Making a solid mould for the 1550 Hans Frei Warwick Lute
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- For my previous lutes I used a simple build mould that was not solid, it works fine but I thought I would make a new solid mould to see how that helps build up the bowl of the lute and keep faithful to the shape of the original instrument.
The shape of lute bowls are more complex than they appear, every curve is compound, not radial so the the final shape of the lute is as if it has been squashed slightly flatter at the lower end and narrower at the neck end.
The dimensions of the intersecting planes were worked out using third angle projection drawings, then precisely hand cut in interlocking plywood.
How does one go about learning to become a luthier?
When I was five years old I had three goals:
Build a ship.
Sail to Tahiti.
And learn to play the lute.
I did not know about the theorbo back then.
I feel I am too old to build an 80 foot sailboat. Tahiti is no longer what I had heard about as a kid. But I can still learn to play.
The only way I can afford to get a theorbo is to learn to build one.
I have my contrabass canjo as my first experimental musical instrument. I bought a used Bass amp from the junk store. My canjo sounds great on it. I have tuned to low A. Right now I am waiting for paint to dry, so that I can put a preamp into a wooden box.
I am reading everything I can find on violin making and will soon start on a cigar box violin kit I bought. After that I plan to crave the body of a bass rebec out of some mulberry I set back two years ago
Some of my dreams are old, old but I am happy to say I have found a place in my life where I can start reaching out and doing something about them.
Hey Nick. I like your use of foam. How do you treat/coat the sanded foam to facilitate removal of the lute bowl once complete?
Hi
Apologies for such a late reply.
I just applied beeswax, we kept bees at the time so had loads of the stuff, but you could use a good paste wax I think, anything that the glue won't stick to but won't transfer to the inside of the lute bowl.
Cheers and best wishes
Nick
Nice sped-up cantigas playing :D
Hi, well spotted, thanks. N
This was super helpful, thanks for uploading it! Could I ask: where did you get dimensions for the 1550 Hans Frei lute and did you use any special software to draw up the intersecting planes that form your mould skeleton? Much appreciated!
Hello
My apologies for such a late reply, due to health reasons I've not been very active on this. Anyway, I bought a copy of the plans of the lute directly from Warwick museum which is only about 15 miles from here, the plans cost about £60 and I also took my own photos of the lute for the details.
The plans are drawn in third angle projection from which you can easily derive the profiles of each rib as a series of radical planes. That has to be done for each rib because the lute bowl is not actually radial, no single curve anywhere on the surface of the lute bowl is circular.
So, it's worth contacting the museum , try
www.warwickshireworld.com/news/warwick-museum-to-open-after-hours-for-historic-instrument-event-722284
And read up on third angle projection, you'll only need drawing equipment instead of a computer.
Cheers and best wishes
Nick
Very nice. Which expanding foam did you use here?
Hi
It's an expanding polyurethane foam that builders use as a gap filler. It expands on contact with moisture so I gave the framework a light spray of water then injected the foam directly from the aerosol can. One standard size can did the lute bowl with enough spare to fix the gaps you see when I take the tape off.
Cheers
Best wishes
Nick