David Burgess Posted July 4 Report Posted July 4 1 hour ago, eliseveldt said: I nail my necks and nobody can stop me! I and some others could stop you if we wanted to bother. Signed, The violin mafia.
eliseveldt Posted July 5 Author Report Posted July 5 1 hour ago, duane88 said: Why stop with one? nails are expensive
jacobsaunders Posted July 6 Report Posted July 6 what precautions did you take to nail it on straight?
violinsRus Posted July 6 Report Posted July 6 Having dealt with at least one violin that had a hidden screw in the neck joint I wonder just how forgiving the nail will be for the guy who has to 'reset' the neck in the future. Maybe if you used a Phillips screw, and a long screwdriver could be inserted through the endpin hole, that would at least give the guy a chance of removing the neck without destroying something. Just a thought....
eliseveldt Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 13 minutes ago, violinsRus said: Having dealt with at least one violin that had a hidden screw in the neck joint I wonder just how forgiving the nail will be for the guy who has to 'reset' the neck in the future. Maybe if you used a Phillips screw, and a long screwdriver could be inserted through the endpin hole, that would at least give the guy a chance of removing the neck without destroying something. Just a thought.... Repairability is not really something that concerns me. I just like the nailing process it's quite fun to do
eliseveldt Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 3 hours ago, jacobsaunders said: what precautions did you take to nail it on straight? i raised the ribs from the table when fitting the neck and used a straight edge to determine where the neck should be. temporary blocks are glued to the table to make the neck in the same position when fitting. when the fitting process is complete i mark with a pencil where the neck should go. then i remove the mold and nail the neck on the marked place on the ribs so it will be straight.
Brad Dorsey Posted July 6 Report Posted July 6 2 hours ago, eliseveldt said: …the nailing process .. Do you drill a hole for the nail? I imagine that there’s some risk of splitting the block and the neck without a hole. And what proportion of the strength of the neck attachment do you think comes from the nail and how much from gluing the neck to the ribs and how much from gluing the neck to the back button?
KeiranC Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 7 hours ago, eliseveldt said: i raised the ribs from the table when fitting the neck and used a straight edge to determine where the neck should be. temporary blocks are glued to the table to make the neck in the same position when fitting. when the fitting process is complete i mark with a pencil where the neck should go. then i remove the mold and nail the neck on the marked place on the ribs so it will be straight. Dumb question, but I don’t see any sort of centreline on the mold (could just be the photo of course!)- do you center it a different way? I’ve been doing something similar but different- I fit the neck root to the ribs, and then use a taut line of thread attached to a pin in the center of the nut end of the fingerboard to the centreline at the bottom of the body (marked on mold/lower block). Once I get the angle right, I glue it to the ribs. I finish the back plate, get the end of the heel flush, and attach the back (using locator pins). I pop the mold out, then carefully drill the pilot hole and hammer in a single nail with a small hammer. Not how they did it, I suppose, but I’m not yet brave enough to try the whole attaching neck and then shifting the ribs around on the flattened back plate
eliseveldt Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 7 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said: Do you drill a hole for the nail? I imagine that there’s some risk of splitting the block and the neck without a hole. And what proportion of the strength of the neck attachment do you think comes from the nail and how much from gluing the neck to the ribs and how much from gluing the neck to the back button? ive tried both with and without pilot hole and havent cracked anything. but im a bit paranoid so i drill the hole anyways now. the nail defenitly is a strong point. i think even with 2 people pulling you cant pull the neck off.
jacobsaunders Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 There was a period (later 18th early 19th. C) where many makers just glued the neck onto the top rib without any nail, screw or the like, so that I wonder if a nail is worth the bother
Andreas Preuss Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 On 7/6/2026 at 1:09 AM, eliseveldt said: nails are expensive If you can find them at all. I like the nail you used with a nice big head. I suppose the shaft is hammered, so the profile is square. 2 hours ago, jacobsaunders said: There was a period (later 18th early 19th. C) where many makers just glued the neck onto the top rib without any nail, screw or the like, so that I wonder if a nail is worth the bother With the right glue… I would rather opt for a screw and no glue. Then neck resets would require only a screw driver which is long enough through the end pinhole.
Christine Meyer Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 26 minutes ago, Andreas Preuss said: I would rather opt for a screw and no glue. Please tell my AuDHD brain whether this was serious or not, we are not talking Stratocasters here after all. For one of my next instruments I am looking at glue+nails, too, so far.
Pluto Vermin Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 ^Isn't the whole idea supposed to be to make something that is favorable to a player? Something that's more beneficial to a player than everybody else's product? What are you trying to do? The originator has even said they don't care about repairability.
Andreas Preuss Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 2 hours ago, Christine Meyer said: Please tell my AuDHD brain whether this was serious or not, we are not talking Stratocasters here after all. For one of my next instruments I am looking at glue+nails, too, so far. I am looking on violin making very differently and have the tendency to question everything that seems to be ‘good’ and ‘normal’. Violins are not any more a box which will be closed for good and nobody will ever open it again or remove the neck. However, originally the whole assembly with glue wasn’t meant for such invasive operations. There were after WW II many workshops which wouldn’t dare to open an instrument, let alone making a soundpost patch. So nowadays necks are much more frequently removed, either for angle correction or a neck graft. So why not facilitating this operation and constructing with modern means. Just one screw in the right place is good enough. you might think about some glue to fix the neck to the button. —————- Be reminded that in Stradivaris time screws were still made by hand and therefore quite difficult to handle. Otherwise the innovative Stradivari might have used screws, who knows. There are many other aspects which are with a clear mind completely outdated or simply mis-concepeted for modern violin playing. For more you might find tons of unusual ideas in my thread about the New Concept Violin. Please explain to my old fashioned brain ‘AuDHD’.
Violadamore Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 1 hour ago, Andreas Preuss said: I am looking on violin making very differently and have the tendency to question everything that seems to be ‘good’ and ‘normal’. ........................................... Please explain to my old fashioned brain ‘AuDHD’. https://www.autism360.com/audhd-understanding-autism-and-adhd-together/ IMHO, judging from thousands of posts (as well as your opening sentence), it's new terminology for what a lot of us here might see when we look in the mirror. And yes, I can make jokes about it. 4 hours ago, Christine Meyer said: Please tell my AuDHD brain whether this was serious or not, we are not talking Stratocasters here after all. For one of my next instruments I am looking at glue+nails, too, so far. Welcome to MNet. Sorry I didn't welcome you when you first popped up.
Christine Meyer Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 2 hours ago, Andreas Preuss said: So why not facilitating this operation and constructing with modern means. Just one screw in the right place is good enough. you might think about some glue to fix the neck to the button. Thanks for the explanation, it would be interesting to try. Re the brain: mild autism makes it hard to tell jokes or irony apart from unexpected seriousness. And screwed necks, pun intended, was unexpected in a traditionally minded field like violins. And if in doubt, I just ask
Christine Meyer Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 4 minutes ago, Violadamore said: Welcome to MNet. Sorry I didn't welcome you when you first popped up. Hi. And thanks! :-) Yes, I guess we all are introverts at least and I'm very happy with my odd brain. I still think my first baroque violin will have the neck glued and nailed, I am drawing up a pair of sisters, one baroque the other modern as if worked on by Vuillaume, and two violins are quite enough to look forward to as a part time hobbyist.
Pluto Vermin Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 44 minutes ago, Violadamore said: https://www.autism360.com/audhd-understanding-autism-and-adhd-together/ it's new terminology for what a lot of us here might see when we look in the mirror. "someone may crave routine like an autistic person but also seek novelty like someone with ADHD, which can feel conflicting" No problem. Basically you can't go BASE jumping until after Wapner.
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