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About This Instructable

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AussieCFviolin
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Bio: Carpenter and Joiner

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(/file/F47GT00GVRX4N1W/) (/file/F173N86GVOX0T9M/)

Last year i made a carbon fibre violin ,

I started out by drawing a violin on paper , working out the curve heights , plotting
the lot on paper ,

Once i had my plans drawn it was time to start making moulds , the violin plate
moulds started as block of plaster , that i routed out and fine carved to produce a
"plug" , the 1st mould was taken off that , then fine finishing the top and bottom
plate mould took about 1 month , and i still had a lot of fibreglass moulds to make
 , rib mould , neck mould , finger board mould, they all take time. ,
To have a Shop Bot would be a huge help with the mould making , change the
shape slightly on the CAD drawings ,rerun CAM , and watch the Shop Bot produce
its magic on HDPE ( only a dream )., using a Shop Bot to draw perf lines , and trim
the carbon fibre , i wish i could afford one .

The first plates i made from carbon fibre were way to stiff , "tap tone's " told me it
was better used as a brass bell than a violin , after producing about 10 violin plates i
was getting into the ball park of tone , a combination
of different materials , laid down in different thicknesses in different areas
produced a violin front and back plate i was happy with .

I used the infusion method of carbon fibre making , were you lay all your layers up
dry and vacuum bag it , once the vacuum is over 25hg (-12psi) you open the tap to
the resin , and the vacuum pulls the resin into the carbon fibre fabric , the laying up
of the rib mould took me 5 hours each side to get the fabric to sit in the right
position , very fiddly ( pardon the pun) .

The gluing jig was made from MDF with 10mm cup heads sticking through ,
designed to allow side ways positioning of the rib and neck parts , and the holding
down clamps for the top and bottom , the centre part of the jig was removed to glue
the top on, with the 4 hour set time of the resin ,its important to keep it
all firmly heard in position.

The cutting and shaping of the f holes is another reason they call them fiddles ,
carbon fibre is a bugger to cut , found that if you submerge the carbon fibre in
water and use a Flexi Drive bit holder on a Dremmel, it keeps every thing cold , and
produces no dust , just ware a rain coat

After a final coat of clear and a polish it was ready to string up and hand over too
some who who could play it , ive had grate feed back and a few offers for this violin
and at the moment are remoulding for violin 2 ,working on the 2nd set of plans
now ,drawing them up on a low budget Cad , AutoCAD would be a big leap for me
and used with a Shop Bot would speed up design changes 100 fold , and allow me
to produce Cello's and Violas .

All up it took me 10 months of Sundays , from the time i decided to start

to finished product , i had never made a violin before , and my carbon fibre skills
were below basic , it was a huge learning curve but between the info on the net and
getting your hands dirty and " givin it a go" , anything is possible

Dont forget to vote for this ,

by Ken Van Laatum

violin(https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/F99/A8PJ/GVXHA221/F99A8PJGVXHA221.mp3)
Download 1.mp3

(https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/F99/A8PJ/GVXHA221/F99A8PJGVXHA221.mp3)

Step 1: Plan What You Want to Make

 (/file/F2GF043GVOX0T9L/)

(/file/FSR587SGVSUMM70/) (/file/FOJTMNRGVSACRBK/)

After purchasing a good violin making book or 2 , i set out to draw a violin ,not an
easy thing to do.
All the compass work comes from a single measurement ,
the centre measurement of a violin bridge's feet ,that measurement is ether 2x 4x
ect and the shape comes to life with the golden spiral rules .

The length and 8 widths were measured and the curve shape plotted , the
8 different width positions have different heights set from the length curve , once all
the curves were plotted it was redrawn on a second plan as 2mm contours so
a router could rough out the Plug for the mould

EDIT : 3.34AM 10th12/11

I down loaded a Mp3 of the open strings of this violin to make all the rioting people
happy ,

please take the time to log in and vote for this instructable, as it is a competition ,
and I would like to win :-)

violin
Download 1.mp3
(https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/F9P/OB40/GVXHDRJF/F9POB40GVXHDRJF.mp3)
(https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/F9P/OB40/GVXHDRJF/F9POB40GVXHDRJF.mp3)

adv ertisement
Step 2: Make Your Moulds

(/file/FT3LEVLGVP291ZQ/)

(/file/FAZPBXUGVP291ZP/) (/file/FUABBJFGVSUMM72/)

You have to make exactly what you want , then take a fibre glass mould from it , the
original object can be made from any thing , plaster , wood , wax ,
The top and bottom plate mould started off as a block of plaster , while it was set but
sill moist i roughed it out with a router and smoothed out the contorts with a chisel ,
once the plaster had dried it was sanded filled and sealed and polished to 1200 grit
before fibreglass was laid over it to produce the mould .

The rib mould was 2 layers of 16mm ply laminated together , planed down to
a wedge shape , then cut to shape with a band saw , once the "Plug" was sealed
and polished it was placed between 2 boards and fibre glassed up to produce the
mould

The neck i carved out of timber , with mould making you have to look out for your
angles , you cant under cut your mould or you wont get the finished product out

Dont forget a bond beaker on you r"plug" , there are many different types but i
found PVA mould release easy to use

Step 3: Make Your Parts

 (/file/F37LTP7GVOW526F/)

(/file/FD2VMVEGVSACRBO/) (/file/F5OC4ZZGVOX0T9N/)

Once you have your moulds made your 1/2 way there , if you look after your
moulds you will get several "runs " out of them

Carbon fibre is not as expensive as you might think , and readily available on the
net , my violins use less than 2 square meters of carbon fibre cloth

Carbon fibre comes in many different fabrics and weaves , ill leave it the net
to explain the "K" and weave patterns and there uses.
Basicly Carbon fibre cloth is like any other cloth (soft) and once its set in resin ,it
gets its strength , its the strength and acoustic abillitys of the resin that is important
, fibreglass polyester resin is no good , epoxy must be used , there are several was
to make carbon fibre ,

Wet lay up , is when you wet down the fabric with a paint brush and lay them up ,
place a peal ply over it , an absorbent layer , then plastic vacuum bag it up and
suck the air out , the pressure from the vacuum bag forces the excess resin
through the peal ply and into the absorbent .

Infusion , is when you lay it all up dry and vacuum bag it , waiting until the vacuum
is high before allowing the resin in through a tap , once the mould has been
infused you close the tap and pull a good vacuum on the mould , i like this way
because it gives you lots of time to lay the layers down and your not running
around like a mad man if your vacuum bag has a hole in it .

Prepeg is the professional way , manufacture has wet it down with a resin , most
need ovens and autoclaves , it must be stored in a freezer even then the shelf life is
short

i put down 3 layers of clear before the carbon fibre so the parts come off the
moulds just needing a polish

Step 4: Put the Parts Together

 (/file/FGP2TM8GVSACRBJ/)

(/file/F173N86GVOX0T9M/) (/file/F47GT00GVRX4N1W/)
(/contest/shopbot/)
A Carbon Fibre Violin I Made From Scratch by AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin/) in
instruments (/tag/type-id/category-play/channel-instruments/)
The jig i came up with has 2 parts , the centre part can be removed once the
bottom is glued on (/id/A-carbon-fibre-violin-i-made-from-scratch/)
, so you can turn it around and and bolt the 32 topSteps
and neck down
Download h .
on the same jig
 Collection I Made it!  Favorite  Share
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The side ways threads hold the ribs in the correct position so they can be joined
and and hold them inplace while the bottom plate is glued on .

Step 5: Admire It

(/file/FL6MHZ6GVP291ZJ/)

Give it a good polish and your done

Step 6: How to Draw a Violin A

 (/file/FSJJ4AMGW0HRQCT/)

(/file/FLF0BDMGVZPP1OH/)

This"How too" is in response to people asking how i drew my violin , its not a strad

I call this a 1234 design , if you use this to make a violin , please call it a "1234"
design
its quite simple and basicly shows how the shape comes around using
the golden rules where each radius is 1x 2x 4x

To start off you need a measurement to start , so measure the bridge , you want the
centre of the foot stance , on my violin its 32mm

so starting at 1/2 , 1 , 2, 3, 4, the measurement you get

16mm , 32mm , 64mm , 96mm , 128mm , these are the radius of your circles

To start draw a 32mm radius circle on a centre line about 200mm right of
the edge of the page (A3)

Step 7: How to Draw a Violin B

 (/file/FCUEEMWGVZPP1OX/)

Now draw 3 circles at 64mm radius , these mark the rib wall at the widest point ,
and the 3rd is needed to get a line for bout position
i will show the new circles in blue and the centres as black dots , they will turn black
for the next step

Step 8: How to Draw a Violin C

(/file/FCQZ2QVGVZP1NQ2/)

2 more circles at 128mm , these mark the out side rib edge where the bout circles
touch

Step 9: How to Draw a Violin D

 (/file/FNECTE5GVZP1NYG/)

now 2 lines , these mark the position of the lower bouts

Step 10: How to Draw a Violin E

(/file/FVMPJX8GVZQ6HBS/)

this circle's radius is best fit ???? well it seems the best spot for the centre , it
marks the very bottom of the violin

Step 11: How to Draw a Violin F

 (/file/F3M1HF6GVZPH0OX/)

Now its all looking like a mess , so what ive done is to draw the rib outline in black ,
and reduced the construction lines to yellow , just so its clearer

Step 12: How to Draw a Violin G

(/file/F55Z8E4GVZOIAGV/)

Now its time to draw the the upper side of the violin ( still could be a guitar ? double
bass ? cello ? viola ? if the 1st measurement is modified )

The only difference with this side is that the starting circle is 1/2 the size on the
upper , than the lower

Its best to draw it all out , and measure the distance from the the " Bout arcs "
crossing point to center ,
We are looking to over lap the top and bottom halves by 1/2 the bridge foot centre
measurement ( 16mm )

so from the bout arc cross over point , measure out 102.6mm from the dot on the
 last image , and draw a circle 16mm diameter

Step 13: How to Draw a Violin H

(/file/FIX7P3LGW322HYU/)

we now have to redraw what we have in a mirror image of the lower 1/2 , i wont just
rush and draw it all , ill draw it out , bit by bit

so were up to the 3 circles again , there the same size as the lower 1/2 at 64mm
radius , but there centres are 1/2 the distance apart ,making the top smaller than
the bottom

Step 14: How to Draw a Violin I

(/file/FIEV22NGVZQ6KEA/)
 now we draw 2 circles , these mark the out side rib edge where the bout circles
touch, there 128mm in radius , they should cross the lower lines by 16mm ( blue
dots )

Step 15: How to Draw a Violin J

(/file/FOWXGBCGVZP1W7H/)

Now we are about to draw two straight lines , that mark the positions of the upper
bouts

Step 16: How to Draw a Violin K

(/file/F4QTVRTGW3CNMQW/)

now the the arc that forms the very top curve , the top plate is left as it is , the
bottom plate has to have a arc to accept the lower part of the neck
Step 17: How to Draw a Violin L

(/file/FMK9AYNGVZPH70K/)

Once again now its all looking like a mess , so what ive done is to draw the rib
outline in black , and reduced the construction lines to yellow , just so its clearer

Step 18: How to Draw a Violin M

(/file/FDZS1AQGVZQ6KFL/)

Guitar builders can work it out from here

The violin needs some bouts , unless there a carbon fibre violin maker who thinks a
" 4 string small guitar" = a violin , now there size and combination are up to the
maker , 1x , 2x , its up to you
the radius's are 16mm or 32mm
 Start on the outer most circles , and match the inner ones to where the lines cross

A word of warning , if you do make a carbon fibre violin ( small 4 string guitar )
without bouts , you might ( you will) infringe apon a USA's company's patent
, check weather the major Carbon fibre violin , cello ( 4 string guitar maker ) maker
, has bothered with a patent in your country ( they have in mine )
Read there patent ,

Step 19: How to Draw a Violin N

(/file/FJ2YIMYGVZQ6KHS/)

Time to fill in the bouts , 64mm radius circles

Step 20: How to Draw a Violin O

(/file/FQMBHUZGW3WR2HW/)

So now the bout lines have been simplified to the rib edge line , and another line
3mm away forms the outside eadge of the violin shape

Step 21: How to Draw a Violin P

 (/file/FK1PQRNGW3X7N8T/)

(/file/F102X6UGVRX4N1N/)

The flat side's of the bouts are always a challenge to get right , the best way is to
run a line from the opposite top or bottom centre to miss the rib out line / block by
3mm

the top 1/2 and the bottom 1/2 of this drawing are diffident around the the top bout
area , i personally like the top 1/2 , so will modify the drawing to be the same top
1/2 and bottom 1/2

This is the basic out line of the "1234 violin " , the same as the my plan of the violin
, on the second photo , it shows the out line against an ebay purchased "Strad
template " , its not that far off but it is not a Strad

If you want your brain to hurt , you can modify the size of the circles , some thing
ive been playing with ,is trying to draw a STRAD by modifying the circle size by the
ratio of a guitars frets on a guitars finger board
So if you divide a string length by 17.817...... (magic number) , take that length off
the string , you will end up with tone 1 note higher

This "how to" is all my own work , and i challenge anyone to search the web for a
web page that shows " how to draw a violin with a compass" , there are 2 images
of finished drawings , very complex , and are the result of reverse measuring an
existing famous violin , it took me about 3 months to work this way out from those
2 images , some of the other books ways of drawing violins refer to drawing angles
 down to the 1/100th of a degree , imposable with a pen and protractor

If you use this "how too " please call the shape a "1234 32:16overlap violin "
starting with a larger measurement should result in a larger instrument , viola
, cello , double base , quad base the octobase is just plain unplayable

Step 22: Drawing the 3d Shape

(/file/F6WMYBKGYR362AD/)

The violin consists of a 3d curve , back in the 1700's sound did not travel in a sine
wave , so they tinkered with the plate shape for over 400 years and got pretty dam
close to sine wave , the purest's will shoot me , but since im not making my violins
out of timber , there not on my side any way .

The plate shape all starts with a curve from top to bottom ( see 1st pic ) , the sine
wave curve and the rib-line meet , the 3mm over hang side starts to turn back up ,
around the bouts ( pointy bits on the side ) it cuts the corner , so all the curves
lowest points are at the rib-line or the inside of whats called the" block" ( a block of
wood on timber violins , the bouts or those pointy bits on the side )

There are lots of sine wave plotters available free off the net , you just have to enter
length and height

Start with the long sine wave, i used the height of 16mm because its 1/2 of
the measurement we set the hole violin out with , at 90 deg to it set out your
"width " sine waves ,getting the height of each one from the long sine wave

Step 23: Turning It Into 3d

(/file/F5GUP0LGYQFHKYW/)
 (/file/FK9EIEOGYR35QLA/)

Keep plotting your sine waves , or just scale them to fit perfectly (pic2)

Then lay a mesh over the top , and set the Zaxis points to match the sine waves
(pic1)
have fun , this drawing took me 2 months , over 7000 points all raised up to correct
height

Step 24: Get It Machined

(/file/FNZ986YGYR35QLF/)

(/file/FZ1KH9RGYR35QLE/)

Once you have your 3d drawing , its off to the machining shop , or you could hand
carve it like i did the with my first violin
 The image has to be ran through a CAM program , and then its off to a CNC
machine to be turned into reality

Step 25: The Quick Way

(/file/FACDKI0GYQFHKZD/)

(/file/F65K5ZPGYQFRO76/) (/file/FQM76D7GYR35QLY/)

(/file/FP4WLRTGYQFRO77/) (/file/FI70M55GYQFHKZF/)

The first mould i every made was made from plaster , and it took me a lot less time
than drawing a full 3D plan in CAD

The sine waves were plotted on paper , and measurements taken in

2mm increments , and a contour plan was drawn

The contour plan was laid over a block of plaster ( 2nd mould was WAX ) and a
hand herald router was used to rough out the contours , then chiselled into shape ,
and sanded smooth
Then it had to sealed and mould release applied before a fibre glass positive
mould was then taken from it , then the positive was sanded polished , sealed and
moulded to get the negative mould i used

It wasn't that much faster , the drawing was fast , but the sanding was endless , with
the CNC ones , the drawings took for ever and the moulds came back smooth

Step 26: How to Make Carbon Fibre 1 ( Wet Layup )

 (/file/FW1I7Y5GYQFHL13/)

So now you have your polished mould , your 1/2 way there

In the image below , the mould has had a coat of PVA based mould release , and
coated 3x with clear epoxy resin , dont confuse epoxy resin with fibre glass resin ,
there different , select the hardest epoxy resin you can find ( MPA) , the harder the
more resonate the violin plates will be , im using West System's 105 here with there
108 hardener , its easier to tone them down by playing with the layers

You have to allow each coat of epoxy to "jell " before applying the next coat , if you
let it go hard , some bad stuff forms on the surface , and your layers will peel off

Step 27: How to Make Carbon Fibre 2 ( Wet Layup )

(/file/FVJNJVNGYQFHL4M/)
 (/file/FHOJEG3GYQFHL4N/)

Once the 3rd layer of clear has "Jelled" , you can lay a layer of Carbon Fibre cloth
over the mould , and pat it down to the tacky clear coats , it will stick so 4 hands are
needed

Slowly pore a tiny amount of resin into the middle , and wait , the resin will flow into
the first layer , you do not want to trap air in under the fibre , take this part real slow
, pore some more resin and the middle and wait again for it to wet down real slow ,
do this about 5 times untill you have a puddle in the middle , with a paint brush ,
slowly pull the resin out of the puddle and up the sides , allowing enough time for
the air to escape working out would from the puddle

When the first layer is totally soaking wet , add the second layer , you should be
able to use the existing resin to wet out that layer ( a lot faster) , and keep on
building up the layers until your happy , try different cut outs , different materials ,
carbon comes in a huge amount of weave patterns and each has its
own properties that affect tone

Step 28: How to Make Carbon Fibre 3 ( Wet Layup )

(/file/FLLJIAMGYR35QNW/)
 After the laying up of the carbon fire is complete , a layer of "peel ply " is laid over
the top , this membrane allows the resin to pass though but wont bond to the resin ,
it can be peeled off later

Step 29: How to Make Carbon Fibre 4 ( Wet Layup )

(/file/FM0X21YGYQFRO90/)

1/2 inch Dacron is used to absorb the excess resin , it works well , it stays flexible
where cotton rags will set rock hard

Step 30: How to Make Carbon Fibre 5 ( Wet Layup )

(/file/FCA49OQGYQFMUMR/)
 (/file/FVI23S2GYQERYBV/)

The mould is then placed into a "Vacuum bag" , and a vacuum pulled to over
25Hg/in , this compresses all the layers together , with the excess resin flowing
through the peel ply and into the Dacron , the Dacron also helps to get an even
vacuum over the hole surface

In this photo ive used Forticon concrete underlay plastic , but now use a nylon
super stretch bag material

When you make your bag up , leave the front edges "Mastic " with the non stick
tape left on , its a lot faster to seal , this mastic is easy to use , its also easy to
repair leaks when the vacuum is pulled

The vacuum pump is one of those electric pumps refrigeration mechanics use to
suck the air out of a air-conditioner before re gassing , with a filter and " resin
Catch Can " installed before the pump

Step 31: How to Make Carbon Fibre 6 ( Wet Layup )

(/file/FTJG71WGYR362LJ/)
 (/file/FH0BG0UGYQFROC5/) (/file/FYXUJ5NGYR362LK/)

A few hours later when the resin has set ,( resin left over in mix container is hard )
it time to strip the mould , grab the peel ply and rip it off , taking the Dacron with it

Before the resin sets real hard brake the bond around the edges of the mould , but
dont remove the carbon fibre from the mould until 24 hours has passed , its easy to
damage it when its still soft

Step 32: How to Make Carbon Fibre 7 ( Wet Layup )

(/file/F614VFQGYR362MW/)

(/file/F04Z9RHGYQERYC0/)
 24 hours later pop it from the mould , they come off quite easy , the "Blue PVA
mould release" is good stuff

Iif your mould is polished the finish is perfect , a lot easier to have a smooth mould
than to sand , and fill the carbon fibre parts

We have a be nice comment policy.

Please be positive and constructive. w I Made it!  Add Images Post Comment

swannjie (/member/swannjie) 4 months ago Reply

bravo

k-labit (/member/k-labit) a year ago Reply

AMAZING!!!

| Squidyman (/member/Squidyman) 2 years ago Reply

8
Could you make the CAD plans for the violin public? I am interested in making a
copy of your 1234 design.

Wezmabini (/member/Wezmabini) 2 years ago Reply

What you have done here is an amazing achievement. I congratulate you.

I am in the early stages of designing an electric viola. I was going to use wood, but
now I am thinking very seriously of using CF after making a model in clay or some
other easy modelling material. Mine will be solid-body, and should present less
challenges than the acoustic violin. I ought to be able to make the body and neck in
one piece. If you have the time to correspond I would very much appreciate it.

swannjie (/member/swannjie) 2 years ago Reply

Beautiful, and a first try ! How many layers of carbon fiber did you use for the top
plate? what is the final thickness before resin and after resin? thanks

aev123103 (/member/aev123103) 2 years ago Reply

i know you did it but it looks impossible

Drdendro (/member/Drdendro) 2 years ago Reply

That is the coolest thing I have ever seen. The violin isnt the most exciting
instrument the world has ever seen, but you have made this one super cool.

X Command-A (/member/Command-A) 2 years ago Reply

8
Truly an amazing instructable (sp LOL) be proud of your contribution!

X gezortenplotz (/member/gezortenplotz)
8 Congratulations! Your perseverance must border on the 6 years ago Reply

obsessive. I don't even play violin anymore, but I'd buy one of
these.

Ahmedasma360 (/member/Ahmedasma360) . gezortenplotz

(/member/gezortenplotz) 2 years ago Reply

great job! i play the violin and i totally feel like playing the one you made....its
so cool?

jstanton6 (/member/jstanton6) 4 years ago Reply

Found this carbon fiber violin maker who has managed to keep the scroll work on
the end of the neck. Pretty rad.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/156894760/violin-carbon-fiber-engineering-
and-tooling (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/156894760/violin-carbon-fiber-
engineering-and-tooling)

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . jstanton6

8
(/member/jstanton6) 4 years ago Reply

lol , kickback fund raising for digitizing an existing violin and making
aluminium molds , great idea , i went down the track of buying a CNC
machine and making a furnace , so i can sand cast aluminium molds , the
machine and polish the surface ( 36hours to get too mirror finish ) , im on my
4th CAD drawn violin plans now

CNC ,with CAD and aluminium / diesel furnace set me back , $4000( a lot of
work and learning curve ) , lol , less than 1/2 of what hes asking for 1 one set
of molds to be made ?

jduarte5 (/member/jduarte5) . AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) Reply

2 years ago
Aussie. Thanks for the great write up. Would you be availabke by
email or chat? i'd like to pick your brain on a project i have and it's too
lenghty to write here. My email is javier at coachcall dot net

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . AussieCFviolin

8
(/member/AussieCFviolin) 4 years ago Reply

the advantage of owning your own CNC is that the inside of plates can be
ground down to perfect thickness , and the out line and F holes cut with out
any hands on time

X KemikalzAreFun (/member/KemikalzAreFun) 3 years ago Reply

|
8 Holy.. If I had a violin like this I'd definitely start playing xD
Amazing work!!
Should have made the bridge piece out of carbon fibre though. Would have looked
better. But maybe there is a reason it's wood?

redsunmtm (/member/redsunmtm) 4 years ago Reply

really nice work,

a friend of mine made a copy of "Lucille" the famous guitar, but he played only one
time with it in concert and got shocked with electricity, so now it is only decorating
his rest room... :(
X BLUEBLOBS2 (/member/BLUEBLOBS2) 5 years ago Reply
|
8 Who doesn't think carbon fiber is awesome? Anyone?

redsunmtm (/member/redsunmtm) . BLUEBLOBS2 (/member/BLUEBLOBS2)

4 years ago Reply
it is, but it is also really cancerous !

| Raphango (/member/Raphango) 4 years ago Reply

Marvelous! =~~)
Congratulations man! You rock!

nEt4ward (/member/nEt4ward) 4 years ago Reply

Will it work without the vacuum bagging process?

vnams (/member/vnams) 4 years ago Reply

What kind of carbon fibre cloth did you use?

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . vnams (/member/vnams)

8
4 years ago Reply
2Ktwill , 12kUni , 6kuni , 2kUni , all sorts

X chocolatechip (/member/chocolatechip) 4 years ago Reply

|
8 A carbon fiber violin by the brand Luis and Clark was featured in WIRED
magazine for $5539!

neferkamichael (/member/neferkamichael) 4 years ago Reply

Aussie I am working on a project where the connecting rod of an engine will be

subjected to very powerful magnetic fields. Powerful enough that the eddy currents
in a metal connecting rod might generate to much heat. Could a connecting be
made out of carbon fiber?

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . neferkamichael

8
(/member/neferkamichael) 4 years ago Reply

Carbon conducts electricity , so will still have eddy currents , probably worse
and more uncontrollable than aluminum / steel
Maybe a Kevlar blend would be better ?

X chocolatechip (/member/chocolatechip) 4 years ago Reply

|
8 The question is.... does it sound good? I play violin.

crasch48 (/member/crasch48) 5 years ago Reply

you could use sketchup a google cad program. it is free and has a large following.
they have an extensive library of drawings, possibly already have a violin or viola to
start from. you did a great job! thanks for your instructable!!!

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . crasch48

8
 (/member/crasch48) 5 years ago Reply

no i dont think you could draw one in google sketch

monstertrucker35 (/member/monstertrucker35) . AussieCFviolin

(/member/AussieCFviolin) 4 years ago Reply

I'm going to have to agree with AussieCFviolin. I've been using sketchup for
5 years now, have been able to master something as difficult as the attached
photo, but the only thing I can figure the program doing with ease would be
drawing the several circles to create the paper violin shape.

Wonderful work sir. Thank you for sharing your instructable. :)

monstertrucker35 (/member/monstertrucker35) . monstertrucker35

(/member/monstertrucker35) 4 years ago Reply

Apologies, the photo would not attach. Here is a direct link:

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/ae25/jbrand61608/Banetumblercamo-
7_zps2d37545c.png

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . monstertrucker35

8
(/member/monstertrucker35) 4 years ago Reply

im using turboCADpro to draw them , drawing up my 4th molds this week

i only had a short play with google sketch , with out the type in edit boxes on
the bottom most CADs have , it would be hard to position any thing
accurately

X soouncool (/member/soouncool) 5 years ago Reply

8
wow......wow.....

X jawasan (/member/jawasan) 5 years ago Reply

|
8 I was the owner of a small, yet successful, carbon fiber parts manufacturing
company in the automotive industry, and I must say this violin is EXCELLENT!
Very very nice work my friend! Wow.

| dunnos (/member/dunnos) 5 years ago Reply

8
I want a guitar like this :3

X freeza36 (/member/freeza36) 5 years ago Reply

|
8 I haven't done much with CAD, but from what I have... that seems really difficult.
Great Job

X freeza36 (/member/freeza36) 5 years ago Reply

|
8 I haven't done much with CAD, but from what I have... that seems really difficult.
Great Job

stickbf (/member/stickbf) 5 years ago Reply

Impressed with the project and responses, however the spelling skills are
atrocious . Bought a book years ago because of an article in mechanical
engineering. The book was a specially designed book of info templates etc. by 2
brothers named Doerr.
 stickbf (/member/stickbf) . stickbf (/member/stickbf) 5 years ago Reply

Actually I've bought many books but I actually bought 2 of the Doerr violin
books and donated one to the Carnegie Library of PPittsburgh music
Department.

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . stickbf (/member/stickbf)

8
5 years ago Reply
thanks for the complements , and wow you bought a
book once ????

X Uptonb (/member/Uptonb) 5 years ago Reply

|
8 Congrats on being a finalist, and good luck!

X mr.incredible (/member/mr.incredible) 6 years ago Reply

|
8 I would love to hear it played...

imartens (/member/imartens) . mr.incredible (/member/mr.incredible) Reply

6 years ago
I second (or as other have also requested, 5th or 6th) this request.
A video of you playing it?

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . imartens

8
(/member/imartens) 6 years ago Reply

lol i cant play

ok ok , ill dig it out of the shed and restring it , tune it up and play it to the best
of my ability , 4 open string notes , i can manage that , the bugs are a bit loud
now , but it would be better than traffic during the day , im on to it

X mr.incredible (/member/mr.incredible) . AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin)

|
8 6 years ago Reply
Don't do that... Get someone who can play WELL to play
it. The violin is beautiful but if the sound quality isn't right then there is no
since building it.

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . mr.incredible

8
(/member/mr.incredible) 6 years ago Reply

well did you hear it ?, oh ,you want to judge the player not the instrument

X mr.incredible (/member/mr.incredible) . AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin)

|
8 5 years ago Reply
No judgement at all on your part. Obviously your build
skills rock. It is beautiful, I would just like to hear the sound quality.

jimintampa (/member/jimintampa) 6 years ago Reply

Instead of AutoCAD, you might try BricsCAD, go to Bricsys.com. It costs $395US

& has all the functionality of AutoCAD & none of the attitude.

X AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin) (author) . jimintampa

8
(/member/jimintampa)
 6 years ago Reply
dunno ,Autodesk's AUTO CAD is pretty well an industry
standard , they use it at my work now on a self loading CNC robotic cabinet
making machine ( different department ) ,i would hate to learn another CAD
that isn't used much ,like the one im using now

have you seen Autodesk's up and coming Photo's to 3D addon ?? in testing

now at
http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/photo_scene_editor/getting_started/
unbelievable soft ware , take a heap of photos of an object , following there
guide lines , up load them , and they come back as a 3d CAD drawing

oban2000 (/member/oban2000) . AussieCFviolin (/member/AussieCFviolin)

6 years ago Reply
Wow...yet another piece of awesomeness that I've
learned from this incredible Instructable. You've got my vote.

But please do answer the question (that preventec47 asked earlier): so what
IS the low cost CAD program that you are using?

nonameworks (/member/nonameworks) . jimintampa (/member/jimintampa)

6 years ago Reply
Why would you pay that much? Check out DraftSight
http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/overview/

It is free and developed by Dassault Systemmes owner of SolidWorks and

Catia. It must be missing a lot of what AutoCAD has because it is on 66MB
but it works on Windows Mac and even includes deb and rpm files for Linux.

The interface is pretty much identical to AutoCAD 2004 so you wouldn't have
much relearning to do.

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