To ensure complete success in all the foregoing operations, every tool in use must be well sharpened, and all the guide lines accurately drawn. Part of the neck left rough and projecting beyond the button may be left for future manipulation, but the joints that are to receive glue—if done by a workman of skill and experience—will fit almost air tight. With regard to this, the parts likely to give the amateur most trouble will be the exact fitting of the flat opposing surfaces of the root or squared end of the neck or graft with the socket. It will be necessary to get a perfectly flat surface. In the first place, glass papering must be avoided, not from unsuitableness of material, for in that respect it is a temptation, but from the difficulty of regulating the pressure of the hand; with the exercise of the utmost care in handling the glass paper, even when it is backed by a piece of hard wood, there will be found, when the test comes, a rotundity of surface that was deemed impossible under the circumstances. Careful scraping of the surfaces must be chiefly relied on for exactness. As good a mode of proceeding as any is as follows—after the first roughing into shape and then flat chiselling has been done to as great a nicety as possible, all the irregularities—there are sure to be some—can be worked down with the edge of a straight square file, used very steadily and crossways repeatedly. This done sufficiently and tested with some hard and truly cut substance, metal preferably, will be an exactly flat surface for working upon the final or finished surface. The next thing used will be a carefully sharpened and keen edged steel scraper. To put this tool into proper order for the purpose, it must be sharpened on a hone, not exactly at right angles, as the first impulse would suggest. The hone, or stone, must be quite flat and unworn. If done carefully, a nice level edge will be perceptible along its course, but it is not yet at its best. Placing it on a bed of hard wood, or evenly shaped mass of iron, projecting over and held firmly in position, a good stout brad-awl may be passed along from end to end, keeping the awl perfectly flat on the horizontal surface. The scraper may now be turned over and process repeated, but not in the same manner or angle, for the awl will be held vertically with the handle downwards and firmly pressed along the edge at right angles with the horizontal plane, this will cause a burr right along which will have a razor-like sharpness and cutting power. This scraper can now be applied (not too heavily) over the filed down surface, and thus work down finally all irregularities left by the file. The adaptation of this tool will at once be perceptible in the fine whitish soft shavings that will come off during its application. A little repetition across and across should give an almost perfect level. Different sized scrapers may be used for the other surfaces where it is desirable to obtain the most accurate fitting. If all the processes have been properly carried out, the parts when tried by inserting the neck or graft for trial, should fit together without the slightest looseness or wriggling. They will now be ready for permanently glueing together.
It will be seen after perusing the above that the fitting of the neck or graft to an old violin, well or badly preserved, is a task not to be overcome easily and satisfactorily without much care and no little practical experience.
The whole of the work must be well looked over and tested as to the accurate fitting in all respects; nothing must be left uncertain or loose; in fact the flat surfaces for a perfectly successful result at the junction of all the parts should be as nearly as possible air-tight.
Having seen that the glue of good quality is strong and clean, the surfaces that are to come in contact may be brushed over with it. For this purpose a small hog-hair brush of about three-eighths of an inch wide is handy. Where the grain or threads of the wood run parallel with the surface—this being less absorbent than the other parts,—there will be less painting over required, but where the grain comes end upwards to the surface the glue will be rapidly absorbed. The painting over these parts must be repeated, the glue as a matter of course being kept warm—all the work ditto, until absorption ceases. This is a matter of some importance, as in many instances joints have become loose or broken apart, not from the perishing of the glue or damp, but from the want of this precaution on the part of the repairer during this preliminary proceeding. It must be borne in mind that this is to be a permanent junction, not to come apart from any jarring or rough usage; it is also to be one of the most rigid, and only to be separated by a saw or chisel in the hands of some future repairer when it shall be absolutely necessary. Sufficient glue having been applied the work may be put aside.
It will now be apparent to those who have possibly done a little glueing that the whole of the wetted portions have to some degree swollen, and therefore if the junctions were brought together they would be found too tight and refuse to meet. Just so; and that is one of the reasons for placing the work aside until the glue has dried at all the parts painted with it. When after a sufficient time has elapsed the work is examined, it will be found to have contracted to its old size and form. There will not be the necessity for waiting till the glue is at its hardest; probably time will not allow of this, some days being absolutely required, but it must, for the next process, be very firm and seemingly dried through.
Examination will reveal the fact of the whole of the surfaces that have been wetted, being raised or roughened under the foregoing operations. Recourse must now be had to our small scrapers again. These will again be applied carefully across and across the surfaces, until, in the judgment of the operator, the surfaces are level and clean. Particular care must be taken with the edges, angles and corners, that the superabundant glue is removed. The right angle of the scraper will be used for this purpose, and should a small particle or two, at any angle or corner, refuse to budge at the request of such a light tool as a scraper, the powers of a sharp chisel must be brought to bear upon the subject, and the obstacle removed. Close attention should be paid to the above, as in the operation of first glueing, the wood, or woods, having unequal absorbing powers, will swell in accordance therewith, and upset the calculations that have been so carefully made for the close junction of the parts. For first rate work, the scraping must be so carefully and accurately done down to the surface of the different parts, as to leave little or no glue above the surface of the wood. The desired result will thus be secured, that of the pores of the wood being closed or filled up. For the next stage the glue will not be necessarily quite so strong, a degree weaker will do. Everything must be ready to hand, including a cramp of sufficient size and strength. Before proceeding further, however, the manner of the application of the cramp must be considered. And now, how are we to obtain a direct pressure of the cramp on the largest surface, and which would have to be in one direction, end to end of the violin, seemingly a perfectly impracticable matter? The answer is, it is not practicable, hence the above numerous injunctions as to preliminaries, and which have to do with counterbalancing the impossibility of direct and strong pressure. The only pressure that can be applied directly is that of a nearly perpendicular one, the cramp grasping the button from underneath, with a proper guard or padding of millboard, or cork, cut into shape.
A full brush of glue will now be passed over the whole of the surface of the socket, or receptacle for the root of the neck; which latter must an instant after be treated in the same manner. The two must be treated as one operation, and in a warm atmosphere. In the summer time no extra precautions will be necessary; but in cool weather the strong glue will soon set if the parts to be operated on are not kept in close proximity to a heating stove, or fireplace, or the apartment kept at summer heat. The neck and socket being thus kept at a warm temperature, the former will be firmly thrust into position, and with hand pressure put as close as possible. The superfluous glue will ooze out all around at the junction of the different parts; if it does not, that will be a sign that there is a looseness somewhere, or the surfaces have not been forced together close enough. This must be seen to at once, the parts separated and examined. It may be that the failure has happened through carelessness in allowing a chip to get in, or a piece of grit has prevented the opposing surfaces coming together. This being removed by a small knife, the brush, with a little more fresh glue, may be passed over the surfaces again, and the fitting this time should be perfect. The cramp and padding should be at once placed in position and screwed down tightly. All glue appearing above the joints should be carefully wiped away with a cloth kept ready to hand for the purpose; it is better to do that now than have to scrape or cut it away when hard; it will also save time.
Ample time must be allowed for the glueing to thoroughly dry. This must be estimated according to the conditions of the time and place. In very warm weather, or where the atmosphere is heated artificially, the time consumed in the drying and hardening is less than when the air is saturated with moisture.
When on examination the dryness is such as will warrant the removal of the cramp, this can be done. If all the measurements, fitting and precautions have been duly attended to, the neck or graft, with its line in the centre—supposing the present method is that adopted before the fingerboard is placed in position—will form an exact continuation of a line down the centre of the violin. A look down from end to end, or placing a long straight edged rule against the line, will be a way of testing this: if all is correct, the line will be perfectly straight and not bent. Should the latter be the case, the measurements, or fitting, in some respects, will have been inaccurate. It would be very provoking to find it so after all the trouble undertaken, and many instances are to be seen where the work has been left in this condition, and the stringing up and regulation has been, not only under great disadvantages, but absence of comfort in playing, and indeed the proper emission of the tone has been sacrificed. If the violin is one that is worthy of being performed upon with skill, there is only one alternative to putting it aside as useless, that of having the neck sawn off and the whole process of renewal gone through, with the aim of next time being more careful and true.
Supposing, however, the neck is truly set and all is satisfactory, the next stage will be the laying of the fingerboard. This should be of good, close and straight grained ebony, free from knots. Fingerboards are usually sold in the rough; that is, with the upper surface, or rounded part trimmed down to an approximate curve. They are cut to lengths of about ten inches and a half to three quarters. Should the violin require a fingerboard less in length than this, a small portion must be sawn off, preferably from the small end. Great care must be exercised that it is done in right angles with a central line drawn from end to end. As the drawing of this line would entail some trouble, the under, or flat surface can be placed face to face with one that is known to be quite true, and a line with a fine pointed pencil made, or better, a scratch with the point of a small knife, guided by the true end of the perfect one. A fine toothed and sharp saw will remove the unnecessary wood. In doing so, precautions must be taken against splintering and spoiling the wood. To prevent this, a piece of waste wood, cut slightly out of the square, should be placed against the stop of the bench, so that when the ebony is placed against it, the sawing can be done flush with the side of the bench. The saw should be fine, in good condition, and gently used, or the line made will be ragged, ebony being brittle and splintering stuff, requiring some humouring in this respect. If the sawing is accomplished neatly and vertically true—this last is very essential—there will be little to do in trimming the surface of the end that is to come against the nut when near completion. A piece of fine glasspaper wrapped round a squared piece of pine, will make a good surface. The reduction of the width of the fingerboard at each end will then be proceeded with. In the case of an old neck being retained, the width of it at each end can be taken by compasses and marked on the flat side of the ebony. A thin shaving should be allowed for in finishing off. But we are on the work of a new neck; therefore the marking off should be done to some general standard. A good one may be reckoned as follows, for a violin of fourteen inches long and average width—total length of fingerboard, exclusive of nut, ten and a half inches—greatest width, one inch and five-eighths, width at nut, one-sixteenth under an inch. The ebony will be planed neatly down, with vertical sides, to these measurements. The height, or rise of the sides of the fingerboard above the maple, three-sixteenths of an inch, which may be kept for the whole length. The reducing to the requisite width and depth should be done with the plane in good order, a metal one for this kind of work being the best. The surfaces that are to be glued together must now be considered. An untidy looking black line along the neck at the junction of the ebony and maple goes far to spoil the general effect; a glance at this part will at once be sufficient for declaring whether the neck and fingerboard has been fitted by a neat and competent repairer. A frequent cause of the dark line—it is really a want of proper fitting together of the parts—is the hastily planing the two surfaces—straight enough possibly—and delay while the glueing operation is in progress. The fact of ebony being almost equally affected by moisture as other woods—in fact, more so than some—must not be lost sight of. Coupled with this curling of the wood under the influence of damp is the want of proper regulation of the pressure after glueing and placing the parts in opposition. An old-fashioned method of uniting these parts is still pursued by some repairers—the surfaces are planed evenly, the glue is applied over them, they are clapped together and string tied tightly as possible. Diagram 7 will show a modern and improved method, that of a mould of soft wood for back and front of neck and fingerboard. In affixing the fingerboard many repairers have left a gouged channel reaching from the nut to the end or insertion of the neck. This may be seen sometimes on turning the part towards the light. The intention seems to be from an economical view, that of removing the ebony, if necessary, without injuring the glued surfaces by pouring a little water down the passage and waiting till the damp enables the fingerboard to be pulled off without fracture. This tedious operation is wholly unnecessary, for the time spent would be worth more than a new one with its trimming up. Some repairers have used a toothed plane on the level surfaces to enable the glue to grip well. This is another mistaken idea. The fingerboard should not be treated as a permanent part of the structure never to come undone, it should be so secured as to last as long as required under fair usage, but in case of violence it is best that it should snap clear from the neck than hold tight enough to distribute, or concentrate, the strain on other and more delicate parts of the structure. Experience has suggested the following as generally best for all practicable purposes. The surfaces having been made true under the plane—this should be tested before the parts are glued, when, if true, there will be no line or the very faintest one seen. Along the middle of the ebony a very shallow gouged channel may be made, about half-an-inch wide and just deep enough to prevent the glue from touching when the fingerboard is placed in position. The level across over this channel from side to side can be tested by a metal straight edge or truly trimmed scraper. Occasionally from damp or the action of the plane the surfaces of both maple and ebony become slightly arched; in reducing this the scraper may be used with good effect, and a smaller one to take the least shaving more off near the channel, the even pressure when applied will close the outer edges more effectually.