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I want to build a fiddle with a back, sides, and neck with a wood other than maple. I am considering figured walnut. My instrument making experience has been limited to violins. I try for a bluegrass sound(bright and loud). I would like to hear from you guys(and gals) about your opinion concerning figured walnut as a fiddle tonewood. I also would need to find a suppler that could cut a nice piece of bizzaro figured walnut to appx. dimensions for a back, sides and a neck block. What kind of soundboard do you think would sound good with the walnut back and sides? Thanks, daddy-o496

If you are making this for your self, use whatever you want. Walnut makes nice guitars, and it would probably make a nice (but unsellable) violin. I would stick with quartersawn spruce for the top.
I'm sure that at least one of the sponsor woodsellers can come up with just what You want.

Al

I've seen walnut fiddles. I don't remember anything about the sound but I don't think that it would be as hard a sell as say a walnut violin would be. Folk musicians are a bit more flixible in what woods they will accept as long as the tone is there.

This fiddle is for me, as are all that I have made so far. I have six now and the last one turned out real nice. I just want to do something different from maple. I was also wondering how walnut compared in workability and tone character. Does it glue and finish any different from maple?

Walnut compared to maple for workability is like clay compared to brick. Walnut is one of the nicest woods that I have carved. It bends easily as well. I enjoy using it to carve necks, and have used it for backs,sides, end blocks, kerfing, and back braces, all with good results. The only negative is that the dust messes with my sinuses.

Walnut dust bothers me as well - but then again, you wouldn't be
generating as much dust building a fiddle as compared to a guitar.

I know nothing about violin construction but couldn't you use a rosewood
- or would it be to heavy.

Also, what about pernambuco. I bet with a little searching you could find
some pieces big enough for what you would need - and the best bows
are made out of it .

--
Simon

Vic-daddy,

Welcome! Walnut and spruce would make a fine fiddle, I think. You might also consider curly mahogany or bubinga. Mahogany is one of the best carving woods there is, and bubinga is nice and hard, which should give you a nice "out front" fiddle sound (probably more difficult to carve, though).

Simon,

I've heard that good pernambuco is extremely scarce, and hard to find in even bow sizes. 'Course that's for the really picky high-end bow makers.

I've made several fiddles of walnut. Black walnut works about the same as Euro maple in terms of thickness, weight, stiffness and so on, particularly if you can get a denser piece. A cedar top would go really well with it: put a thin (.3 mm) maple veneer patch in where the soundpost goes to help keep it from chewing through the top, running the grain of the patch a little across the top grain.

walnut fiddle .. walnut violin ??? whats the difference between the two ??? Oh yeah, now I remember .. no one cares if you spill beer on a walnut FIDDLE.TonyKarol38991.3771064815

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Myrtle was the first thing that jumped into my mind. Maybe some of that cool "tiger" myrtle in fact...

Curly Koa?

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

I made a Kentucky longrifle stock from curly koa years ago. How's that for breaking tradition?

Al

"Walnut makes nice guitars, and it would probably make a nice (but
unsellable) violin."

I know of a few very well-known violin makers who have made walnut
instruments, and one who who will be using walnut (with sapwood no
less) for a cello in the near future...
These are makers who do not make instruments that are "unsellable", and
we're talking heathy five-figure sums here...

So it kinda depends on who's using the walnut.....   

I've seen old French violins in figured walnut as well, so it has
historically been done...

I've seen old cellos as well...

And the Brescians used walnut for blocks, so there is some history of
walnut use in violin-making...

The weights seems in the ballpark, too...

spruce38993.5348032407

I would think black cherry (prunus serotina) would make a nice fiddle. It's about the same density as soft maple. Maybe not as purdy as walnut though.

Kirt

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Horton, MI

I've used curly cherry, and it works great. So does apple wood, although it's tough to carve.