The new cutaway Erdesz model viola is now in process of being purfled. The plates have been glued to the sides, and the outline finalised. The pictures show the edge channel on the back being initially shaped by the gouge, the edge channel finished and smoothed, and the back finally purflled. The edges have still to be rounded, and finally cleaned up. Today, I have to put the purfling in the front.
I make my own purfling, as did all the old masters. The outer black lines are pear wood, which is dyed black - a very old process that takes three lots of boiling and soaking - and are 0.3mm thick.
The centre, white, lines are willow - I use Cricket bat willow as it is lighter in colour - and vary in thickness from 0.5 to 0.7mm depending on the model of instrument, and the whim of the moment. For violins I usually use 0.5mm for the white. The three strips are glued together before bending and shaping, rather than inserting as three separate strips; the dyed pearwood is not strong enough for the latter procedure.
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