Finishing the ink and tuners

It took me some time to finalize the designs, and then to actually execute them. The curved center bouts are particularly difficult to get a good angle. And every surface is curved, so there are some unique challenges to getting a good looking design. Add to this that I was essentially freehanding this - and trying my best to get symmetry as well... Needless to say this step took a bit of time and concentration.

After using the ink, I added a coat or two of the spar varnish over the ink to 'set' the design. Utilizing a blend of traditional and less traditional designs, I ended up with a fully 'illustrated' Hardanger:

And the back:

One of the primary logistical problems in converting a standard violin to a Hardanger fiddle is dealing with the size of the pegbox. I've seen solutions ranging from literally sawing off the scroll and replacing it with a headstock replete with a set of mandolin tuners, to using smaller pegs from an oud and trying to squeeze in 4 per side... The method I'll be attempting (and refining I'm sure) is to utilize a combination of angled/geared guitar style tuners, and small friction pegs designed for a ukulele. Hopefully by alternating both these styles I'll leave myself enough room to actually turn the pegs. I figure I'll put the main 4 strings on the friction pegs, and mainly tune with the fine tuners, and run the sympathetic strings to the geared tuners (since they'll be fixed at the tailpiece). 

Of course the side wall of a pegbox is much thinner than a headstock, so for both tuners it requires grinding them down to be substantially shorter, and to drill new holes for the strings to be wound. Though it takes a while, a regular bench grinder will do the trick.