A lot of people have asked what exactly I do at work. Since we're gearing up for rental season, I decided to take a rolling set of pictures and show you all exactly that. The following series shows the steps I take to set up a student level violin.
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There we go! As you can see, the fingerboard is all shiny now. You can even see the grain of the ebony wood! Up until I started working in the shop, I thought ebony was just a solid mass of black wood. I had no idea it had a grain to it like any other wood, and was more than pleasantly shocked to find this out. It is now one of my most favorite wood grain patterns.
Anyway, the stuff I used is below. I use mineral oil with various sandpaper, wipe off the excess, then polish with the micromesh. The black block is a semi-hard sponge that makes it easier to grip the sandpaper as I use it with the oil.