Finishing
Before closing, go over all the surfaces that will be after gluing on the inside of the instrument and make sure there are no loose splinters and other parts that might cause buzzes later on. Remove remnants of glue, if necessary.
Your label
Before closing, it is customary for many makers to put their personal label inside the instrument. The labels come in many different shapes and types. Hide glue is used to attach the paper label to the maple back. The information on the label can be the name of the author, date and place of creation, the number of the instrument. The position of the label is usually somewhere in the center part of the back plate so as to be readily seen through the f-holes, but many makers put their marks also in other parts inside the instrument, ie. on the ribs (Stradivari). Just avoid the soundpost location :)
Clamping and gluing the front
- Before fitting, the chamfer on the underside of the overhang needs to be done, as it was on the back plate. For this, refer to the page Fitting the back.
- The front is glued to the back and the ribs in the same manner as was the back with the only exception of the glue being of thin consistency to ensure easy removal of the plate later on. Again, see Fitting the back for the instructions.
Location holes filling
To close the for location holes that are no longer needed, make tiny wooden dowels, spruce for the top and maple for the back. The easiest way is to use your electric drill to "turn" the dowels to required diameters. These plugs must go into the holes with ease and should have a point.
- Cut four pieces of required wood and create the dowels from them.
- Put a drop of glue on the tip of the dowel and insert. Repeat with the other holes. Let dry.
- Using your sharp knife, cut off each dowel as close to the plate`s surface as possible.