Over time the string projection of a violin, viola or cello can lower. The easiest way to make it easy to play again is to simply lower the bridge so that the string height is the correct distance from the fingerboard. Once the projection height (extend the line of the fingerboard to the bridge) measures less than 26mm it's getting too low. There will be less and less clearance when playing the e string because the bow will start to sometimes touch the "C" bout. Also the violin will loose some of it's projection.

There are a couple of ways to solve this problem.

Dutchman

The easiest and least intrusve way is to make a Dutchman wedge to raise the projection. First the fingerboard needs to be removed from the neck. If it's still thick enough and in good condition it can be reused. Then the neck needs to be planed a little to make sure the neck is perfectly flat. Then you fit a matching piece of maple to the neck and glue them together. The next day you plane the wedge so that the projection lands at about 28 mm. If the angle is not correct you can adjust this by the amount of taper of the wedge. If you want to raise it without adding additional tension on the violin the wedge is flatter. Then once the fingerobard fits the new wedge, it's glued on. The next day the wedge needs to be worked into the curve of the neck. The neck needs to be treated and a little varnish touch up is done under the fingerboard and at the body where the neck ends. A new bridge is fitted to match the new height.

This violin had low projection but I didn't want to increase the string pressure on the bridge, so I made the wedge less of an angle. Sorry, I didn't take a lot of the steps on this one.

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Here is a 3/4 size that needed the projection raised.

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Wedge

If the projection of the neck is too low because it has been set at an incorrect angle, then the neck can be removed and a small wedge can be glued to the heal of the neck. It can then be fitted similar to the way a new neck is fitted. Make the wedge wide enough for that there is enough wood to correct the angle and also center the neck if it's a little off center. Sorry the pictures are not too clear.

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Pulling the Neck Back

Some repair people take the simple method of loosing the top from the upper bouts and the block. Then simply pulling the neck back to a higher projection and then cutting a little piece of wood to fill the slight gap that it creates between the heal of the neck and the top. Then gluing the top back on. The problem with this method is you are putting a little pressure on the button and it's really just a temporaty solution. The picture below is a neck that was raised using this method and it was still too low. Taking the neck out you can see the remnants of the shim they used. I think if you need to change the projection angle, it better to put a full size maple wedge onto the neck. Then just refit the neck like you would if you were making a new violin. That way you have full control of the height and the centering of the neck.

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Neck Graft