Clarity on through neck please.

[Garth E.]

Just curious if French makers before 1800 used mortised necks or through necks. Were both methods used in the 18th c.? 

Thanks again.

[Wood Butcher]

Morticed  necks appear pre 1800, but it is rather shallower than today’s standard.

[jacobsaunders]

6 hours ago, Garth E. said:

Just curious if French makers before 1800 used mortised necks or through necks. Were both methods used in the 18th c.? 

Thanks again.

Early French certainly used through necks. I posted one here 

 

[Garth E.]

5 hours ago, jacobsaunders said:

Early French certainly used through necks. I posted one here 

Thank-you Jacob, were the through necks continued into the 19th c when violin making became more factory oriented in France? Was it a quality building method that was less economical therefore abandoned?

[jacobsaunders]

14 minutes ago, Garth E. said:

Thank-you Jacob, were the through necks continued into the 19th c when violin making became more factory oriented in France? Was it a quality building method that was less economical therefore abandoned?

You will have to ask someone who has studied French fiddles, not really my topic

[Garth E.]

Thanks for posting the link Jacob.

[David Burgess]

10 hours ago, Garth E. said:

Thank-you Jacob, were the through necks continued into the 19th c when violin making became more factory oriented in France? Was it a quality building method that was less economical therefore abandoned?

I don't think that through necks or nailed necks were abandoned because they were more expensive to make. Rather, I think that as more experience was gained with neck projection dropping over time, neither turned out to be as amenable to a neck reset as the mortised joint.

[Garth E.]

26 minutes ago, David Burgess said:

neither turned out to be as amenable to a neck reset as the mortised joint.

Thanks David, I can assume a neck reset on a through neck would have been challenging.