Diane in Chicago's Page

I cut the box down to be just over 1.5" deep.  I was able to get the bottom off finally, but only be destroying the scraps of sides that were still attached.  Those nails were really rusted in and were not coming out.

I reinforced the corners before I did much more work so the box had more strength.  I've decided to screw 'n' glue the box closed - it works for a guitar so why not a fiddle?  The sides are so thin, I am not convinced a glue bond will be secure over time.  So…

The neck has been cut and final sanded at this point, and I've glued on the fingerboard.  I used a mortise drill to cut out the peghead, and then chisels to smooth out the pegbox a bit - but it is still pretty rough inside.  Here is a sequence of shots of cutting and shaping the neck

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I had a block of black walnut all glued up from more than a year ago when I tried the first fiddle.  Armed with that experience, some time to contemplate and a really cool box I've been saving, we begin.  All the parts were at hand and the tape measure was there, and next thing I new I'd sketched out a template for the neck, with a super-simplified scroll.  I've got these really beautiful geared tuners made just for a fiddle.  And since the lid is warping and quite darkened, I'll likely use…