Small da Salo Viola

I usually start building another instrument while the previous one is being varnished. In this case it is a small 15 1/2″ Brescian pattern  Viola is modeled after a small viola by Gasparo Da Salo. I process all the wood myself, starting out with a few chunks that I hand plane and then re-saw using a bandsaw. The rib wood is sawed from the same block that the two piece back is made from.

Here the ribs have been bent and glued to the blocks, the linings bent and glued to the ribs and the whole rib garland is then popped out of the mold. I can then mark the outline for the back, saw it out and and start carving the outside arches.

After the arching is roughed out and the outline finalized I cut the purfling channel and then I bend the purfling to shape. All of this purfling I make using aspen for the whites and black archival paper.