Violin Ribs/Latent Tension

by John Meng

Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #287, 1984 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000

Bending Ribs

When wood is bent, the length of the outer surface increases or the length of the inner surface decreases; or most likely some combination of the two occurs. In soft woods, the fibers stretch and compress more easily than they do in hard woods, so soft woods can successfully be bent to smaller radii than can hard woods before the wood fractures.

Thin maple strips used to form violin ribs must be bent to small radii at the corners. Maple being a hard wood, there is a tendency for fibers along the inner surface to strongly resist compression.