Making the neck and carving the scroll
A heavy block of maple is slowly transformed into a delicate cello neck. I angled and planed the top surface. The contour of the scroll drawn on the side was roughly sawn out with a foxtail and frame saw and the contour was then refined. I marked the shape of the scroll with a stencil; then I began to cut off piece by piece with the Japanese saw. You have to pay attention to the coils but also to the depth of each cut.
The pegbox is marked and chiseled out. To make this work easier I predrilled holes with a hand drill. For each place I determined a certain depth with a stop ring. It is good to leave enough material for finishing touches..
In the meantime I continued working on the scroll. This is rather an artistic work, which is a lot of fun. It is good to look at the geometry from time to time and check whether both sides are symmetrical and the angles are correct when you look at the scroll from a different angle. Gouges are used; different sizes and shapes are advantageous. I also like the fishtail gouges. A fishtail is easy to sharpen and and it is also available in a large radius. The surface of the wood can be smoothed with a set of special scrapers for violin making.
