Making of the Antonio Stradivarius Guitar
Yes,
the great violin maker also made some guitars! But only two or three examples of the man's work still exist today.
Hanalei Moon has a project to re-create this period instrument in a six course version. I'll be documenting the
progress of this commission as it progresses. (7/11/2008).
Background
Images from The Rawlins Gallery
The Rawlins Stradivari Guitar, 1700
NMM
3976. Guitar, The Rawlins, by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1700. The Rawlins guitar is one of two documented guitars made by the famous Italian craftsman known to survive.
The other is in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University in England. A third has surfaced in Italy and awaits authentication.
The Rawlins has five double strings, typical of the 17th century, rather than the six single strings found on modern
guitars. It is also smaller than today's instruments. Ex coll.: Louis Krasner, Boston. Rawlins Fund, 1985.
Portrait of the original Rawlins piece.
Here are some other details for reference: The guitar was a giant for its day! It was
a 743mm scale instrument with a body length of 18.85" and depth 3.5" to 4.5". Upper bout was 9 1/4"
and lower bout 11 3/4" with a 7 1/2" waist. The neck was three piece with "ice cream cone"
heel clad in ebony and ivory.
©National Music Museum, 1996-2008
Most recent update: February
14, 2008
The Making of a Modern Day Replica.
Side Bending fixture
From a scaled up photograph, a full size drawing of the body was
created (courtesy of Kinko's). From that half profile pattern, a side bending form was constructed for use
with a silicone heat blanket. Once the form was constructed, select side panels made from 0.085" tiger maple
were bent to shape and allowed to cool. Mahogany neck and tail blocks were then glued in place as shown.
Note,
no molds are employed! The waist, upper and lower bout dimensions and overall length, squareness and center line symmetry
are maintained by the use of simple spreaders. Some are external and some internal held in place with hot glue as needed.
The rim was initially sanded to fit 15 and 28 foot concave forms for the back and top curvatures respectively. Spanish
cedar ribbon linings were then glued in place and the rim again sanded using a rotating table and the radii forms.
Book
matched .150" back panels were next glued together and braced with spruce. The back was glued in place using the
curved forms to maintain the proper arch while the glue was allowed to set up. The finished and trimmed
back and sides are shown below. Note the full size perimeter drawing used to create the original side bending form.
Lead bird shot will keep the assembly nested in place on the 15' sanding form until the soundboard can be fitted!
That's
about it for progress first week of July, 2008! More to follow.
Johannes Christobel Steineri.
Side View
