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Sunday, September 04, 2011

Rib seven

The bowlback is making good progress, and I added ribs six and seven this weekend. My wife spotted it in my workshop last week and reckoned that it looked like a 'demented armadillo' so at least it has a name!


The mould needs some improvements for next time:

1.The end cramps slip off too easily, for example when I hammer in a tack, so I will have to devise a way to fix the head of the cramp inside the mould.


2. I think it would be better to shape the mould with flattened areas to acommodate the ribs (it is rounded in cross section at the moment).


3. my gluing up technique with Titebond is messy, so I could use a brush, or maybe try the hot melt hide glue stuff.


Meanwhile, I have put together a device to make the cutting of binding channels a bit easier. It is inspired by the one available from Stew Mac, which I think is really expensive! Mine was made from bits and pieces I already had, and seemed to work well on the cittern. I was especially pleased with the counterweight, which is the head of an old club hammer connected by wire over a cotton reel.