SamirCanada - 11-6-2008 at 12:04 PM
Controling the final dimention of the bowl is something I think is quite hard to do.
I remember Jameel's sukar had a broken rib right down the middle and he replaced it with a nice maple one.
how tricky was it to get a nice fit out of it?
I thought to myself...
why is it that we start the building by making the first rib at the top.
would it be a good idea to start the build by making the first 2 ribs which are jointed with the face first.
and then build from each side toward the inside?
your thoughts on this my friends?
Peyman - 11-6-2008 at 01:38 PM
In Iran, tanboors and setars are built with the side ribs first. Last summer I made a cura (small saz thing) with this method. The last rib ended up
somewhat crooked. I laid a piece of paper on top of the missing rib and pressed with the finger nails to get an impression of the missing area. Then I
cut the shape and put that on top of the bent rib. I shaped and flattened the rib to make it fit. The rib ended up not fitting exactly in the middle.
It actually drags from one side to the other but has covered the required area. I used walnut so it's not so obvious. Not sure if this would be easy
on an oud since the ribs are much longer. That's not to say that it can't be done but you definitely have to make each rib very accurately. I think
Iranian ouds are also made this way since they make the side ribs wider to make the overall bowl deeper.
Dr. Oud - 11-11-2008 at 02:43 PM
Starting from the sides and working to the center would require much more skill to fit the last (center) rib, both in the curve and the edge fit.
Working from the center out means fitting only one joint at a time, allowing some trimming to make each joint fit. The last ribs are left oversized to
trim to the final surface to mount the soundboard.
Jameel - 11-11-2008 at 03:14 PM
Not to mention the nightmare of having to fit both edges of the last rib to match the curve of the 2 ribs on either side, which, unless you build the
bowl perfectly, will most likely be different.
When I fixed that Sukar I used epoxy to glue that rib in. It was far from a perfect fit, and wasn't near close enough to use regular glue.