Violin Forum/Message Board

[actonern]

I have a sense that ergonomically "friendly" fingerboards on violins are rolled over more at the nut end, progressively less so towards the bridge end.

I'd be interested in the approach others take on this finishing detail.

Best regards,

E

[Michael Darnton]

Here's what I was taught: draw a line down the center of the thickness of the edge of the board. This line itself does not get touched, and is the widest point of the board, always.

Below the line, the board is blended with the curve of the neck, as necessary. That means it's pretty flat at the nut and neck heel, and blends the most at the middle of the neck.

The part of the board above the line is the same curve from one end all the way to the other. That curve is determined by the curve at the middle of the neck: the board should have a symmetrical curve above and below the center line at the middle of the neck, matching on the upper half the curve on the lower half. Essentially, at that point, the cutaway curves look like matching parentheses. ( )

The free end of the board matches that: ( )

The corner of where the top of the board meets the side/edge of the board, when viewed from either end, should be a true, perfect curve sideways, matching the width of the board (which widths roughly mimic the scoop under the strings--that is to say, about 0.6mm scoop on both sides of the board), and completely straight vertically, indicating that the board thickness is the same from one end to the other. After establishing that, I always "kill" the edge slightly, for the player's comfort.
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[actonern]

Thank you very much Michael.

[Michael Darnton]

The thing I least like to see is when the fingerboard has been left flat-sided. The neck behind it curves, but then when it gets to the board the sides of the board have been left flat. That's just amateur, and unthinking.

However, only slightly better is the board where someone has done something to the upper half, and then stopped thinking about what happens below the heel, and left that part flat: amateur v.1.1. This is common, even on good violins, but once you start noticing it, it should become very irritating to see this discontinuity and lack of attention. Sometimes I even see plane marks, as if the sides of the board haven't been sanded after the plane. Make that v.0.6 or something . . .

I feel about the same when I put my thumb up under a cello fingerboard, which is something cellists often do when not playing, and feel some mess left raw from the gouge and fingerplanes. The bottom of a board needs to be finished to the same degree as the top. Likewise for the ends of boards.

Ignoring these details would be on a par with sawing of the ends of pegs and leaving them that way.
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[actonern]

I have guilt on those fronts!

I've had players comment especially on board edges that are insufficiently rolled over on the e side in first or half position. They complain that the edge "digs" into their first finger. And they also seem to appreciate nut edges that fade to zero clearance over the fingerboard between string and edge... they don't like a nut that has continuous height maintained right across... the sharp little edge digs into their precious first finger again

I was impressed by something Roger Hargrave wrote elsewhere... that he spends hours getting the neck "feel" absolutely flawless... it should feel like a warm bath for the player... anything strange is likely to lose a sale.

E

[Michael Darnton]

I finish the nut as a continuation of the top corner of the board, as you say. Then I put a 45 degree bevel, about 0.3mm wide, on the upper corner of the board, running it out to nothing just before I get to the nut, and take 400-grit paper and knock off the outer corner of the bevel. This leaves the inner corner as a distinct visual transition between the top and the side of the board, but removes it far enough around to the top that the player doesn't feel it.

As Roger says the idea is to make the whole thing cushy. Most often when a player says the neck is "too thick" they mean this upper corner of the board is too sharp. Take off that corner, and they lose that idea. Remember, the only two places the violinist touches the neck is the thumb, on the diagonal back of the neck opposite the E side board corner, and that board corner on the E side. Nearly their entire concept of thickness is dictated by what they feel in those two small places.

But if you have a system, it should take minutes, not hours.
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[Chet Bishop]

I want to learn that system. Seriously.
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