Progress

Aside from the aesthetics, I had to begin addressing the functional aspects of the actual conversion process. This thing has to go from being a violin to a Hardanger fiddle. You'll likely notice I've left the pegbox alone to this point - it's an engineering problem waiting to be solved, but I've got several ideas. More on that later... I began by addressing the channel through which the resonant understrings will pass - marking approximately 3/32" from the edge of the neck, I used a handsaw to define the edges of my channel.

From what I've read the channel should also be about 3/32" deep - this will be mirrored by a channel carved out of the underside of the fingerboard as well. Both channels together should provide enough clearance for the sympathetic strings to resonate without being impeded.

After an evening's work with a freshly sharpened 1/2" chisel, this is what the channel looks like:

Of course a Hardanger fiddle wouldn't look authentic without the requisite Scandinavian rosemaling style ink designs. This fiddle will be a mixture of multiple designs I've found online - some from instruments over a hundred years old, and some taken from contemporary instruments. Hopefully it will come together as a cohesive whole.

I began in pencil, roughing out the designs:

To be painfully honest, this being my first build, I have made it a priority to use readily available and fairly affordable tools lest this doesn't turn out at all. To that end, I must admit to finding a super-fine tipped sharpie to be sufficient for inking in my designs:

Don't think less of me...

Adding color

After completing several coats of thinned amber shellac, the violin was ready for the first coats of varnish. As always there seem to be about a million methods and materials to add color to a violin. In the interest of continued simplicity I had elected to use some aniline dye - in this case the oil soluble variety so I could mix it with my first coat of polyurethane. I had heard good things about Ace Hardware's branded spar varnish, and decided to give it a try since it's readily available and affordable.

The color dye I ended up getting is entitled "Golden Maple" and in the images online - if built up in coats - eventually provides an even golden/brown. Since I'm going for more of a blonde-ish finish, I only added a coat or two just to counter some of the 'orange' of the amber shellac and add some brown-ish hues without actually turning the violin brown. You can see from the image at the top of the post how the color looks. It's not much different from the shellac, but just a bit deeper and richer. There are infinite gradations of color one could use, and I'm sure I'll explore that on subsequent projects, as the dye seems to stretch a ways when varnishing something this small.

The 'ground'

One of the things I love about the internet is there is an absolute abundance of information on any and every subject. One of the things that's most frustrating about the internet is there is an abundance of information on any every subject... When it comes to something as specific, technical and alchemical as violin finishing, there are nearly as many options (and lofty opinions expressed as fact) as there are violin makers. I think what I've found happens in my internet research is that I will read too much information, seeking that one simple solution that seems to ring true, and by the end of the process I'm left less with a clear set of linear steps but more of a general sense of the accepted field of 'answers' to any particular inquiry. In this case, I got a good feel for what people do at various levels of violin making, and essentially synthesized my own combination of these elements based on my experience (lack of) and desire for complexity (keep it simple please).

The first step in violin finishing, after finish sanding (or preferably scraping) the body itself is the application of the "ground" coat - a sort of sealing process for the wood. Once again I had to wade through suggestions for everything from mixtures made with egg whites (literally) to propolis soap. One relatively accepted recipe seems to be the use of shellac - a widely available and simple-to-apply substance. I found recommendations for Zinnser's Bulls Eye shellac, and I elected to use their 'amber' variety, since I appreciate the slightly 'aged' look amber tones tend to impart to wood.

Another great thing about the Zinnser shellac is you can get it at Menards or Home Depot. Following more internet reading, I cut the shellac with alcohol in a 4:1 mixture (4 parts alcohol to 1 part shellac) and started the finishing process in earnest.

After about 5-6 thinned coats, it seems to be building an actual sealing layer - the maple seems to look better than the spruce, though that could be partially due to my sanding as well...

Note that to this point no actual 'color' has been applied (that comes in the varnishing stage) but only the amber of the shellac is in play. Here's the maple back:

A beginning...

I should begin by stating for the record that I am not a violin player. Nor am I a woodworker, per se. I am an artist and musician and filmmaker (see www.NowTheMorning.com for details). Growing up and living in Minnesota, along with the air you breathe you acquire a certain Scandinavian awareness. Being Swedish and Norwegian in heritage myself, and living in a place that celebrates these same roots, it has been easy to be inspired by Scandinavian music and traditions. With the advent of global communication, it has also been an inspiration to find documentation of several people modifying basic and readily available instruments to make them more closely resemble and function as a Hardanger Fiddle, most notably the stories found here: http://dennishavlena.com/hardangr.htm http://feedbacksolo.wordpress.com http://www.fiddlehangout.com/archive/979 http://ecotonalinstruments.blogspot.com/2011/11/hardanger-project.html
 I enjoy working with my hands and being creative, and after some further research and deliberation I decided attempt the project, and placed an order for one of the many available pre-assembled violins 'in-the-white.' You can find these everywhere from the International Violin Company to ebay, and they generally can be had for around $50 (2013 pricing) having been mass produced in some factory - often in China (by Song Chung Musical Instrument Co. for example). I've seen these advertised as great pieces on which to practice your finishing techniques (the art of violin finishing apparently being a somewhat incomprehensible mix of fine art, alchemy, and outright chemistry).

Though it doesn't appear there is much difference, I ended up ordering through Amazon - and within a week a blank-slate of a violin was delivered to my rural home. Again I am not a violin player (or instrument maker) so I can't give a truly professional appraisal, but the instrument appeared to be what you might expect for such a small entry fee.

It seems solidly put together, and the sound post is even still in place. Of course there are some spots that will need additional scraping/sanding - the purfing (especially on the back) has a few less-than-perfect areas, and the grain on the spruce top gets a little torn-out looking around the lower portion of the body.

There's no real quilting or figuring of any kind on the bookmatched maple back, but that's fine since I'll be scrawling Scandinavian designs all over it anyway...

I wasn't expecting something that would pass for antique Cremonese craftsmanship, and for now I think this particular canvas will be sufficient to allow me to experiment without fear of destroying something priceless.