West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1886-04-30
VIOLIN MAKING.
A Lesson in Construction by "a
Master of the Art.

Starting at the beginning the report
cr asked of r. A. Joscphs. we'll
known violin-makcr of San Francisco.
the first principles of the business.
Well. sir, replied Mr. Joscphs. Il
can safely say, after forty years of cx-
p"riencc, that the first thing should
impress upon tyro is that fddle-mak-
ing is trade, and that voln-making
Is an art. You can make a fiddle bv
machinery and use steam chest to
/ mold it, but "A violin must bc made bv
hand, and guarded from moistur, as
carefully as though it were "a pcrisha-
BILE article. Ii is the most sensitive of
all instruments Of sound, and the only
perfect one. 1t is superior To piano
or an organ because they can not be
perfectly tuned. Neither perfect third,
nor perfect iifths can be attained, and
II such instruments arc perfectly tuned
they must consequently bc out Wind
instruments do not enter into the com
petition at all, as they can be too ca,i-
~ b! 'wn sharp or Hat by the perform
er.'
" ''i ilS NlNlipI continued his
queries Mr.. Joscphs stated that he was
wiling to impart rudimcntary lesson
ON the construction Of .violins. but the
lesson that could be given in the con-
lines OF newspaper article would be
very short
. In the first place you want to pre-
pare for some very nice and exact
mathematical calculations This will
convince you how exact your propor-
lions must be-
With this, Mr.. Josephs exhibited a
delicate rule, so finely marked rs TO
measure to the ten thOusandth part of
a meter, and even that inhnitesimal
distance could be split.
The walls of n building control its
acoustic properties, do they not? Yes;
well, it is the same with q violin
Iians for violin are determined by
the rate of the vibration of the wood to-
bc used, the shape and sine of the air
chamber, and the yiolins generally are
all dependent on these vibrations The
wood is put in clamp and tested for
ITS resonant properties, and il it does
not come up TO the mark of course no
labor Is wasted in shaping IT, When
the pitch of the wood is determined.
then the calculations come i'm. Even
the ! holes i'm the belly depend on this
test In the calculations. also, must
cnU T the model of the violin. which is
the amount Of concavity and convcxitv
put into the back and belly This /,
the reason that mere copyist never
makes a perfect violin. OF course. if
he were sure that he had exactly the
same material as the old master that
me cndeavoTs to initiate, and that the
wood was OF the same resonance. his
violin might be as good as the COPY:
but these conditions are impossible.
Consequently, an artist never makes
two viOlins exactly alike. They might
bc the same to all casual. or even
close, observers; the expert will see the
difference at a glance
How do YOU mold the arches i'm the
backs and bcl,ics?'
"Thcy are not nodded. but cut out
with gougeS and tiny planes. The
arches run both WAYS. from side 10 side
and end to end, and the work toward
the finish is extremely delicate. Each
back and each belly consists Of two
pieces, glued so neatly a. 20 give the
apr earance Of solid slab."
I'm support Of his assertion Mr.. Jo-
scphs exhibited several pieces Joined az
hc stated. and so artisticallv that the
junction was scarcely disccrniblc. and
probably would not bc when the var
ni-h was put ON over &c. Every thing
about the body Of the instrument Is
fastened with glue, not q tack or
string entering into the composition.
Commenting ON the delicate nature Of
the instrument, Mr.. Joseph, said that
the pressure produced bv the tension
of The strings of modern violin.
amounted to ninety pounds. and the
irail she'll would not come anywhere
near sustaining such n weight but for
the. fact Of the arch and the presence
Of the bass bar and the sound-post.
which are concealed from view I'm the
interior Of the air-chamber
The chat on woods that came next
was very interesting part Of The in-
tcrvicw. The back. neck. sides and
scroll Of 20 good violin are of maple.
aud the soundiug-hoard or top. b. of
spruce. There is need Of 70 great
amount Of cxpcrtncss ion the selection
of wood, and when maker secure.
fine stick hc guard. ID o- hc would
child or favorito jewel
Mr. Jo-eph- was happy yesterday m /
'"" possession of piece Of spruce chat I
had positive information had |
eu cut over cighty-Hvo years The /
stick was found doing service as a beam /
bon 70 barn. way up in Che northern part
Of Maine The two woods are selected /
for their mutual resonance. and to de. /
vc.op this thc most perfect conditions
are necessary
"Ibra ore ,eycYal s.ads Of pfuae /