Kerry, What probably happened is that the repairman took too much body wood off when removing the soundboard. Yes, I know that none should have been removed but if it was done awkwardly some of the side may have split and the body had to be planed smooth, in the repairman's view.
The options, as I see it without seeing the instrument, would be: to make a new bridge with a bit more string clearance, or, saw a fine kerf cut into the neck/block joint and splint it to slightly raise the neck angle, or, relieve the fingerboard as you mentioned with a scraper preferably a scraper plane to maintain the lines of the fingerboard. Personally, I like the new bridge method as it attacks the disease, not the symptom. Your fingerboard method would be second. Best of Luck, Rob Dorsey http://LuteCraft.com -----Original Message----- From: Kerry Alt [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 2:26 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [LUTE-BUILDER] lute/vihuela action.... Hello all, I'm a newbie to lute construction but I have built a couple of modern guitars. I'm in the dark about a lute builder's approach to setting the neck angle relative to the soundboard. I've seen contradicting info re. fingerboard relief vs. different fret sizes. I'd appreciate your thoughts. My specific problem is an old vihuela that I sent out for a top re-bracing a few years ago. It came back unplayable as the first course sits on the 7th fret when notes on the 1st and 2nd frets are played. I put it in the closet in frustration, but am now in the mood to play it again. From my guitar building, my first inclination is to take out a cabinet scraper and put some relief in the fingerboard (like I do on guitars) but I'm wondering what you pros do? Hope this isn't too elementary an issue; this is a great group! Best, -Kerry -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
