Detailing the Jauch Triple Rose

After repairing one of the two damaged theorbos that I described in my last post I was able to get back to work on the Jauch triple rose. I still had to lay out and cut the decorative border, round the edges of the organic features, vein the geometric elements and cut the center emblem.

There are different styles and treatments of chip borders. The one that I am demonstrating can be subtly changed by varying the individual elements: the width of the ring and/or the number or angle of the individual pieces. Since the top rose is smaller than the other two I made its border slightly narrower. I work this out by what looks good to me -- a fraction less than 3.5mm for the small rose and a fraction more for the larger two.

I use a template made of card stock marked off in 5 degree intervals around a pair of circles that exactly represent my rose border. It is then a simple task to punch the diagonal lines. Here I am using a 4mm micro-chisel.

Then I cut the relief on each segment. Here I have worked part way around one rose. The tool is a 3mm micro skew chisel. The blade of such a tool is angled at 30-45 degrees. Held at an angle to the face of the belly opposite corners of each segment are removed, thus creating the relief.

I think that veining, creating a "V" groove in the geometric elements of the rose, is the most difficult. First it is necessary to scribe two straight, parallel lines -- not to close to the edge of the design but not too close together either. And deep enough to leave a nice impression. Then, holding the knife at an angle, slice off a thread of wood the full length of the element as demonstrated. Repeated attempts will result in a frayed, untidy "V". Since the design runs at various angles to the grain of the belly some cuts are easier than others. Across the grain calls for a delicate touch as the wood is very fragile. With the grain requires a firm, bold hand as the knife may catch on the grain. At an angle to the grain the knife slips along easily and satisfyingly.

The next step is to detail the organic elements by slicing off the top edge of the veins and petals. This gives them a delicacy that contrasts with the geometry of the border and veined members. The center emblem is created by cutting a series of slightly curved, crossing veins.


Cutting one rose is a lot of work. Cutting three is -- well -- three times as much. I'm happy and relieved when I finish.
They are beautiful.

But now I can get started on deciding how I want to bar the instrument. How best to bring out the inherit character of wood and design.

Air Travel = Smashed Lutes

Over the last two months I have had to stop building new instruments because I have been inundated with clients' instruments that have been damaged in airline travel.

These few photos represent only the worst cases - no pun intended. This theorbo was flying across the US. Although the case is doubled walled fibre-glass the impact shattered the front end of the lid (not pictured), broke the hinge and split the case walls on both side. Expectedly, the theorbo extension split as well.

It could have been worst. The extension popped cleanly out of its lap joint with the neck. I don't use a nail, screw or dowel to help secure this just for this type of accident. The neck joint to the body also popped, but cleanly. The bass side of the soundboard including the tongue, but not the fingerboard points, also popped but without cracking a rib or the soundboard.

The second theorbo was in the same type of case on a trans-atlantic flight and received a blow on the lower bass side of the case ripping off the clasp and compressing the case end.  The soundboard cracked in several places, the underlying belly wood that remains when the half binding is assembled split from the rest of the belly for the entire length of the bass side.

And, the inside clasp split completely in two! Fortunately, no ribs cracked and the rib joints held.

These two lutes were the most appalling examples because they were in "flight cases". Other lutes that have been sent to me recently have been lucky and suffered only loose bars and small cracks.

It is disheartening for both my clients and myself to see our lutes treated this way. Airlines banned instruments from their cabins and put us at the mercy of baggage handlers and their machinery. Recently, the US mandated that airlines had to allow smaller instruments in the overhead compartments or allow musicians to purchase seats for their instruments. Canadian airlines are following suit. Airlines in the EU are inconsistent or uncooperative. The International Federation of Musicians has launched a petition "demanding European legislation be updated to ensure fair treatment for performers travelling on planes with their instruments."   This links to the petition. It is in all of our interest. http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/36533/musicians-want-global-action-over-airlines

Carving a Jauch Triple Rose

The Andreas Jauch lute in Copenhagen that I am using as a model has a single rose. However, my client is partial to triple roses for large lutes and I agree with him. I don't necessarily copy the rose pattern that is on the original of the lute that I am modelling and I seldom change the design from a single to a triple rose. But a few years ago I measured a lute by Johannes Jauck, a relative of Andreas, in Brusssels no.251. This is its rose. I thought Johannes would approve of the switch.

I recognized that the design was taken from a rose pattern that I had in my collection. I selected the portion that I needed, whited-out the bit that wasn't necessary and drew in the continuation of the little part that I did need. I then photo-copied it to the size I wanted.

I had thinned out the soundboard to 2.0mm over its entire surface. In this photo I have marked off the rose area and I am thinning it down to 1.0mm right in the centre of the triangle that the three roses form.  I allow the area to become gradually thicker as it runs toward the edge: 1.3mm at the edge of the rose triangle and 1.6mm or so at the edge of the belly in this location.

I like to layout the ring border of the rose and cut it before I glue on the rose patterns. I have found that the paper patterns distort a little when the glue dries and this causes problems with centering the rings. The circle cutter is really meant for paper and is not substantial enough to adequately cut into spruce so I use it to score a line that I then deepen with a knife. The little black blocks are thin pieces of ebony tack-glued to the soundboard. I have drilled a very small hole in them, not all the way through, but just enough to secure the point of the tool.  They come off easily with a hot knife when I have finished with them. I spaced the three roses in the same manner as the Brussels Jauck but made them a little larger to correspond to the larger size of the Copenhagen lute and placed them in the same location.

I scored all of the lines of the rose pattern with a small instrument maker's knife and then, working section by section, removed the waste portions. Rather than cutting all the way through the soundboard I used two micro chisels that I had re-shaped to make them suitable for rose carving. One 17th century inventory of a lute maker's shop listed twenty-odd small chisels. Presumably for carving roses.

The chisel on the right is unaltered. The blade is 1.5mm wide with a 30 degree bevel. Opposite it is the same chisel reshaped so that the bevel is less than 10 degrees. One millimetre up from the tip the blade is only .25mm thick. The thinner blade displaces less fragile soundboard wood as it is plunged into the cut. Below it is a reshaped chisel that is also ground narrower to 1.1mm wide. By "walking" this chisel around a curved line that has previously been scored it is possible to make a clean cut through the wood without leaving  a faceted contour. The straight section are cut through with the 1.5mm chisel. I also have reshaped chisels that are 3 and 4mm that I occasionally use.

When necessary, perhaps while removing a waste portion that is next to a fragile rose element, I will bevel the edge of the waste. This provides more room and less resistance to the chisel as it separates the waste from the rose element.

The rose patterns and backing are glued on with fish glue.  I like this glue for this type of operation because I think it causes the paper to shrink less. I use a thicker mixture for the backing and a thinner one for the patterns. Since the rose patterns are on the face I want them to come off easily and cleanly. Sometimes they come off unexpectedly while I'm carving. In that case I carry on if possible but otherwise I stop, glue the offending part back in place and start cutting elsewhere. I remove the paper by wetting a small section lightly with a damp cloth for a few seconds and then touching it with a warm iron also for a few seconds. This releases the glue bond. I then loosen an edge with a knife and finish removing the section of paper with tweezers.

 There is still a lot of work to do. The geometric part of the rose design has a double vein cut into it, the vines need to be contoured and the border needs to be finished. I will do all of that next time.