unfavourable circumstances as above will often look very well until
turned about in fresh and different lights, as they are sure to be,
and then the faultiness becomes a surprise to the executant.

The glasspaper filing must be continued for some time and with several
finer degrees until the surface appears perfectly even and seemingly
quite finished, but the stages are not yet complete.

CHAPTER VII.

FINISHING THE FINGERBOARD--FIXING THE NUT--SIZE AND POSITION OF
GROOVES FOR THE STRINGS--FILING DOWN THE GRAFT--SMOOTHING, COLOURING,
AND VARNISHING SAME.

We now turn our attention to the finish of the fingerboard, which must
have its sides attended to for appearing in good trim. For making a
nicely worked surface each side, some preparations will have to be made.
Firstly, the nut having been cut to the width, or nearly so, of the
narrowest end of the fingerboard and glued into position, it will have
to be filed down to the height at which it is to remain above the end.
The arching will have to be higher in the centre than at each side,
in order that when the strings are drawn over tightly, the thickest,
or D string, shall have more room to swing than the thinnest, or E.
The arching will thus be unequal, the lowest part being at E, next a
rise sufficiently for the A, then a further rise for the D, and
afterwards a drop again to a little higher than the A; this will be
enough for the swing of the G. The grooves for each of these strings
must follow in the same order. They will not be equi-distant in one
sense, as that would cause them to appear unequal when the strain is
on them.

Probably the best way of securing a uniform appearance and the easiest,
after one good result, is to cut a metal template with a spike at the
central point or middle of where the string is to rest. These points
will be found unequal when pricked on to the surface of the nut. A very
small, round file should now be used carefully with the run of the
fingerboard, or the strings when wound up will look as if pulled aside
out of the straight line. The file must be placed exactly on the spot
that has been pricked and worked backward and forward as indicated.
The ruts must be examined frequently for ascertaining whether they are
sufficiently deep. The height of each rut above the fingerboard cannot
well be given in fractions of an inch, as they must be regulated to
the convenience of the performer. A hard, rasping, orchestral player,
wit