of the
wood--and those on the belly one thirty-second more _in_, or away
from those edges. Then, after filing and scraping for a long time,
I, with no little patience withal, contrived so that I fitted one
set over the other of the ribs, (as a double box) and got a sort of
fiddle body, clumsy of course, but I saw my way to doing just what I
had set out to do, and I did it eventually.

Gradually shallowing the ribs by lowering belly or raising back, I
got various tones or notes for the air mass, trying E, D, C, B, A,
but no resonance such as that of B suited me, so I roughly glued
these ribs firmly together, fitted up the whole thing with every
accessory such as would allow me to play on the instrument, with the
satisfactory result of proving a case beyond question.

So I get to the necessary and somewhat difficult process of making
the ribs, etc. But the mould in which they are to be temporarily
fixed must be first made by you, and this is the way to go about it.

Get a piece of dry beech--birch or maple of the plain sort will
do--18 inches long, 7 inches broad, and 1-1/2 inches deep. Take the
half outline of the violin which you have decided to make, and place
it flush with the edge of the above block, equal spaces being left
at either end. Then very firmly and very accurately draw the half
outline on the block for your mould. After you have done this, you
must trace an _inner_ line all round the other, one-eighth of an
inch from the real outline; and, when you get to the corners, carry
this inner line to a broad, open point somewhat beyond the square of
the corners, as by this you are enabled to pass your ribs a little
over the terminus at said corners, which will most materially assist
you to effect a good joint there.

After this is well done, and your under surface quite level with the
plane, take the block to a good band sawyer, and get him to saw
_just through_ the inner line, and you will have your mould in a
measure ready for your ribs. Still, there is something to be done
before you can set to work to fashion them, and the first is, square
after the fret saw every quarter inch of its work, with steel
square, 60, on tool block, your basis being your planed under
surface, as most reliable.

Then, about one inch from inner mould, and one inch apart all round,
drill holes through the wood with tool 56, or similar; and three
larger holes, about seven-eighth inch diameter, one and a quarter
inches under the