People who make their F holes far too narrow to fit a sound post into.... Why?

[Dorisch]

I think it is save to assume that the maker didn’t throw the sound-post in before gluing the top on. So if there is no way to fit it, it is probably not the originally intended size.

If the sound post thickness higher than original is worth of a change to alter the f-holes may be different in different cases, but I would be rather unhappy if someone did that to my violin.

[Bodacious Cowboy]

20 hours ago, The Violin Beautiful said:

 

Incidentally, I’ve been hearing about a setup specialist whose signature move is to “darken up” violins by putting a viola post in. I wonder what he does with a small ff. 

through the lower eye presumably.

[FiddleDoug]

On 6/11/2026 at 4:50 AM, martin swan said:

Just read Joseph Curtin's article on soundposts in the latest issue of the Strad.

It seems we can stop worrying about the width of the soundpost, also the density of the material! And there's no reason why the soundpost needs to be round either ...

I have, at times, flattened the two opposite sides of soundposts to get them in. 

[The Violin Beautiful]

2 hours ago, Bodacious Cowboy said:

through the lower eye presumably.

Possibly, although every violin I’ve worked on that was set up this way had ffs that were wide enough to fit a viola post. 

[Dave Slight]

On 6/10/2026 at 10:21 PM, Bodacious Cowboy said:

I've only done it once - copying a  Bros Amati viola with narrow f-holes. Probably would make the effs wider than the original were I to do it again.

Having said that -  I don't find fitting a post through the lower eye much slower than the usual way. It's just a knack that takes a bit of thought and practise. 

I make one model, a Testore, on which I have retained the narrow sound hole, these also have the small lower eye 
Once you develop the knack, I agree that it's still straightforward enough to do.

On 6/10/2026 at 8:40 PM, Nick Allen said:

Do you, and other makers for that matter, not expect someone to drill through your narrow F hole in frustration with a 6.5mm post in the future? Or is it just not a concern? Idk. 

I would hope that once I am gone, my violins would end up in the hands of skilled people who knew what they were doing, so it's no concern, other than that. You can't legislate for unthinking morons.

 

[Nick Lewis]

Beginner Hardanger fiddle makers run into this issue (including myself on my first build), since the sound holes open from the side and it's hard to be bold enough to make those wide enough. I heard a horror story of someone who couldn't figure out how to get a soundpost in, since there's the added difficulty of overlapping wings. Their solution was to cut out the wings. 

Hoping to avoid future desecration of an intentional feature, I made a video that put together many different ideas that I had accumulated while searching this forum. 

 

[David Burgess]

On 6/11/2026 at 10:39 AM, The Violin Beautiful said:

Incidentally, I’ve been hearing about a setup specialist whose signature move is to “darken up” violins by putting a viola post in. I wonder what he does with a small ff. 

Perhaps it is a viola post in length, but not width? 

[Dorisch]

19 minutes ago, David Burgess said:

Perhaps it is a viola post in length, but not width? 

Usually installed with the hammer technique. No need for f holes all

[Justin Allen]

Now, whenever I build a violin, I'm tempted to make the f-holes even smaller just to give you guys a harder time...

I’m surprised that modern makers would do this, but perhaps they have their reasons. I tend to give the old makers a pass, since I assume they were working with smaller soundposts in their time.

 

[martin swan]

4 hours ago, Dave Slight said:

 

I would hope that once I am gone, my violins would end up in the hands of skilled people who knew what they were doing, so it's no concern, other than that. You can't legislate for unthinking morons.

 

What's your technique for removing a soundpost that doesn't fit through a narrow f-hole? I have a method but it takes ages, and if I need to do it a few times to get a good fit it can cause gaskets to blow.

I don't believe I am an unthinking moron but maybe I am ... if I am one, I would be the last to know.

 

[The Violin Beautiful]

Reading this thread was a curse! The violin I had on my bench this morning had narrow ffs, so I ended up having to fish the post in and out through the lower sound hole to fit it. Fie upon the shop that made it!

[nathan slobodkin]

On 6/10/2026 at 5:21 PM, Bodacious Cowboy said:

I've only done it once - copying a  Bros Amati viola with narrow f-holes. Probably would make the effs wider than the original were I to do it again.

Having said that -  I don't find fitting a post through the lower eye much slower than the usual way. It's just a knack that takes a bit of thought and practise. 

Dropping the post through the eye and picking it up inside is no problem for me either. On my own instruments I made FFs wide enough that they woudn't get dinged by incompetent repairman but If I made an Amati or erly Strad model that would look funny with wider eyes I just hoped the owner knew who to have work on their instrument.

[martin swan]

Dropping a post through the lower eye and picking it up is no problem, but I would like to know how other people get the post out repeatedly when fitting a post in a not so new violin?

This is the thing that drives me mad, to the point where I refuse to do it.

[Dave Slight]

14 hours ago, martin swan said:

What's your technique for removing a soundpost that doesn't fit through a narrow f-hole? I have a method but it takes ages, and if I need to do it a few times to get a good fit it can cause gaskets to blow.

I don't believe I am an unthinking moron but maybe I am ... if I am one, I would be the last to know.

 

I'll explain my whole process for fitting a sound post in an instrument where you can't get the post out through the stem, if it helps.

I'll assume before you begin, you've already got a method for approximating the length you will need, and have roughed in the end angles. Long enough so you can get the post to stand inside the body, but it is still too close to the centre.

When I need to insert and remove the post through the lower eye, I make the slot for the setter a bit lower than I would normally. This is useful, because it allows you to rotate the angle of the post, while still on the setter, to get it out of the eye easily. It also lets you push more post out through the eye, before the setter starts to touch the underside of the belly/sound hole.
If you have the slot too close to the top of the post, the angles do not quite work. You can have the edge of the setter touching the sound hole edge, or the post not quite reaching the eye, but can't really get it to where you require.

Rather than dropping the post in through the lower eye, or pushing it through the endbutton hole, then picking it off the back using the setter, I insert the post through the eye. And while still holding it, put the setter into the slot. Takes a bit of practice, but is easy enough.
Then I move the post into position. To adjust the vertical angle, you can use the bottom end of the post against the back to rotate it to the angle you need.

To remove, I insert the setter, and bring the post over to the lower eye. Again, using the back as a fulcrum, I raise the angle of the setter, and can manoeuvre the post to the lower eye, and get it through enough to hold it with my fingers, then remove. 

Whenever I'm fitting a post, I'm always trying to keep it on the setter, not having it drop and then roll the violin around trying to find it. When we have had apprentices in the workshop, this is often when they split the post, or damage the slot, trying to stab it like a sausage, picking it up off the back.

A lot of early (and expensive) violins have the narrow stems, so it's a necessary skill to learn, if you deal with this kind of instrument.
I fit sound posts every single day, typically more than one, so I'm very used to it. I do understand the frustration for those who do not encounter this often, the only real answer is that practice makes it easier.

A lot of words there, to describe something that takes seconds to do 

[martin swan]

Hi Dave, thanks this is great.

Kind of obvious when you think about it! I have been trying to do this by dropping the post into the violin then pick it up (not always straightforward) and then using a loop of monofilament to hoik it out of the lower eye.

Got pretty good at it but what you describe is going to save hours!

[Blank face]

Agree that this is a very accurate description. Unfortunately the OP's problem, if we trust him, is that the post even can't be angled to get it in our out through the lower eye, what makes things more complicated.

A helpful tool for those who have difficulties to pick up a soundpost from inside (no idea if it works for getting the post through the eye, I have only the cello size, where it can save a lot of nerves) ist an extractor: https://www.thomann.de/de/petz_sound_post_extractor_violin.htm

There might be a reason that several older schools used to make the nicks like below. The stem width outside the nicks is less than 6mm, but at the nicks one could insert a viola size post. Nonetheless former adjusters managed to damage the soundhole edges, so another evidence that you can't make it idiotproof as much as you might try.

[Dr. Mark]

For what it's worth, I use a thin scissors holder that I bent to a convenient shape, and insert through the base f to hold the soundpost, then use it together with the setter hook to put it in position.  It's been so easy that I never bothered with any other technique.

[Davide Sora]

This is my way of inserting and removing the soundpost through the lower eye. It's a cello, but the same thing works for the violin. It doesn't seem that difficult or time-wasting, certainly not enough to justify butchers enlarging the f-holes, nor a nervous breakdown. Anyway, I make my violin f-holes so that a 6.5 mm soundpost can easily fit through them, and I recommend doing so to everyone I've taught; you never know who will be working on our violins, so better safe than sorry. Evidently, violin butchers are more common than I thought. I also believe that wider f-holes are acoustically more advantageous than narrow ones, but that's another story.

To remove the soundpost from a violin, I use a thin, straight steel rod, which allows me to grasp and remove it very quickly. I believe this tool could also be used to remove the soundpost from the lower eye, as its size allows for greater maneuverability and allows for sufficient tilting without damaging the F-hole. However, I've never tried this solution because, as I mentioned, my violin f-holes are wide enough to allow a soundpost to pass through their stems.