A shot of the violin after i removed the fingerboard. The neck seems too thin and will probably require replacing so that future warping of the neck is minimized.

The interesting thing about some old violins like that of Stradivari etc, if i am not mistaken, were also varnished with the fingerboard on the instrument, hence we see there is a strip of varnish which is 'missing'.

Take a look the the bridge wear!! Nasty, but thank God there are no post cracks! In addition, admire the close grained spruce, extremely fine grain and of a beautiful quality. The materials used in the construction of this violin are indeed top notch!

Some wear caused by the fine tuners of the tailpiece hitting the belly of the violin=X

A close-up of the bridge wear! The bridge has been digging into the violin belly, past the varnish, ground and all that's there is bare wood!