Archtop #5; The Rim

 The rim for archtop #5 has been completed; it consists of the walnut sides, which are held together with two blocks, the linings and the end graft which, is purely decorative.

The neck block is laminated from two pieces of sitka with a central piece of walnut; for extra strength, the walnut’s grain runs at 90 degrees to the sitka.  Due to the orientation of the neck block, end grain is exposed, so it’s sealed to reduce any chance of shrinkage.

The tail block again is laminated, this block takes the screws from the tailpiece and will also have a 12mm hole for the endpin jack, so laminations are essential to reduce the likelihood of splitting.

 Over the years I’ve used tentellones, kerfed, reversed kerf and solid linings; they all do the job of increasing the surface area for gluing the top and back on. However, I much prefer solid linings as they add considerable stiffness to the rim. Mine are made up from 2 x 2.5mm layers, individually bent and then glued in place.

With the linings in place, and some structure given to the rim, I mark out and route the mortice for the neck joint. 

And last, but not least is the end graft, visually it’s important to get the proportions of this correct, even though most of this won’t be see as it will be under the tailpiece!