FINISHING THE FINGERBOARD--FIXING THE NUT--SIZE AND POSITION OF
GROOVES FOR THE STRINGS--FILING DOWN THE GRAFT--SMOOTHING, COLOURING,
AND VARNISHING SAME.
We now turn our attention to the finish of the fingerboard, which must
have its sides attended to for appearing in good trim. For making a
nicely worked surface each side, some preparations will have to be made.
Firstly, the nut having been cut to the width, or nearly so, of the
narrowest end of the fingerboard and glued into position, it will have
to be filed down to the height at which it is to remain above the end.
The arching will have to be higher in the centre than at each side,
in order that when the strings are drawn over tightly, the thickest,
or D string, shall have more room to swing than the thinnest, or E.
The arching will thus be unequal, the lowest part being at E, next a
rise sufficiently for the A, then a further rise for the D, and
afterwards a drop again to a little higher than the A; this will be
enough for the swing of the G. The grooves for each of these strings
must follow in the same order. They will not be equi-distant in one
sense, as that would cause them to appear unequal when the strain is
on them.
Probably the best way of securing a uniform appearance and the easiest,
after one good result, is to cut a metal template with a spike at the
central point or middle of where the string is to rest. These points
will be found unequal when pricked on to the surface of the nut. A very
small, round file should now be used carefully with the run of the
fingerboard, or the strings when wound up will look as if pulled aside
out of the straight line. The file must be placed exactly on the spot
that has been pricked and worked backward and forward as indicated.
The ruts must be examined frequently for ascertaining whether they are
sufficiently deep. The height of each rut above the fingerboard cannot
well be given in fractions of an inch, as they must be regulated to
the convenience of the performer. A hard, rasping, orchestral player,
with a heavy, unsympathetic bow arm, will require the ruts higher above
the board than a soloist of refined taste. The relative heights, one
with another, must be the same in both cases. When the ruts are finished,
recourse must be had to the glasspaper file again to round the top
surface of the nut with an inclination downwards toward the peg-box.
This is an arrangement requiring care, as, when the nut is level with
the fingerboard, there is danger of the strings jarring. When finished
sufficiently even the ruts may require a little further attention, as
it is difficult to at once complete them. The two parts are perhaps
best worked one with another, neither being finished off in one working
and left.
We may now proceed to the further progress of the sides of the
fingerboard; this, of course, can only be done when all is settled about
the nut, this part requiring to be a continuation, notwithstanding the
rise upward of the line from end to end. Preparation must be made for
guarding the upper table of the violin from injury, from slips of the
glasspaper file during the backward and forward movement. A good way
to prevent this is to make a millboard or thick brown paper shield with
a part cut away to allow the neck to have a hold. By putting this over
the upper table and underneath the fingerboard a part will project
forward on each side of the neck; it must be held in position by one
hand, while the other holds the paper file, which will be worked along
the sides of the fingerboard, at the same time being held nearly
vertical. After some little time the part where the ebony joins the
graft will appear worked down quite smooth, some finer degrees of the
paper will reduce the surface to almost a polish. The nut receiving
a part of the working will now present an appearance--as regards form
only--of having been left from a reduction of the fingerboard stopping
short at a straight line.
This part now, if the fitting of the fingerboard to the graft has been
neatly done, will show no line of glue or joint, but simply the
difference of material. The upper edges of the ebony may be rounded
down along to the end, but less at the lowest.
The whole affair, however, is not yet complete, as the surface to be
varnished must be made ready for it. If left in the present condition,
players who are very fastidious would be complaining of the work not
standing well or deteriorating under use. The cause of this
deterioration will be that the moisture from the hand in using this
part of the instrument in the raw state makes the grain swell as if
wetted; this would occur to some extent even if fully varnished. This
must therefore be anticipated by passing a soft, fully haired and
wetted brush, or damp sponge, over the whole of the new work. When dry
the whole surface will appear rough, or if of soft texture, somewhat
corrugated; this must again be levelled down with some of the finest
glasspaper, great care being taken that all the parts, and angles
especially, are worked over. If the corners are not equally attended
to with the rest--and to do this properly the angle of the steel scraper
may be used with good effect--there will be a roughness at the part
over which the varnish will settle, become rough when dry, and give
the appearance of untidy corners. If the scraper with right angles is
insufficient to clear the corner satisfactorily, one with a rather
acute angle will be found to do the work; it must be sharp, and gently
used (or ridges small, large, or both, will become evident), working
across first one way then the other until the appearance is quite up
to the exactions and desire of the eye.
Another wetting will be of some further benefit for a good and lasting
surface. When dry the roughness will not be so obtrusive as in the first
instance, and the application of the finest grain of glasspaper, or
a piece that has been under use for some time and got a little stale
will give the desired surface. The action of the glasspaper over the
surface should be continued for some time, until there being less and
less powder routed up the surface, it assumes a polished appearance,
and if the whole work is well done it will suggest a kind of finish
that looks too good to spoil by covering up with varnish. But the latter
is a necessity; if not really varnish in the usual sense of the term,
a substitute must be used, and here we touch a little upon the confines
of fashion or individual fancy.
It may not be generally known that the old Italian makers--I mention
these as they have always been looked up to as guides for almost
everything in connection with violin facture--varnished the whole of
the neck--which under present circumstances we call the graft--with
the same varnish and thickness of it as the rest of the instrument.
We never see such a thing now, and if a maker were to send forth his
new violins in this manner or trim, he would be looked upon as eccentric.
Nevertheless at one time it was universal. Probably the increased
number of movements of the hand, and especially the thumb, to meet the
requirements of more florid execution and in connection with the growth
of the ability among players for performing much music on the higher
positions or shifts, showed very soon how the coloured varnish looked
patchy under wear. This fashion of covering over the most handled part
of the instrument with the coloured varnish then became discarded.
"Appearances must be preserved" was found to be an axiom almost forced
upon the makers and repairers, and, as time went on, the substitution
of strongly curled wood for necks or grafts, in place of the plainer
material hitherto used, gradually settled down into the present
fashion. Now-a-days the skill of the repairer is exercised in the
various treatment of this part. Players vary in their tastes or whims,
some liking a perfectly smooth or polished surface as more suitable
to their handling than what they understand as an unvarnished neck,
others like it the other way as not so likely to slip, there being a
little more hold or resistance. Anyhow, the raw wood cannot be left
simply glass-papered, this would be speedily followed in use by an
accumulation of dirt and grease unpleasant to the eye, and to the touch,
clammy and unwholesome. It will therefore be as well to consider the
two modes of treatment. In either case the parts of the graft near the
insertion in the socket and at the other end where the peg-box is fitted
will require varnishing down.
Before active operations commence a fair examination should be made
of the colour or complexion of the body of the violin. Very often this
has no attention paid to it, with the result of a hideous contrast
between the neck and the ribs adjoining, a sign of bad workmanship and
carelessness. The materials at hand for making a good match must then
be thought over, the most appropriate selected and the number of coats,
if possible, determined upon. This latter will be taken in a general
sense, as an exact number will not be possible; appearances are in this
process deceptive and must be regulated by the exigencies of the moment,
but what can be calculated is the question of one or two applications
only (which would result in a cheap and common appearance) or a number
with the same materials carefully laid to the satisfaction of the
repairer.
Without plunging into the whirlpool of the best or particular gums,
resins and their individual mode of application, a matter that will
take up hereafter our more undivided attention, it may be taken as a
certainty that the varnishing materials used for the parts under
consideration must be of an alcoholic solution, no other would "set,"
evaporate or dry with sufficient rapidity to allow of handling: or,
as we may put it in another way, that would lose tackiness within a
convenient time.
Most people are aware of the nature of an oil varnish during the drying
process, there is firstly the "setting," that is, all the volatile
particles dispersing; secondly, the real drying or hardening which
ensues with sufficient time or age; both accompanied with some degree
of contraction, and until the process is complete, handling or friction
of any kind has to be carefully avoided. This will at once show its
unsuitableness for repairs and restorations, especially of the kind
now under consideration. The same process has to be gone through in
the drying of a spiritous or alcoholic varnish, but it is so much the
more rapid in consequence of there being only the alcohol to disperse,
leaving the resin in a comparatively dry state.
Colouring will be the chief consideration after the resin has been
selected, and on this the judgment of the operator will have to be
centred. For obtaining the effect desired or that is fashionable at
the present day, one or two coats or paintings will be commenced at
the corners where the graft is inserted in the upper ribs and gradually
being thinned off as the curved part rounding upwards from the button
dies away. Sometimes in consequence of the fresh wood appearing very
white--it is not always possible to obtain aged wood--some colouring
material or stain mixed with the first two wettings will subdue the
staring aspect, this may be continued along the graft and bring up the
figure or curl more prominently. Often between the curves each end of
the graft repairers force very strong stain, this being sometimes
common writing ink; when varnished over the effect is violent and
common even when nicely done. The best that can be recommended is some
sufficiently dark wood stain--sold at most of the oil and colourmen's
shops--and rub it in, allowing it to dry and then finishing off as
before described.
If the neck is to be left unvarnished, as it is termed, the colouring
and fining off can be followed with a rubbing of good oil, linseed,
raw or boiled, it must be really rubbed in and vigorously frictioned
up and down with a dry cloth--or after an application of the same kind
with some old fine flannel. This will drive in the oil, consolidating
the whole, and as it will dry inside after a time, keep a good smooth
surface under usage.
Some repairers continue to varnish or polish along the sides of the
fingerboard to the extremity. There is no objection to this, and if
very neatly done, the general effect is enhanced. The varnishing of
the whole of the fingerboard is perhaps not so good in general, too
much glare seeming to obtrude itself, but the filling up the pores with
the varnish and then working it down to a dull surface has a good effect
and helps in the resistance to wear. The polishing of the neck, or
fingerboard with it, may be effected by making a small ball or dabber
of about half an inch in diameter of fine grained flannel; this should
be covered with another surface of closer material such as calico, but
large enough to enclose the little bunch and to be tied up with a piece
of string. A portion of varnish being placed ready in a smaller saucer
or any convenient porcelain article with a shallow even bottom, the
ball or dabber will be moistened with some linseed oil and then its
rounded face dipped in the varnish and rubbed briskly, but lightly,
over the surfaces to be polished. These surfaces rapidly absorb the
polish, while the oil in the dabber allows it to pass over without
clinging. The rubbing should be continued until a smooth, glassy
appearance comes and you feel sure that the wood has imbibed enough
of the polish; this treatment may be continued over all the parts at
which it may be desirable to have an even shining surface. The work
may now be put aside for some hours, so that the evaporating and
hardening may take place. When this has been ascertained to be
satisfactory, the surfaces may be wiped gently with some soft,
absorbent material which will take away any superfluous particles of
oil that may have been accidentally left in the process of rubbing.
If there should be some uneven, clotted, or rough parts observable,
a small ball or dabber made in the same way as the preceding, but used
with spirit and oil instead of varnish, will work these down to a proper
condition. For the dead surfacing, care must be taken that all is quite
hard enough. Taking a small piece of flannel of fine texture doubled
up and with its face well oiled, having some rotten-stone powder at
hand, dip in the latter and rub as before lightly round and round over
the parts to be dead polished; this will give a nice refined, even
appearance, with comparatively little glare. A final wipe off with a
soft cloth as before, will bring matters to a conclusion.