he middle of the thickest or lowest part of
the neck attached to the body had then to be loosened and removed, often
no doubt a troublesome task owing to one, two and sometimes three nails
being in the way, this in consequence of the habit of the old makers
of attaching the neck with its scroll before closing up the body of
the violin. Having accomplished this, the repairer chiselled off two
square pieces, one on each side at the same end, and then fitted longer
blocks with the grain running the same way. These were afterwards cut
down to the proper form, so that the terminating part under the
fingerboard increased the length of the neck to the modern standard.
Of course, when fitted into the original space or socket from whence
the neck was taken, the rounded part going to or above the button was
now too large, this part was therefore cut, filed and finished down
to the required size and shape.

This method of lengthening the neck, however, went out of fashion as
connoisseurs and performers, finding the old necks so frequently
devoid of figure--the reason being probably that plain wood answered
best for the cutting of the volutes--made the repairers remove the
whole of the neck and substitute one of the best figure they could
obtain.

This forced fresh attention to the splicing as it is termed of the
scroll to the neck or graft, and the method has continued to the present
time of clearing away the whole of the neck and using handsome wood.
Further impulse was given to the practice by the fact of the
fingerboards put by the old makers rising so little above the body of
the instrument. The bridge was made very low to accommodate this state
of things. The increased rapidity of the movements of the bow from one
string to another over the middle ones in the performance of modern
music made a higher one absolutely imperative, as the heel of the bow
would too frequently chip pieces from the waist curves. There were thus
three good reasons at least for placing an entirely new neck on an old
violin; firstly the plain wood of the original maker, shortness and
the low angle with regard to the plane of the body.

In order, therefore, that everything may be accomplished with
sufficient exactitude, we will begin with the roughly sawn block ready
for measuring and shaping up for its destined purpose. The scroll,
which is to be replaced on a neck according with modern ideas, we will
suppose to be on an Italian violin that has come