Janito

As the strings are tensioned, there will also be rotational effects of the top and bottom blocks in the shape of the back arch. Could this be relevant to the size and shape of these blocks and flat areas in old Cremonese instruments?

But the nail is half out

I don't agree that Edi's example of the breakage point in the cello neck/heel says anything about the "pivot point". My nail puller has the greatest range of movement (~ = most likely point of breakage) where the nail is engaged, but the pivot point is several inches away. And it is much easier to pull the nail out when the lever is closer to horizontal than when it is closer to vertical (torque). Sotto voce: Some of this thread brings back bad memories. I was crap at applied mathematics, but good at pure mathematics, so could not calculate where the projectile was going to land - sad.

Correction, ne's pah.

New blade from John Schmidt - will test it on bridge feet coming up soon. The M2 blade is hugely strong, but hugely painful to sharpen.

The 'streaks' appear and disappear during planing of the fingerboard, so it is not a surface-preparation effect. They do not look like fungus through 8x lens, more like a mineral deposit. I may be imagining it, but they seem to have a pale green fluorescence under UV light.

Super ebony fingerboard wood with unusual white 'mineral' streaks. The wood is almost poreless.

Ramped up the making recently. Now the Apple devices don't recognise my fingerprint...

As the violin is nearing completion, what is the plan to present to Neil's family or a worthy young player? Matt is/was in Scotland so I was expecting him to chaperone the process, but he is moving to the US. Who takes over this task?

Looks like Jeffrey's hands got bonded to the fingerboard

I did the evening violin and bow making classes for close on 15 years before I moved far away. But that was a long time ago. The good news is that after all these years they will have seen every possible "oopsy" by a student and will know the remedy.

Getting at the nether regions of the scroll can be as frustrating as trying to pick your nose with a swollen, painful, fat finger. Funny how it all cleans up in the end.

it will be fine. Move on.

I went through a phase of making bow-making scraper planes from lignum vitae. It was tricky to work with because of the interwoven grain that had a tendency to split off splinters, so intricate heads and collars could be problematic.

The width of the bouts can make the width of the scroll (and volutes) appear 'wimpy' when the whole is observed face-on.

Indeed - I should have specified that's for my ~16 3/8" viola model (it was on my mind as I have just been mapping a scroll to an enlarged Milanollo).

As DB says - I use 110% of a Cremonese violin scroll as a starting point for all dimensions. So width for viola = 42 + 4.2 mm approx.

Great to see the back and scroll. I am looking forward to seeing the front (jointed to reduce the impact under varnish of slight runout).

One possibility

Still moving forward...

One man's drop is another man's dribble.

Found this today in a my dark cupboard. Partially-polymerised Tung oil kept in a Nalgene bottle. It does not expand (even if there is a weight increase). I would bet 2c that the same happens with linseed oil.

Thanks. Time will tell whether it remains "very nice"

Back in the workshop after a long hiatus. 16 3/8" viola - my model. Fresh eyes help...Fs need finessing. Edgework incomplete, but good progress in last 48h.

Important to distinguish 'bubbles everywhere' from 'bubbles in some places', for example along the flame. The former could indicate a property of the varnish/solvent/application system, the latter may not.