mysticoud
Oud Addict
Posts: 35
Registered: 11-5-2003
Location: California
Member Is Offline
Mood: YAY!
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Oud construction question (fingerboard extension)
With ouds that have fingerboard extensions (for example; a piece of ebony extending the fingerboard to the soundhole), is it better to inlay the
extension or lay it on the face. I know I'd have to raise the fingerboard to height if I layed the extension on the top.
I've seen ouds made both ways. I like the inlayed look better, but it seems more difficult. Does anybody know a good, easy way to inlay the
fingerboard?
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Dr. Oud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1370
Registered: 12-18-2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA
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The neck must be aligned flat and straight to the sound hole, many ouds are not. You may need to remove and realign the neck first. Cut the
fingerboard exactly to the thickness and shape you want. Clamp the fingerboard on the neck aligned with the edges of the neck . Scribe around the
sides and end of the fingerboard on the face and carefully cut through the face. I use a sharp utility knife. Take care not to cut into the braces.
CAREFULLY remove the face section with a chisel. Sparingly glue the fingerboard around the edges of the neck, along the mating edges of the face
cutout and on top of the braces. Apply clamping pressure over the neck with a cleat large enough to cover the extended fingerboard. Use some tapered
shims to apply light pressure to seat the fingerboard on the face braces. If you need to sand the fingerboard level with the face, sand toward the
darker fingerboard wood or else you'll grind the darker fingerboard wood into the soft face wood. Get the book for more detail of oud
construction: http://www.droud.com/book.htm
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
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Hey Doc,
Interesting. I hadn't imagined you could cut into the soundboard like that. That would take some precision work for a nice fit. On the
child's oud I repaired I planed a thin peice of blackwood for the fingerboard. I first made the neck flush with the face, then simply glued it
on. It is very thin, about 1/32". I then made the nut as usual. It didn't really affect the action much, but I suppose on a large oud the
figerboard would need to be thicker for longer life. Have you ever used this technique of simply gluing it on? How thick do you make it?
By the way, the progress on Ronny's oud is great. I'm sure some here would enjoy some more pictures in addition to the ones on Ronny's
site. 
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