Having drilled the pegholes, cut the pegbox outline and cleaned it up, I lay out the pegbox walls. I like to hollow out the pegbox first, because (1) that is the functioning portion of the whole thing, and (2) while it's still square, it's easier to hold in a vise.
Feeling something like a prospector finding gold, it's always a little fun to uncover the first peghole.
More digging, moving the neckblock around in different angles in the vise, doesn't take too long to hollow the volume that will hold the strings.
On another front, I carved two saddles out of ebony blocks, for the Hardanger and the viola I am about building. This is the last wood that will go on these two before they are cleaned up, edgework finished off, and then into the varnish process. The saddle is a chunk of dense wood which keeps the tailgut of the tailpiece from sinking into and damaging the spruce top edge. Usually hidden under a chinrest, most folks don't notice it very often. An ebony block, someday to be a saddle on another instrument, lays in front of these two. The rubber bands are holding the saddles in place while the glue sets.
Put the saddle on the stove, Ma, we're riding the range tonight.
