may sometimes be near enough for letting alone after a little polishing
down, but as a general rule it is not so, and further, if having been
long "in stock," it may have settled down a little out of the straight
during the seasoning process. Recourse should be had to the plane, a
rather small metal one in good order with a keen edged iron. This must
be closely regulated, or the surface worked upon will not be even but
torn; hard woods, as before observed, require humouring and working
down gently. The exact arching--in good work--of the ebony should be
governed by a cut mould, one for each end. These may be made of some
hard wood or metal, such as zinc, and if truly made will last any length
of time. They should be trimmed to fit some fingerboard that has been
ascertained to be just the thing in its arching. It may be as well to
observe that some violinists prefer using a rather flatter fingerboard
than others, but the medium is without doubt the best, and is not
difficult to arrive at. The plane must be gently worked along from end
to end of the fingerboard with as little pressure as possible,--hence
the careful regulation and sharpness,--or you will find after a short
time that instead of a nice even line, which must be tested from time
to time by a straight edged rule, there will be a curved one, and this
will necessitate further working down to the danger of losing thickness
and sufficient strength in the ebony. If attention is paid to this,
and a satisfactory even run of surface is obtained, glass-paper on a
piece of straight, soft wood, but not of the finest degree, will be
suitable for the present.

We now return to the modelling of the neck from the lower part of the
back of the scroll down to the button. This last, with its fresh edging
or shield, will require another scratched line, making two
semi-circular ones; it must be done from the same centre and calculated
to allow of the wood being hewed away outside, leaving the full
measurement when finished off.

A chisel will now be brought into requisition for removing the useless
wood outside the line last marked. The cushion or sandbag must be
brought into use, the violin put face downwards, the fingerboard
resting in a hollow. The neck or most convenient part for holding the
whole with firmness must be held tightly, the chisel then worked
downwards from the button, but not too far so as to cut into the portion
that is to gradually enlarge, or form the quarte