The work has begun to flow in earnest and Ryan has been a busy man.
Here Ryan starts bending the "away" (cutaway) side. Cutaways are labor intensive up front but boy are they pretty when they are done.
And next the "players" side. Ryan tells me
"the Madi has a sweet candy (cinnamony) kind of smell. Bending it on the heater, the oils gave off a floral scent that stayed with me that was reminiscent of Brazilian."
Next is gluing both sides and the heel/end blocks in a form. Florentine cutaways by their nature are the most complicated rim. Man, that is a lot of clamps!
A shot of the unsupported rims sitting in the mold.
Adding some support with the top linings and arm bevel block. This helps the rim hold its correct form. The heel block is Mahogany with a Spanish Cedar cap. The linings are Spanish Cedar and the end block is Sitka Spruce. The arm bevel support is laminated Redwood. Basically a bunch of lightweight yet strong woods.
Profiling the rims to their final shape for the back - something sphero-cylindrical.
