once you have carved the "F" holes, cut a section out of the middle piece (above right). This will allow the violin to appear hollow inside.
5. Now cut out the neck and carve the scroll as shown above.
TIP: Carving at this scale is difficult, so to assist you:
- use a surgical grade sharp blade; and
- refer to images of actual violin scrolls for guidance.
6. Once you have carved the neck you must now cut out the following pieces:
- The fingerboard in 1mm thick wood;
- the bridge in 1mm thick wood;
- the tailpiece in 1mm thick wood;
- chin rest in 1mm thick wood.
7. Each of these pieces must be sanded into shape. You can see the shaped pieces above right.
8. Now you must cut four small rounded pieces for the pegs. This can best be achieved by slicing a thin dowel piece like a salami.
9. Attach the peg stems by gluing a smaller piece of dowel to each peg piece (above left) and then cutting it down after it is glued (above right).
Bow
1. Cut the bow pieces as follows:
- Cut the bow stick from 1mm thick wood (47mm x 2mm)
- cut the frog from 1mm thick wood (2mm x 4mm)
2. Cut about 6 lengths of synthetic hairs or horse hairs for the bow hair. Glue the ends together at both ends.
3. Glue the bow hair to the tip and frog of the bow, trimming the excess with a sharp blade.
TIP: If you look closely at a violin bow you will see it is ever so slightly bent with the pressure off tightening. If you build this bend into your bow by sanding it will give the bow a more realistic shape.
And you're finished!