There can be no doubt whatever that a correct knowledge and choice of the wood for the construction of violins is of the utmost importance. Both these qualifications, however, can only be gained by experience, since that alone can prove which kind of wood is the most suitable and produces the best results.
The back, the ribs, the neck, and the head should be of maple, and neither too hard, nor too soft, nor yet too deeply grained. In every case light wood should be selected, and I consider Hungarian maple the best for the purpose. For the belly, the so-called white fir or pine should be used, as both kinds of wood possess sufficient resonance, and are easily manipulated. These woods too must be as light as possible, and should have neither very narrow nor very broad, but regular and well-formed concentric circles. The Tyrol and the neighbouring cantons of Switzerland produce the best wood for this purpose. It is to be observed that the pieces used must be split and not cut.
In my opinion, the much praised American pine is too soft and resinous, and neither do I consider the American maple qualified for the construction of violins. The wood used by myself is obtained from Schoenbach, near Eger, in Bohemia, where large supplies for the needs of instrument makers are always on hand to be selected from. The age of the wood I consider of only very small importance; if it has been laying by for five years, ready cut or split, as the case may be, for the construction of a violin, it will then be sufficiently dry and will need no further preparation. I have exactly ascertained the weight of wood which had been laid by for drying for five years, and then, having weighed it again at the end of twenty years, have found it had not become perceptibly lighter. All the violins made by me, some 1600 instruments, have always weighed from 260 to 275 grammes, without the pegs, finger-board, and tail-piece, a weight which I have generally found to be that of the violins constructed by Stradivarius.
II. OF THE CONSTRUCTION.
For the space of thirty years I have worked upon the plan of Stradivarius solely, for I consider that his instruments and their proportions are the most perfect that can be found. Why, therefore, should I have taken any other as my model? I have repaired at least three hundred undoubtedly genuine violins constructed by this great master, besides having seen and handled many others, and consequently have had frequent opportunities of thoroughly studying his work, and of gauging and copying his most beautiful instruments. As the creations of this incomparable maker seem perfect in every detail, I have never attempted to make any additions of my own, but have strictly adhered to specimens produced by him in his prime (1700 to 1720) as my models, and have found that they differ but very slightly from one another. In Fig. 1., I have given the outlines of a violin of this period (1713) with the blocks.
III. THE RIBS (Fig. 1. a).
The ribs should be 1¹⁄₂ m/m. thick, and very neatly and evenly planed; the height should be about 30 m/m. at first. The ribs are curved to their correct form by means of a hot bending iron, or still better by a copper clew, and then glued to the blocks. After this, the ribs next to the back are to be made true to receive the linings. The latter must be 8 m/m. high, 2¹⁄₂ m/m. thick, and must be made of lime-wood. The middle linings are to be let into the blocks, so that they cannot break loose. The blocks must also be made of lime-wood. The edges of the ribs and the surface of the rim, before being glued on to the prepared back, must again be very carefully adjusted, so that they appear like one even surface. This being done, the superfluous wood of the blocks must be cut away to the shape of the mould (see Fig. 5). The ribs from the bottom block to the side blocks are then regulated to a height of about 30 m/m., and from the side blocks to the top block (Fig. 3) they are gradually decreased by 2¹⁄₂ m/m., that is, until 27¹⁄₂ m/m. is reached. This diminution in the height is most practically thought out and executed by Stradivarius, the belly obtaining thereby a tension which offers the necessary resistance to the neck. The upper linings must be adjusted to the ribs in the same way, and as a matter of course, they must be curved to the shape of the ribs. The superfluous wood of the blocks being cut away, the mould is removed.
IV. THE BACK AND EDGES.
It is not of importance whether the back be made in one or two pieces; nevertheless, Stradivarius seems to have given the preference to a divided back. I also consider it more advantageous, as, being joined, it offers greater resistance, and is not so easily pressed outwards on the sound-post side, as is the case with violins having the back cut in one piece. The edges of the mid-rib and corners should be 4 m/m. thick, whereas the upper and lower edges of the back (Fig. 1 ee/ee), gradually decreasing from the corners, become 1 m/m. thinner.