FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45  
46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   >>   >|  
y to bend the purfling is this--place the heated iron (plate 5) in the bending socket, and, when all is so that a smart rap of your hand on the metal shows you the warmth is about as you want it, hold the purfling by the left hand, the mitred end to the iron, so that when you bend, by holding, say rasp 47 in the right hand firmly against the point, and _letting the heat only make the curve you want_, or nearly without pressure, you will, I think, not do bad work. [Illustration: PLATE V.] So I am now ready to fix this ornament in the groove prepared, and have ready thin glue and a table knife to run it there, section by section, as, in cold weather especially, the liquid sets so rapidly. I select the middle bout of either side (it is not material which) and lay in the glue rapidly, and yet more rapidly the slip for insertion, merely at this stage laying it flat, and going to the lower and upper bouts, joining the corners as mitred as well as I possibly can. Then I press the purfling as deep as it will sink all over, finally wiping all superfluous glue away with sponge and hot water. But I have not done yet, for there may be a weak place or two in my work that glue will strengthen, so I run yet a little thinner all over the insertion, and let it rest until next morning, when it will mostly have sunk somewhere. When you are at this stage, great headway has been made; but you must now make ready for greater exertions, and prepare to comply with the requirements of the higher branches of this most exacting art, which you will when you model the back as I now begin to do this, which has dried overnight. But I must pause to make you acquainted with the difference between "outline" and "model" of a violin--not by any means synonymous, as some have supposed and do yet suppose. I ought, perhaps, to have done this before, but will no longer delay. It always makes me feel very angry when I hear some person, palpably ignorant in the matter, exclaim, "what a fine model" when he or she means "outline." And again, "this is a grand 'copy' of so-and-so," when _example_ of such is meant; how can an example of, say "Mayson" be a "copy" of him? A fine outline will naturally lead you to expect a fine model--that is to say, arching of length and breadth, graceful and perfectly relative as regards proportion, curves, and an unmistakeable _oneness of expression_, if I may so speak, of every part as a whole, nothing whatever of inc
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45  
46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

rapidly

 

purfling

 

outline

 

insertion

 

section

 

mitred

 
synonymous
 

supposed

 

suppose

 
violin

greater

 

exertions

 

prepare

 

comply

 
headway
 

requirements

 
higher
 

overnight

 

acquainted

 

branches


exacting
 

difference

 

graceful

 

breadth

 

perfectly

 
relative
 

length

 

arching

 

naturally

 

expect


proportion

 

curves

 

unmistakeable

 

oneness

 

expression

 
Mayson
 

person

 
longer
 

palpably

 

ignorant


matter

 
exclaim
 

pressure

 

Illustration

 

letting

 

prepared

 
groove
 

ornament

 
socket
 
bending