Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 120
Scan 120
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
18 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 94. See the scan on archive.org.
1HOW TO MAKE THE FINGER BOARD
3The finger board is that portion of the instrument on which the left-hand fingers of the violinist fall when playing. Of all the parts of which the string instruments are composed, this is unquestionably the easiest to make. There are, however, several measures which must be taken to ensure its doing its full duty when joined to the other parts of the instrument which is being built.
5Begin by making a model which will give the exact length and breadth of the finger board. This model should not offer the slightest difficulty since it is neither more nor less than a slab of wood, 27 centimeters (9 3/4") long and 44 millimeters (1 3/4") broad at one end 25 millimeters (1") at the other (Figure 20, Plate 32).
7A piece of ebony 29 centimeters (10") long should be trimmed down to a thickness of 9 millimeters (1/3") and this model should then be laid upon the ebony which has been trimmed, and the finger board traced, and cut out.
9When the finger board has been cut out, one of its sides should be smoothed with the plane. This side is the one which, later on, is to be glued to the neck; the other side should present a rounded surface as shown in Figure 20 A, Plate 32.
11Since it would be impossible to round off the finger board while letting it lie flat on the workbench, a piece of beech wood 9 millimeters (1/3") broader than the finger board, and 56 millimeters (2 1/4") longer than it, should be taken. The model of the finger board should be placed in the middle of this piece of wood, which should have a height of 56 millimeters (2 1/4"); and two lines should be drawn, one to the right and one to the left, each about 5 millimeters (1/6") from the edge of the piece of beech wood. Two cuts are then made with the saw, to a depth of 3 millimeters (1/8"), along the two lines. Finally, the wood lying between the two saw cuts is removed to the same depth. It is within this slide or groove that the finger board is placed to round it off, first with a small plane, then with a large plane, using a small model in arch form as a guide.
13In order that the piece in question may be held to the workbench, its broader end is half sawed through, as shown in Figure 21, Plate 32, and with the end placed directly against the workbench vise, the piece is tightened by means of the incision which has been made, and is held firmly in place with the clamps.
15FITTING THE NECK
17Having left the neck of the violin ready to be fitted and joined to the body of the instrument, a description of this operation itself would now be in order.
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