REBEK UPDATE

 

 Finished Rebek

Feeling pleased  with the overall appearance - was concerned my 'f' holes would impair the sound because of the positioning. According to most of the photos I've seen of new and genuine old ones they are positioned more parallel to the bridge but I'm not a slave to tradition and I did give the shapes and positioning a great deal of thought.  Laburnum neck and tailpiece are great colours, totally natural with just a light wipe of linseed oil. 

 

 

 

The bow is made from Silver Birch which I shaved and bent gently till it simply felt 'right' in my hand. It took a bit of time as I struggled to find the perfect piece of straight grained wood and it seemed to take a ridiculous length of time to get it flexible enough without going too thin. Success in the end and fitted with horsehair, I played the first notes in trepidation as all the recordings I listened to on YouTube had sounded like cats being tortured!  It sounded sweet and melodic - I was playing Irish jigs though!  I've since decided that the folks I've seen & heard playing it may well be great luthiers but they're not much cop as instrumentalists! The small gadget is a peg tuner, my fingers are too big to get round them comfortably so I made this handy little device using Box, Sycamore and Ash - works a treat and I use the GDA string tuning for the violin. Next musical project is the archtop guitar...
 

 Rebec Update

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I first started the Rebec in a flush of enthusiasm in 2008 and did loads of work with the adze that summer at shows and events where I was selling my handmade wood wares. Since then it's been on the back burner until these interesting times and the Lock-Up we've had here in Essex, UK.  

In fact I'd forgotten about it till I had the biggest workshop tidy up and sort out for years and there it was at the same stage as in the pic below. 

It's a Gransfors Bruks Adze and it's one of those tools I go months without using then it's coming out every day. I  love using it - goes through wood like butter when you've got the right action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost Ready Stage

I always get caught out at this stage when making things because the tricky work is still to come and after wasting loads of wood with the adze it was on to gouges to get it so we'd have a good sound box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Almost Ready Stage

After spending a few more hours last week it was starting to look like a Medieval instrument and I felt pleased that I'd done it using similar methods to the musical instrument makers of the past - similar tools and a similar amount of energy!  Feeling positive now and have been re-reading Zachary Taylor's book for hints and tips and got sidetracked with that

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking the Shape of a Rebec

Finger board  and tail piece are Laburnum, the bridge and pegs are London Plane, top is Spruce and the nut is Box. I was able to use the neck support I'd made to set up the bass guitar I chatted about last week and it's great when bits of kit you make turn out to be multi functional.   Thank goodness I've a big workbench - must have had everything bar the kitchen sink out to use.  That's when you know for sure you can never have too many tools!

 

 

 

 

Here you can see the pegs - had to do some carefulcarving on these to ensure they could all be turned independently without jamming into each other - made a mental note that next time I make a Rebec to drill the holes just slightly further apart from each other!

This afternoon I'm going to design the fret holes, I've been looking at loads of images of ancient instruments in museums - don't think I'll be doing a super fancy design - I've heard that can impair the sound. So think I'll be going for something minimal going for the 'less is more' approach...

treewright.co.uk

COUNTRY CRAFT BOOKS and HISTORY with HOW TO MAKE thrown in

CRAFTS from THE HISTORIC COUNTRYSIDE

For a long time I've kept a large collection of books in my workshop, Country Crafts, Traditional Building Methods at the same time I've got the same volumes inside in the bedroom, front room, kitchen, upstairs workroom, the loft and in the sitting room!  So I've at long last really been looking at them all again - re-reading and making notes but I've found Not only do I have second copies in the workshop but up to four copies of some and I'm letting them go here 

I've a mixed bunch going on sale at the moment and all are good to enjoy during these interesting times specially those about life in the 19th century and earlier.  Isolating was common - not particularly by choice but just the way life was!  Some trades were very lonely others required teamwork constantly and often deprivation, hunger and appalling living conditions the norm.  Life expectancy short and destitution looming.  So even in these days of uncertainty life for me really is perfectly satisfactory on the whole if not good most of the time and brilliant the rest of it.

I am missing the meet ups with folks but I'm enjoying my strolls with a lovely lurcher, working with wood, chatting non stop with my wonderful wife Vanessa and playing my guitars and mandolin amongst other things!

Also sorting out my tools.  I've decided that I can have too many so I'll going through loads of drawknives, axes, billhooks, planes and plenty of other stuff.  Keeping them down to say six full sets will keep me going for all my courses and demonstrations as well as all my workshop requirements.  So keep an eye out here for a heads up on all types of tools and simple woodworking devices.  They all work well - I've used them all at some time or other but feel I should get them circulating again just like the books need to be.  If you're on the lookout for a side axe of a particular pattern or a chisel by a specific old maker because you like the tool steel, an adze, or a simple axe for spoon carving with a nice comfy handle get in touch - I'll look specifically for one in my massive collection...