Nelle Doak O'Neill, Luthier
Carson Valley, Nevada

From Tree . . . to Concert Hall . . .

The Scroll, Neck and
Fingerboard

Although the scroll can be carved at anytime during the making of a violin, in this case the job was put off until the ribs and plates had reached their "almost" finished state.

The shape is first traced to a block of maple . . .

. . . the peg box drilled out . . .

. . . then scroll and neck are cut out on a band saw . . .

. . . and securely held in place using a "scroll jig" and plain-old mechanic's vise while being carved to its approximate shape.

Above is a 360 degree view of the roughed-out scroll . . . before the really serious carving begins!

"Fluting" . . . the carving of parallel grooves . . . is a traditional, decorative part of the the scrolls of all orchestral string instruments.

Now, with the plate tuning completed and the scroll nearly finished, it's time to "tie up some loose ends" before putting all the pieces together . . .

. . . gluing the top to the ribs . . .
. . . hollowing out the fingerboard . . .

. . . attaching, temporarily, the fingerboard to the neck . . .

. . . carving the mortise . . . into which the neck block is then carefully fitted . . .

Next Page
Putting the pieces together!

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