@ Lady Bay, SA
Now that the seams are reinforced from the inside, I can remove the tape from the outside of the lute body, and clean up each rib where it meets its neighbor.
Once again, a simple wood scraper should do the trick.
Thereafter, I must shape and install the end clasp – and then….but that is enough for now.
As Dad used to say about boat-building: one job at a time, bit by bit, and all things in due succession….
Ready for action, and delivered.
We shall find out soon enough whether or not it is functional….
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)
Kazuyuki Ohtsu (b.1935)
As you can see, the inside surface of the lute body is clean, and I can now glue reinforcing strips along the seams.
I have cut the strips from medium weight rag/cotton paper: that is the traditional method. I don’t see any particular merit in changing something that has lasted the distance.
Many contemporary makers prefer to use modern material – but I recall the comment of a famous luthier, now departed:
“The way a lute is made affects the quality of the sound”.
Fascinating thought!
I have used these miniature steel Scrapers to clean up the inside of the lute body.
They are not sharpened like chisels. I run a burnishing iron two or three times along the cutting edge, at a slight angle – and this is sufficient to create an effective scraping ‘hook’.
The edge has to be renewed from time to time. It produces a beautiful polished finish.
Two additions to my growing fleet of would-be boats.
Few have left their safe moorings. Perhaps it is time to give them permission to depart….
Katsuyuki Nishijima (b. 1945)
Made from recycled Oregon.
It never ceases to amaze me how a sharp hand-plane can swiftly transform ‘old’ wood.
Tatsuo Kawashima (b.1939)
