Kid's Play

Now that the cracks in my cello are stabilized, it's time to think about preparing for the patch.  To this end, I've made a partial plaster cast of the top of the instrument, which is a messy process involving a bag of rice, a vacuum cleaner, and some play-dough.  This is where I found out that childhood has come a long way since I last played with the stuff -- the only  goo available at my local Target was scented.
  Apple-flavoured cast, anyone?  (I opted for the strawberry, thinking I might want to actually play with the apple).

The cello top, ready for the plaster

As per usual, I ended up with splotches of plaster in unexpected places, but the actual cast turned out quite nicely.  It is, of course, possible to make castings from other, neater, faster-to-use materials, but I've always got more accurate castings and, as a result, better-fitting patches with plaster.

  While I'm waiting for it to dry out, I'll make a new top block, and prepare the piece of wood for the patch.  With any luck, I'll have a big enough piece of the original spruce left over from when I was making the instrument.  (It would be asking too much for me to have marked it with the year and model ... I didn't think that far ahead when I was 20).

If you look closely, you can see the outline of the bridge feet, the cracks, and a few grain lines.
  Meanwhile, in my garden a pair of wrens are busy building an entirely different structure, something I could happily spend many hours watching.  But there is a violin to be built, so back to the workbench it is.