THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
63 
of spruce, the work of making a good 
joint will be found much easier. 
The next operation is to prepare the 
sides, sid6-linings, corner and end blocks. 
The sides must be of the same material 
as the back. They are first sawn into 
strips about fourteen inches long, an inch 
and a quarter wide, and about a sixteenth 
of an inch thick. The side-linings are of 
spruce, about the same length as the 
pieces for the sides, a quarter of an inch 
wide and an eighth thick. The end blocks 
and corners are also of spruce; the end 
blocks are semicircular and of the same 
height as the sides; the corners when 
I finished are almost triangular. 
' The next thing to be done is to lay out 
the shape of the instrument, and as a 
great deal of the tone of the violin de- 
pends on its shape, it is necessary that 
this part of the work be done with ex- 
treme care. The best plan for the begin- 
ner would be to select a good instrument 
and make his model accordingly. Hav- 
ing made his selection, he draws on card- 
board an exact figure of the inside of the 
instrument he desires to copy, omitting 
the corners, so that the figure drawn may 
resemble a guitar. 
This pattern he places on a plank of 
good hard wood about inch and a half 
thick, and somewhat larger than the body 
of his intended violin, and with a sharp 
pencil draws thereon the outline by 
closely following the cardboard pattern. 
He then, with a good scroll-saw, cuts out 
from the block a mould on which to build 
his instrument. If the sawing has not 
been well done it may be necessary to go 
over the work with a file until the edges 
are perfectly straight and the form sym- 
metrical. The mould is then planed down 
to the height the sides are to be, slanting 
it towards the narrow or neck end until 
the difference is about a sixteenth of an 
inch. A semicircular piece is then cut 
out from the neck end, and another from 
the opposite end where the neck and tail- 
blocks are to be, and four small mortise- 
like recesses about an inch by a quarter 
of an inch, where the corner blocks are to 
be placed. 
A mortise about two inches long and an 
inch and a half wide must now be made 
in the centre of the mould, and from this 
mortise two wedge-shaped blocks are 
sawn out, running lengthwise to where 
the neck and tail-blocks are to be. The 
beginner will remember that the mould 
was sawn from a large plank. Let him 
now take this plank and extend the open- 
ing from which he cut his mould about an 
inch all around. This will serve as a 
clamp when he comes to set up the sides. 
It will be remembered that the mould 
was sawn into four pieces. These pieces 
must be clamped together in the follow- 
ing manner : Take two plates of steel 
and drill five holes in each, large enough 
to admit inch wood screws with round 
heads — two near each end of the plate 
and one in the centre. The sections of 
the mould should then be placed together 
just as they were before being separated 
by sawing. Mark the holes with a pencil, 
drill the wood to receive the screws, and 
screw fast. The mould is now ready for 
the end and corner blocks. Before insert- 
ing the blocks, the recesses should be 
covered with paper, which may be at- 
tached with a little glue. The blocks are 
then neatly fitted to the recesses and 
glued. When this has been done the 
mould is ready for the reception of the 
sides. The sides should be boiled in 
water and then bent on a hot iron into 
shape. Then having neatly trimmed the 
side« and shaved off the ends where they 
meet on the corner blocks, and having 
trimmed down the blocks to their proper 
shape, insert the " D " pieces, one on 
each side of the mould, and glue to the 
corner blocks. In the meantime the 
mould and frame should both be screwed 
fast to a board placed underneath, so that 
the sides may be held fast to the blocks 
by means of wedges pressed down between 
the mould and frame. When the "D" 
pieces have set, the other side pieces may 
be glued in their place, taking care to 
make a neat close joint where they meet 
at the larger or tail-piece end of the 
mould. There is no need of making a 
close joint at the other end, as part of the 
sides and block must be afterwards cut 
away for the reception of the neck. 
The next operation is the making of the 
back and belly of the instrument, and as 
