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2: William Cumpiano makes a
"thinline" cuatro (cont.)
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The heel, shaft and headstock is cut away from the blank with the bandsaw. |
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The final outline of the neck shaft and the headstock shape is drafted onto the neck blank. |
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A veneer is placed of the headstock and glued securely with the aid of clamps and a thick clamping block, which spreads the clamping pressure. |
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The headstock is trimmed and refined, and then drilled for the tuning machines. Tuning machine holes numbers 1 and 10 are moved closer to the edge so that the strings will come off the nut straight and strings 2 and 9 will not be deflected by the tuning posts on machines 1 and 10. |
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The soundboard is prepared from two 1/10-inch sheets of spruce which are glued together down the middle. The two sheets were adjacent slices from the original spruce plank, and so when they are joined together is said to be "bookmatched." In the photograph you will notice that the template outline and the precise location of the soundhole and rosettes have been carefully drafted onto the soundboard surface. |
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The slots for the rosette decoration are cut into the top with a circle-cutting tool in the drill press known as a "fly cutter." Note the thin black and white lines (made of dyed wood) that are to be inserted into the circular slots. Three rosette slots will be cut on this instrument. |
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The thin, shiny, colorful material which will be inlaid into the center slot is called paua. It comes from the shell of a large snail. It has been sawn into curved pieces so that it will fit into the curved slot |
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After the soundhole is cut out, we proceed to apply the soundboard braces, which keep the thin board from folding up under the tension of the strings. In the photo the upper transversal brace is glued on and at the same time as the bridge patch, which lies directly under the location where the strings are attached to the soundboard and which reinforces the area against their pull. |
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Neck, the lower transversal and fan bracing are glued on. If the bracing is insufficient, the top will distort or collapse. If the bracing is excessive, it will muffle the sound. So the precise size and location of the braces is determined only after much trial and error and experience. |
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The braced soundboard is ready to enclose the soundbox. The braces have been carefully shaped and smoothed. Note the slanted fan that is used, which is Cumpiano's own special design. |
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The soundboard has been glued on and now encloses the soundbox. The extra material overhanging the soundbox has been trimmed flush with the body's finished shape. |