Din, Here's how to do the magic. As you know, walking on water is actually quite easy if one knows where the rocks and stumps are. In this case they are composed of two or three card templates derived from a drawing. If you don't have plans with sectional views (vertical cuts through the body at precise points) then you will need construct them by drawing the body in side view and front view. Due to the shape of the body, a front view will be in perspective with the small block end in the foreground and the maximum girth making up the largest part of the drawing. On this view you have drawn the edges of the facets beginning at a point in front of the block and extending to the perimeter of the drawing. If you started your drawing with a smooth curve you may now connect the facet lines and, voila', the form of the ribs. From this perspective view so segmented you may now fashion templates which match the facets, i.e. an inside cutout with flats which correspond to the outline of the body at a certain point. One should be at the thickest point of the body shell - the faceted outline of your drawing - and another about half way, no precisely half way, between the drawing edge and the block.
Now, as you carve the mould you can apply these templates to the shape. You will find that using a felt marker to draw the edges of the facets in as you go, understanding that you will most probably carve them away and need to redraw. Once you have the whole mold carved - and please, please do not get too anal here, this is really not rocket science. Believe it or not instrument build is a pretty forgiving medium - you cam saw off the block end creating a flat onto which you can screw the basswood block wood. Once you do, you can see how the facets on the block are merely extensions of the body facets. It is things like this which keep me carving solid moulds. Hope this helps, Rob Dorsey http://RobDorsey.com -----Original Message----- From: Din Ghani [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 11:26 AM To: 'Rob Dorsey'; 'Jon Murphy'; 'lute-builder' Subject: RE: [LUTE-BUILDER] Re: Lute - Baroque Guitar Jon, I wish I had your carving skills - next time I make a lute I'd like to try a solid mould, but the thought of producing a complex shape with accurately curved lines and surfaces out of a lump of wood terrifies me! I'm sure with your experience of carving you will be able to work out how to go about it. I just about managed to carve the neck block with fairly accurate facets, following detailed instructions from David, and using the lines and facets from the completed mould to guide the carving. Unfortunately, as far as I can see, Lundberg's book does not even mention how the facets on the mould are cut. Rob, I hope you might be able to give me a clue, having learnt directly from him. I assume there is a systematic method, not relying just on a steady hand and a sharp eye? At heart, I guess I'm more of an engineer than a craftsman... Regards Din To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
