Making a Fiddle - Day 8

I used a chisel to trim down the ribs.  When done correctly, the seam at the corners becomes almost invisible!  I had to be very careful when chiseling the maple.  It is so easy to chip the ribs!  I ended up going at an angle from the top down -- and I didn't go all the way down to the board. I would flip it over and then go the other direction. Then I would work on the middle section, and finish it out with a rasp to get it perfectly level and square.

After trimming the ribs with the chisel, I used a rasp to smooth out and level the edge. It should be perfectly straight.

My sanding board is 16" x 24". It can be made from granite (which is pretty heavy, but flat), or it can be made from a board. I used 5-ply plywood. It took a good two hours to make this completely level! I used planes, scrapers and sandpaper to accomplish this.

I used a long, thick straight edge to check for high and low spots and warping. It has to be level everywhere: top, bottom, sides, and diagonally. After the board is level, I cut large pieces of sandpaper (from sanding belts) to fit the board. I used coarser grain on one side and finer grain on the other side. The sandpaper was attached to the board using spray adhesive.

You can see me using the sanding board in this picture. I am sanding the rib structure on my sanding board. It is important not to press down too hard or the ribs can break. Back and forth and circular motions across all parts of the board are important to keep the rib structure perfectly level. This has to be done on both sides of the rib structure.

Both sides look like this now!

Here is a closeup of two corners.

I still have a long ways to go, but it won't be long and I'll be rid of this mold and start work on the top and back.