Violin Making
Day
22 The neck joint
This is one page in a series about violin making by hand in the traditional way. Please see the introduction for more, and our violin making courses if you are inspired to make a violin yourself.
Today violin maker Derek Roberts makes the neck
joint and fits the neck to the body. The neck and fingerboard were
assembled in the previous stage.
The joint is in two parts, at the heel of the neck and at the top block of the body of the instrument. The measurements of the joint must be marked out before the joint can be made. Right, Derek marks out the heel of the neck.
The measurements are transferred to the body of
the instrument. This should ensure a perfect fit: it is critical that
the neck is set very accurately into the body.
Derek makes a series of saw cuts in the side of
the neck where the wood is overlapping the fingerboard.
These saw cuts make it easier to remove the waste
wood with a chisel. The neck is finished flush with the sides of the
fingerboard.
Derek planes a taper on the heel of the neck,
using the lines previously marked out. Once he has planed down to
the lines he will make no more adjustments to this part of the joint.
Next Derek turns his attention to the other part
of the joint, in the body of the instrument.
Here he cuts into the spruce front to start the back edge of the joint. This must be perfectly square with the centre joint of the plates, to ensure that the neck is set into the body perfectly straight.
Derek uses a fine tooth saw to cut the sides of
the joint through the spruce front and the maple ribs.
He cuts carefully through the spruce and into
the top block.
He removes the maple ribs, exposing the top block.
This part of the joint can then be cut in the top block. It is a complex
operation because there are four faces of the joint which have to
fit together perfectly.
Just the right amount of wood must be taken away, so that the neck runs straight down the body and itis set deep enough and at the right elevation. Each cut can change each of these settings.
To achieve a perfect joint, Derek uses the method
of chalk fitting, also used in fitting the bass
bar.
Derek tests the fit of the neck in the body, making
small modifications as indicated by the chalk. This process is repeated
several times over.
Right, the picture shows that the neck is not set deeply enough yet. More wood must be taken from the sides of the joint in the top block.
An elevation stick is used to test whether the
neck is set in at the correct angle yet.
Finally the fit is judged to be correct and the
joint is glued and cramped.
In the
next stage Derek completes the shaping of the
neck and the back button.
Are you interested in learning to make a violin, or developing your violin making skills? See our Violin Making Courses. Our resources page has recommendations for books and suppliers for violin making.
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