Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wingfield Not 'Fiddling' With Violin Making

Making violins may not be brain surgery or rocket science, but the craft requires similar skills to each.

The violin-maker works with strips of wood as thin as one millimeter, and must make cuts into the top and back of the instrument to thicknesses of 2.4mm.

In other words, a violin-maker must have the hands of a surgeon and some of the mathematical skills of a rocket scientist.

Phillip Wingfield has these gifts and uses them to the best of his ability.

However, Wingfield doesn't make violins commercially. He does it as a hobby. In a good year, he said, he can fully construct two violins.

The golden era of violins, he said, was between the mid-1600s and the early 1800s. The Italians have always been considered the best at making violins, and are still the preferred makers of the instruments.

Some of the best known violin makers include the Amati family and the Guarnerius variety. The top of the line maker, however, has always been Antonio Stradavari.

According to Wingfield, scientists today haven't been able to figure out why these instruments hold up so well and produce such rich, vibrant tones.

One advantage these craftsmen had, he said, is they were able to use virgin wood. Now, all the wood is on its second, third or fourth growth and isn't of the quality the masters had.

In addition, he said violins seem to age like a fine wine, mellowing out and getting richer with age.

The amount an instrument is played also appears to affect how a violin sounds.

Then again, he said, the masters made their own oil-based varnish from their own formulas. Today's science has not solved the 300-year-old riddle of the varnish either.

And, Wingfield continued, the violins are not stained. They have several layers of varnish coated on them which adds to their tone and overall beauty.

Talking about the history of violin making, Wingfield said the master craftsmen looked for the best quality of wood they could find. They used curly maple and white spruce from Europe.

These woods are still favored today. American wood, he said, isn't popular because it doesn't have the right texture or tonal quality.

The wood for violins is quarter sawn and not slab cut. This means the logs are cut in "V" sections from the outer bark to the center, instead of straight across in a circular pattern.

Violin makers look for an evenness in the grain, and only take the best wood for their instruments.

The maple, used for the back, is cut into sections about 7/8 to one inch thick and approximately 16 inches long. It is also 5 3/8 inches wide.

A finished violin body is 15 inches, including the button, which attaches the neck to the body.

However, the top and back of the instrument must be arched. This is done by hand using "arching templates."

Wingfield uses these templates to help him measure the arch as he slowly and painstakingly sands the wood to near perfection. Normally, he said, it takes about two weeks to properly arch an instrument.

The arching is done using chisels, finger planes, gouges and hand scrapers, as well as sandpaper for smoothing.

Mistakes are not only irritating, they're also expensive. The spruce used for the top costs $60, while the wood for the back runs $156. This is just enough wood for one instrument.

Wingfield said it's not always possible for him to personally select the wood he uses in making violins. While the closest supplier of this wood is in Tulsa, Okla. he normally buys from a supplier in Baltimore, Md.

"The wood is all important," he said. "It's selected for its beauty, quality and tonal quality."

Wingfield said there is no difference between a fiddle and a violin. They are one and the same instrument.

If there is a difference, he said, it's in the way the instrument is played.

When referring to a violinist, people are normally talking about a musician who has studied music and has learned the intricate moves on the instrument.

A fiddler, however, is usually self-taught and plays by ear. A fiddler, Wingfield said, is normally accompanied by other stringed instruments, primarily guitars.

At this time, Wingfield is working on his 18th numbered violin. The first four he made were not high enough quality to be numbered, he said.

When Wingfield begins making a violin, he finishes sawing the wood and "book matches" the pieces. This means the curl of the grain is running the down on both sides.

These pieces are then joined either by a hand plane or power joiner and glued together using a violin maker's glue.

The glue dissolves in water and is heated to just below the boiling point of 212 degrees F.

Wingfield said the back can be one-piece, but this is more expensive. The better violins, he said, have two piece backs.

Violin tops are always in two pieces, there are no exceptions, he said.

The craftsmen want the grain balanced for the top to get an even tone. According to Wingfield, the top is considered the primary plate for tone.

The top is joined together in the same way as the back.

The sides, however, are different. They come in ray strips 1.5 inches wide and 15.5 to 17 inches in length. These strips are normally 1/16 of an inch thick.

Wingfield said the side pieces are dressed down to 1mm thick, by either sanding down or scraping. In order to achieve this thickness, the pieces are measured with calipers and are then cut to the proper length.

The sides involve six pieces of wood. These pieces are dropped in hot water for about 20 minutes to soften.

Then, a hot plate and specially shaped block are used to dry and bend the wood to the proper shape. Once shaped, the strips are cooled for about 10 minutes.

To make the body, a mold is utilized for conformity. This mold is two layers totalling 1.25 inches in thickness -- the standard height for violin sides.

"The construction of the mold is critical," Wingfield said. "The mold is the foundation of the violin."

Wingfield uses two sections of particleboard 5/8 inches thick each. These pieces are bolted together, with four corner blocks and two end blocks.

The top and back of the instrument is set in the mold with the grain perpendicular to the top and back.

From there, the bottom is glued on first, again using violin maker's glue heated to near the boiling point.

The sides are glued to the bottom and against the blocks. Once the glue dries, the wood is dressed down and the top portion of the mold removed.

At this point, the lining is installed. The lining consists of strips of spruce 1/16 inch thick and 1/4 inch wide tapered on the bottom.

The lining, Wingfield said, strengthens the violin.

Once the bottom and sides are joined, it is time for the top