Don Z - 1-21-2015 at 09:14 AM
Hello folks!
How is the oud neck attached to the block? Mortise and tenon? Are there several methods?
Thanks in advance.
jdowning - 1-21-2015 at 12:18 PM
The neck joint of an oud is made as a plain butt joint glued with strong hot hide glue - hide glue shrinks on drying so pulls the joint tightly
together. No further joint reinforcement is required but pretty well all oud makers use an additional plain dowel or a more fancy sliding dovetail to
join the neck to neck block as additional security against joint failure. If hide glue is not used a dowel or sliding dovetail keeps everything in
proper alignment until the glue cures.
The European luthiers of the 16th to 18th C - makers of lutes, violins etc. - used plain butt joints with hot hide glue, fixing the neck to neck block
with iron nails. The nails kept the neck in proper alignment and provided a clamping force during the gluing process.
A few years ago I did a report on trials that I did into nailed neck joints that may be of general interest
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=12428
There is so far no information to confirm if nailed neck joints were ever used on early ouds (none having survived from before the 19th C)
Don Z - 1-21-2015 at 05:32 PM
That's great work!