Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Br Harold F Stubbs III on February 28, 2018 at 11:09am

If you're not going fretted, why take the neck off at all? One could cut a different bridge to raise / lower the height and keep the violin mostly intact - maybe swap out the nut or recut it and use a new bridge and tailpiece to go down to 3 strings.. 

Otherwise - isn't the violin neck like completely on the outside or just glued in at the top? would seem you could cut it off where it meets the body, cut into where the violin neck was at the top ( if needed ) and insert a different neck that was made to fit there.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 28, 2018 at 4:14pm

Hi, there are a few things in the way of simply leaving the neck as is.

* The necks angle out of the body gives the projected line to the bridge. 

* Lowering the bridge would mean the strings would hit the end of the fingerboard as the bridge would be waaay lower than the fingerboard

* The neck would need removing and resetting at an angle to suit the new bridge height

* Using the neck would mean an awful short scale for a 3 string guitar

I started a project the same as this some time ago, but had to leave it for other work, among the design ideas I have is to fit a CBG neck, a bigger neck block and a flat cedar top with "F" soundholes. I would suggest that the standard violin neck block would not support the leverage imposed by a longer neck, unless modified.

The 25" scale length put the bridge just south of the ideal spot for a violin bridge position.

Also old violins are assembled using animal hide glue, for easy disassembly, I'm not sure what is used on cheap Chinese factory violins, but if they are like the cheap cellos I've worked on it aint hide glue.

Cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on March 1, 2018 at 1:37am

thanks for the replies. what I am considering is fretted ... thinking of cutting the neck off at about 2"or3" from the body and cut through it half way so that I can get the whole neck in through to the end of the body and put a long screw through the hole that's already there.  I will need to take a look at it when it comes.last time I took the body off and in the process giving myself a nast cut requiring stitches. so I dont want to be doing that again.

heres some pictures of my last violin git. 2 string bass......

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Jordan on March 1, 2018 at 2:26am

Hello, When I made mine I cut the neck off from the rear to leave the fingerboard intact for another project., then I drilled a hole straight into the body thru the neck block.,,.I enlarged the hole till it was rectangular and my neck blank could be inserted.,then I drilled a hole the the tail block that was 3/4".,.,,.I shaped the end of the neck blank so that the last inch or so was the shape of a 3/4" dowel.,I inserted the finished neck thru the body and attached the tailpiece to the butt end of the neck.,.,no glue used and it works great.,.,pic on my photos page.,.,it was pretty easy and very doable.,., have at it I say !!

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