Back/Bowl Page 3

After straightening the third set of ribs in the jig I resumed work on the back. The fifth set went on smoothly, but was a bit off so I clamped it in the straightening jig as before. This time I left it in the jig for four days. (just by chance- I was out of town for that amount of time) It did not spring back at all. The shape was excellent. The sixth set went on the same way. I made absolutely sure that the ribs were as close to the shape and as absolutely flat as possible against the previous rib. This is the most important aspect of building the back because it ensures the back maintains its proper shape. See comments about the seventh set below.

The far left rib is somewhat narrower than the far right one. This was done to balance a discrepancy on the right side. I took off a bit too much material getting it to lay flat and now the left side is about 4mm different than the right. I thought of using a new rib, but it fit so well that I hated not to use it. I will have to correct this again on the right side, but spread over the remaining three ribs on each side, it will not add up to much difference visually. Making sure the ribs fit flat is paying off. The seventh set matches the profile pattern very well.

Here is a view of the neck end joints. This is a very close shot under raking light. Thus, the tearout and grain is accentuated. The joints are pretty good. The widths of the ribs are not all the same, however. Good thing I didn't use contrasting wood or purfling. This would look even more crude. Ending up with equal ribs is proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated.