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William Cumpiano makes a bordonúa enteriza:
Page Two
William Cumpiano is the webmaster of this website,
instrumentmaker, and coordinator of the Cuatro Project
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The earliest Puerto Rican instrument-makers had to rely on rudimentary glues derived from plant sap and animal cartilage, which would often fail when stressed. To secure the soundboard, the edges were tacked down with tacks or, as Vicente Valentin has pointed out, the spines of the Corozo palm. The tacking process was called empichado, named after the shoemaker's technique of tacking the soles onto shoes. Modern synthetic glues make this laborious procedure unnecessary, but the builder has chosen to keep up the tradition nonetheless. |
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We see here the result of the lengthy and exacting process of finishing the instrument. We've heard that the old makers would rub in melted candle wax. But the builder has used a modern synthetic spray lacquer, applied over a period of a week, allowed to dry for two weeks and wet-sanded and polished for a full day to achieve this beautiful glossy finish known as a "piano" finish. |
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At this point the bordonua bridge is fashioned and is glued on as we see here. The lacquer finish directly under the bridge was previously scraped off, insuring a wood-to-wood contact for a successful glue joint. |
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Finally the tuning machines are applied, the nut and saddle cut, fit and polished, the frets levelled and polished, and the fret-ends rounded off. Finally the instrument is strung up, according the the stringing and tuning scheme developed by the Cuatro Project that allows the instrument to play the low voice of the orquesta jibara. |
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Another view of the finished instrument. |
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And finally, a close up view of the soundboad,
strings and bridge of the finished bordonua.
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