Neck details.
In recent years, I have become more meticulous about the shape of the violin neck. Most instruments I have used as models had only some original parts but modern replacements, including the necks. So, I could not recreate an exact copy of the original neck profile. I made templates based on other instrument necks, keeping with the style, time, and place, but I could not utilize exact authenticity.
However, there is nothing like having all instrument lines available straight from the original maker's hand. For instance, my Stainer model violin has a body based on the instrument in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK. That was one of the first instruments I studied, and I have an irrational attachment to it. However, the instrument has been "modernized," so I use the specifications from the Stainer instrument in the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, USA, for the historical set-up details. By this time, my Stainer model is really my own, with a shadow of Stainer's intention superimposed on it in places.
But when it comes to the playability details, I copy those perfectly. Part of the unspoken agreement with players of historical performance is that the feel and playability of my instruments mimic those of the original as closely as possible to give them the experience of playing an instrument of the period.
I made a paper template for the Stainer neck profile trimmed perfectly until it held in place, fitting all the curves exactly. (One of the many times Andre Larson patiently worked while I took the day to study an instrument from the collection.) Then, I copied that paper template onto wood to form the template in this picture. I carefully shape the neck until the template fits perfectly, holding it in place with only friction between the two pieces of wood.