Hi friends, wanted to quick share a draft 4/4 violin prototype I’m attempting. This doesn’t compete with a real classical instrument for sound and looks but I really just want to test out the proofgrade materials to see if they could be applied to this type of thing. The violin can be cut and constructed in the same evening. (the Glowforge makes iterating design changes super fast!)
materials used on this first test:
Ribs- proofgrade thin maple veneer
Plates-proofgrade draftboard (trying something nicer on the next one)
Nut-acrylic
Neck-acrylic (trying wood on the next one)
Fingerboard-proofgrade poplar hardwood
CA glue
Tailpiece and bridge I was testing from another instrument first but will also try cutting those out as well.
Pegs- using some mandolin tuners but will adjust the files for standard pegs. All the parts should fit on basic/plus. I’ll post some files next week hopefully after tweaking a few things but was too excited not to at least post a first sound test!
Amazing! I think it’s beautiful, and the sound is really impressive considering the materials used. Of course now I want to know what the fine print engraved on the front says…
Thanks for that. I pasted a verse from psalm 150 as it pertained to string instruments. The idea was to replace traditional violin purfling with a different design and discovered “place text on path” in inkscape.
Good point! I think you are right about that. Swapping out the acrylic parts for wood and will try the Walnut ply anyway for visual difference. The list of updates I’ll make are mainly tightening up the joints in a few spots and shifting the bass bar etc… Thanks.
THIS is absolutely amazing…to think that one can actually make musical instruments with the Glowforge. I am so happy that you shared this with us. Thank you.
Really nice. One of my band mates makes instruments out of unusual things. His main fiddle is made from a cigar box. Not as nice as his $4000 violin but 90%. I have made most of the parts for a mountain dulcimer with the GF, just need to finish it. Since the dulcimer is a folk instrument, how it should sound is not a subject that classical musicians will debate.
Nothing like starting at the top! There are so many other instruments that lend themselves to flat faces like traditional dulcimers and “Cigar-box” guitars, but you had to start with a violin. Great work!
Wish you all the best in your studies. I picked this project as it was an instrument I was learning as a child. Turns out, it is not quite like riding a bike, and I am very rusty.
