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Yeah! Ruby is looking great Cat... I can't keep saying enough how excited I am to play her! I love the the updates on all of your projects.
Wow FM that's a really cool mini fiddle you carved. Did you make the bow too?
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Thanks MGN,
I made the bow too and even set the hair (white sewing thread) in the frog and tip quite like it's done for real now a days. I was surprised to see the detail since I don't remember much about doing that.
It wasn't yesterday. LOL
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Ruby has her pegs fitted -
Tools needed - peg shaver, metric ruler, pencil, rat tail file and tiny drill bit (I found my tiny drill for about $3.00 at the cash register of a discount store somewhere years ago.)
The OH made me a peg shaver (not shown because I am lame today) which I used to make the pegs a bit smaller - you don't want to ream the holes larger if you don't have to - time will take care of small holes for you 
The pegs are rough fitted at this point and will be re-fitted after the final varnish coats are dry.
The holes are drilled fairly close to the outside edge of the pegbox and will later be cut off on the outside of the pegbox at the final fitting stage - the pegs should extend 16mm from the pegbox to the bottom of the turning knob - any longer and they might not fit in the fiddle case.The plain ends will be cut off even with the pegbox and gently rounded and polished to make them pretty.
After the holes are drilled, the rat tail file is used to make a little depression over the hole on both sides to make threading the string easier and to relieve any pressure on the string at the peg where it bends.
The saddle has been glued in and all that remains is to shape the nut and string her up for a little test run. I've had some actual paying work this week, but it's finished now and I may have her strung up tomorrow. Video to follow...
MGN will have to decide if he wants the fingerboard stained black or not - right now it is lighter than "usual" and rather stripey. It is well fitted, with a good, well fitted nut and would work just fine without being removed...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
Mary, I would love to see your peg reamer. The one I have, I am not happy with at all.
Did you show the peg holes being reamed or did I miss it?
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Kevin M. said
Mary, I would love to see your peg reamer. The one I have, I am not happy with at all.Did you show the peg holes being reamed or did I miss it?
I did not show the peg reamer, but I'm really happy with it. I bought it from this eBay seller, along with the plans and blade for a peg shaper. So far it has worked very well, but it hasn't seen a whole lot of use. Invaluable for fitting pegs, though, and well worth the money.
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
I checked it out and it is very similar to the shaver I have now. Thank you for sending that link.
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Hey Cat, Ruby is on her way for sure. You don't need to stain the fingerboard black Cat (no pun intended). I really like the natural look and feel as is. From the picture above she looks great!
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myguitarnow said
Hey Cat, Ruby is on her way for sure. You don't need to stain the fingerboard black Cat (no pun intended). I really like the natural look and feel as is. From the picture above she looks great!
I was hoping you would say that - the stripes look really cool. The pegs aren't totally black, either, which, IMHO, makes it look like human hands actually touched it 
Ebony wood is not solid black in nature and sometimes has a lot more variation than this particular fingerboard. I like it!
I hope to have it strung up tomorrow and will try a sound file...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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Kevin, check out Howard Core for maker tools and such.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Can't wait to hear her Cat. You put a lot in this project and Ruby will have a great home!
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First look at Ruby with her clothes on and a bit of sound, too -
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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wow, that thing has got some kind of potential!
You play her real well...
I agree about the bridge... looks like you can cut and sand about an inch off that thing. LOL
she's beautifulll. nice job. I can ahrldy wait for the varnish... come on summer and warm weather....
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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What a beauty! I love seeing the updates on this project.
Great video, Cat.
And that's a kit violin, sweet. If you don't mind me asking, what was the price on that?
I like it, i'm retired so I have all the time to put one together. Great job.
That vibration is what you are looking for. It means that the soundpost is transmitting the vibrations to the entire violin so don't move that soundpost, it's perfect. Great job
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Very nice Cat.
It's amazing how open a violin sounds before adding varnish. Look forward to seeing her varnished.
Thanks for the post.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
@FM you said it right, that is the word I was looking for in the morning when I watch this video, the sound being more "open," and when the varnish is applied, it "contains" the sound more, or not sure what word to use 
Great video Cat, really liked it! Can't wait to see how it turns out when you are fully done with it!
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Yaaay! Ruby is sounding great! Thanks for posting her progress Cat. And for sure lower her action a bit 
Keep up the great work!!!
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That is awesome. I've been wanting to build one ever since i started playing. I've done all sorts of research from kits to balsa fiddles to starting from scratch. This is an inspiration. Thanks for the post.
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Fiddlestix said
Great video, Cat.And that's a kit violin, sweet. If you don't mind me asking, what was the price on that?
You can read about the Six Foot Fiddle here and about fiddle kits here - both links are threads here on Fiddlerman.
Kevin M. said
That vibration is what you are looking for. It means that the soundpost is transmitting the vibrations to the entire violin so don't move that soundpost, it's perfect. Great job
Glad to hear that, Kevin. I wasn't sure about the post placement so I left the string on it until I could get some other opinions
myguitarnow said
Yaaay! Ruby is sounding great! Thanks for posting her progress Cat. And for sure lower her action a bitKeep up the great work!!!
Thanks, MGN. I had some film of double stops to compare the strings, but it didn't sound nearly as good as it did "live" so I cut it
It really does sound marvelous and I'm very pleased. The OH even gave his permission to varnish in the house (!!!!!) which has been verboten since time began. I hope to start on the ground Sunday or Monday - I got a part-time job that is kicking my backside pretty hard.
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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