Why not using fish glue ? It doesn’t needs high temperatur , works cold .

Fabián.

I don’t know if sitarmakers put a twist in the neck on purpose. Considering the traditional workflow I don’t think it is even possible to steer it. In my humble opinion i think that it is more likely that too many makers don’t use well seasoned and well selected wood. Because of the asymmetric stringload a sitar is very sensitive to twist and bending. It can happen very easy if one puts his sitar well tuned (under full tension) aside for some (too much long) time… Another weak point is the joint, which can cause very easily a jawari mismatch in height after some time.
There is not always a reason to concern as long as playability and sound remain acceptable.
The bend in neck or joint might create a softer main string since the overall tension on the tabli is decreased and as such the sound-response will follow. It is best to anyways maintain a max. string height set to 8 – 11mm.
I cannot say anything about Nitai Chandra Nath since I never laid hands on such a sitar…

Thank you for your kind comment.

Yes, these bamboo nails are handmade also.
Cut (by splitting) a ± 2 mm wide strip (+ 20 cms long) of good bamboo. Make it go slowly towards a point by cutting with a sharp chisel BUT do not cut onto the bamboo’s peel side. The bamboo’s peel (outer side) is which makes it strong and this peel should be kept intact over the whole length of the nail. Cut off at the desired length from your strip, and make the next point – nail until your strip is finished.
Drill a very fine hole in which you apply the nail. Also, add some wood glue to the nail before gentle hammering it into the hole.

Yes, celluloid is available in many forms. I’ve bought a sheet of plain white celluloid in India. It is perfect to be cut into strips, or lanes, or every other desired shape. If desired one can try to replicate the typical Indian decoration design by means of engraving. Fill up the engravings with coloured and melted wax.
Keep your celluloid stock out of the direct sun. After some time, the sunlight will change its colour.

I am curious about a couple of things. I’m restoring an ‘old’ sitar that has a similar neck bend and also it is missing some bits of celluloid.

Do you make your own bamboo nails? Are they just slivers of bamboo cut from a piece?

Can ‘new’ celluloid strips be purchased? Even plain so that I could try to duplicate the existing celluloid.

Any advise would be most welcome.

Thanks for your advise. The neck bend repair seems to have gone well on my Esraj. Yes it would be great if you ever get a chance to have a look at a clip of fret shaping. Thanks

GSM

Neill,
The distance between the main playing string and the frets (pardas) is measured at the last fret (= the fret with the highest note). The distance at this location should be something in between 8 – 11 mm. If your sitar measures up to 20 mm, then something is surely wrong. This is too much high… Could it be that the neck is bended, or there might be a loose or broken joint ?

Thank You