I’m making a cello with back and ribs made of cherry wood from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, and a top made of red spruce from the Val di Fiemme. The time has come to fit the purfling, obviously with the sound box closed as in classical Italian violin making.
I’ve finally reached the point of closing the sound box. After attaching my label, stamping it, and signing it, I realigned the top on the ribs using the alignment holes on the upper and lower blocks.
As you can see, the purfling hasn’t been done yet. According to classical Italian violin making, the purfling will be done with the sound box closed.
The total weight is less than 1600 g.
I prepared the bass bar, sizing it according to a well-known law from mechanical engineering science that allows for constant bending stress along its entire length.
The goal is to uniformly stress the chain and, therefore, the top to which it is glued, allowing the entire surface to bear the load. This way, I don’t suffocate the top at the center between the f-holes where the load is locally applied, but rather allow the upper and lower bouts to be elastically involved in the acoustic breathing.
Then I closed the through hole of a small knot on the cherry back with a willow pin.
Here I am working on the top, made from spruce from Fiemme Valley by Ciresa.
After planing the central surface for the joint and gluing the two boards, I roughly cut the top’s outline.
After completing the external carving, I’m now working on the internal hollowing.
My procedure involves using a gouge cut across the grain, then a curved plane used along the grain, and checking the result with a caliper called a Sacconi compass.
By repeating these steps, you can hollow out very quickly without risking removing too much material in the wrong place.
For this cello, I decided on an extremely arched shape, with prominent arches on the upper and lower portions and a saddle point at the height of the f-holes where the bridge will be positioned.
This particular shape is found on older instruments where time and the tension of the strings have worked on the elasticity of the wood, causing the top to sink.
I want to experience this unconventional form without having to wait a few centuries…
My new cello is taking shape. I created a new model; I wanted a short length of 740 mm and low ribs for ergonomic comfort.
A particularly aggressive arching allows for significant internal volume.
The choice of cherry is not as common today, but the use of fruit trees as well as other softwoods from the Italian territory, such as poplar or willow, was certainly widespread in the past for the larger instruments of the violin family, such as cellos and double basses, and for violas da gamba.
