258

VIOLIN-MAKING : AS IT WAS AND IS.

correct any little faults or roughnesses which may be found

round the ff holes, being, of course, cautious not to alter their
shape in any way.
You can now shape your bar, and affix it to the belly, first of
all marking the place where it is to go, as follows : It will be
placed on the right-hand side of the belly (as you work at the
inside). Make three small marks at the exact centre of the belly.
1, at the broadest part of the upper bouts, d ; 2, exactly midway
between the crannies of the two ff holes, E ; and, 3, at the
broadest parts of the lower bouts, F. If your join is exactly in
the centre, these marks will be on the join; but it sometimes
happens that it is not quite so, in which case the true centres
must be marked between the outside edges with compasses, and
a line drawn to connect the three marks. Now on the right of
these three marks, make three other marks, G, H, I ; the top
mark G being f inch from the exact centre, d; the middle one,
H, being f inch from the centre mark E ; and the lower one, I,
being inch from the centre mark F, and
connect them with a pencil line. Now from
two points rather to the right of the top and
bottom blocks draw the two short lines J, K,
I \^ of an inch from the upper and lower
edges, and lengthen the lino G H I till it touches
them. This line, therefore, marks the exact
locale of the bar which will be glued, with its
outer edge just touching it. Take a strip of
fine even-grained pine, about 1 1 inches long,
and plane it till it is just fV inch thick through
out its length, and perfectly straight and parallel.
Fis. ir>6. Method of Q,,^ it about 1 inch broad, and slope off the two
raising tlio whir a
., ,'.,
l 1
j. 1
aX.
of the/hole.
ends on one side, so that it roughly takes the
flhape of the inside of the belly, and cut it so that its two ends
touch the points J and k. Now make a mark on, and draw a
line across, this rough bar at the point H (Fig. 154), and mark
the top and bottom of the bar to distinguish them. Before
commencing to fit the bar, take a slip of wood about 4
inches long, and about T]F thick, and I broad ; insert this into
the middle of the / hole nearest the bar (i.e., the left-hand one,
looking at the front of the belly), and under the corner, as in
Fi*. 155, which represents the operation viewed from the out
side of the belly. Its object and result will be to press up the
" wing," a, and press down the lower wing, b. The strings
will correct this discrepancy by their pressure ; if this precau
tion were not taken, the pressure of the strings would force
the wing a, below the wing b, which would be hideous to the

THE BELLY.

261

must be done quickly, but not without care in adjusting the

edges, for the glue soon sets ; and particularly do not attempt
this performance until you have precluded all possibility of
draughts or currents of air, which would seriously increase your
difficulties ; but to counteract any evil
which may arise from the premature setting
of the glue, the application of the hot water,
when you wash the superfluous glue from
the sides, will remelt it a little and aid the
operation of fixing the belly. "When the
screws are applied, set a slip of wood in
the / hole from one of the screws, to keep
down the lower wing and raise the upper
one (just as a while ago you set a similar
slip from the corner), as shown in Fig. 157.
This being done, take a brush and some
hot water and wash all round the sides,
to remove any superfluous glue, and lo
re-warm and set that which is spread to
keep the belly on.
In applying the
scre\vs to both "back and belly," when fixing y'-^^^^'^
them, the head of the screw (a, Fig. 129)
(to avoid the comers).
must be on the side of the table which is being glued
(not the moving collar b), otherwise when you wash away the
superfluous glue it will get washed into the collar B, and fix
it to the screw. Set the belly aside in a warm place to dry,
and when quite fast, remove the screws. You will now look
round the edges, and wherever they appear to be too broad in
proportion, (i.e., too far from the sides), they can be reduced
and made equal by means of a sharp knife and file, the correc
tions being neatly finished with glass-paper.

' The trembling lute some touch, some strain the viol best,
In sets which there were seen, the music wondrous choice,
Some likewise there affect the gamba with the voice."
(M. Drayton, " Polyolbion," Song iv. [1M3J)