It’s all circles and lines, just circles and lines. But soon it will be a scroll. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I still have some cleaning up to do here, but I’m pleased with how the purfling has turned out. No matter how carefully I fit and test and fuss, I always find the actual final gluing of the purfling a little bit stressful. That nagging uncertainty haunts me until the glue dries and I can trim the excess back flush with the plate to reveal its final form. Even now this isn’t want the final corner will look like. One of the last steps will be rounding over the edges to give a more finished look. Part of the difficulty of craft is not just needing to get the work from the start to the finish but understanding what all the intermediate steps look like and how the raw state will translate to the completed work. So while this isn’t all done yet, I am pleased that it is heading in the right direction. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
Do I always look this angry while I work? I hope not. I promise I’m just concentrating. A lot of craft comes down looking closely at small things. It might not be the magical romantic life folks imagine, but it gets the job done. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
But how, you ask, do you get the purfling to bend so that it follows the outline of the instrument? With a bending iron (#ToolTuesday) of course! This is the top down view. The airplane wing shaped bit of metal in the center has a heating element in it so it gets very hot This is the same tool I use to bend the sides of the violin. Bending the purfling is a lot easier though, but it still take a bit of patience and care. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
The trickiest part of the purfling are the corner miters. Purfling is the black and white line around the edge of the instrument. It’s not painted on. It’s actually thin strips of wood set into a shallow groove. At the corners two pieces, one from the c-bout and the other from either the lower or upper bout, meet. The idea is that the blacks will meet the blacks and white will meet the white, so that you can’t tell that it’s two separate pieces. This is conceptually simple and in practice a bit finicky. As with so many things on a violin, most folks will only notice if it doesn’t look right. When done well it’s a seamless, invisible, detail. Ultimately, the goal when building a violin if for everything to be just so, so that the musician doesn’t have to think about their instrument and they can focus on their music. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
This is just a quick update to Wednesday’s post showing the groove the purfling will be fit into. On Monday I’ll have more to say about what happens with the purfling in the corners. But for now I’m going to enjoy my weekend, and I hope you do too! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I forgot to share what the finished bass bar looks like. You might remember it being a lot bigger when it was glued in. It gets shaped and shaved down till it’s about 4 grams, just enough to provide the structural and acoustic support needed without adding unnecessary mass that could deaden the sound. #violin #violinimaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I’ve been looking forward to purfling this instrument, and it’s finally time! (I like purfling and I cannot lie.) Purfling is the black and white line around the edge of the instrument. It’s not painted on. It’s actually thin strips of wood set into a shallow groove; I’m cleaning up the groove here, but have not yet inserted the purfling. This is a step I particularly enjoy. First, purfling is just a fun word to say. Purfle. Purfling. Purfled. Second, it hits the sweet spot for me between stressful and meticulous in terms of concentration required. And the third, and probably the biggest reason, is that this about when I start getting excited again about an instrument. I always start a build super excited, and full of the hope and possibilities it will bring. Then, somewhere deep into the hours of scraping the same few square millimeters of wood over and over, my enthusiasm wanes a little and I start worrying more and more about all the small things that aren’t exactly as I hoped they would be and fretting about what could still go wrong in the future and wondering if maybe I shouldn’t just go pet the cat instead of bothering. But, when I start in on the purfling it means most of that is behind me. It’s a chance to take a small step back and take in how all the work so far has come together. As I trace the outline with the purfling cutters to cut the groove I get to admire the shape of the outline again. As I excavate the groove I get to appreciate the feel and texture of the wood again. As I inlay the purfling I get to enjoy how the curvature of the arching flows into the edge again. This journey isn’t over yet. There will be frustration and fiddling ahead. As the philosopher Spinoza said “All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.” But I am glad that—today at least—I have the opportunity to take pleasure in my work. #violin #violinmaker #violinmaking #lutier 
There is always a trade off between using a finer toothed saw blade that will let me cut closer to the final line—saving me work later—and using a bigger blade that cuts faster, but a bit rougher. Finding the balance between speed and accuracy for each step of the work is a core part of craft. If I am being honest, cutting the scroll outline is the one step where I wish I had some power tools. A band– or scroll saw would be a lot less work. But, my trusty muscle powered bow saw gets the job done just fine and I guess I get to call it my work out for the day! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
It’s official. It’s has a label. Now I can glue the top on and get back to finishing the scroll and neck. See you all after the weekend! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
Half way done with closing the box! It is incredibly satisfying to put together all the pieces I’ve been working on over the past weeks into an (almost) finished object. There is always a little bit of anxiety, will everything come together nicely? Did I make a mistake somewhere and now things won’t fit and mesh well? But all that is washed away when there is a completed box sitting on the bench. There will still be plenty of work to do before it’s a violin. But now it’s clear how every step brings you closer to the finish—and to starting the next one!—which brings its own kind of joy to the work. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
While doing some administrative work on the computer—yes, even the romantic life of craft has paperwork and admin errands—I suddenly noticed that there were a few photos from @marta_muntane ’s photo shoot that I had forgotten to share. So here is a slightly silly portrait. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
This photo illustrates nothing about violin making. I just thought it looked cool. It reminds me of skateboard park; I guess that’s my Californian past coming through. What does it look like to you? #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
The sides of the violin are only about 1 millimeter thick. That’s thin enough to let light through and shine with this lovely orange-ish glow. You can even see how the winter grain lines are formed by denser (slower growing) wood. I snapped this photo while I was making sure that everything had gone well with the gluing and clamping of the ribs to the back. So far it’s looking good! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
Maybe I should make picture frames instead of violins? Happy Friday everyone! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
The curvature of the top and of the back of a violin are carved to shape. The ribs (the sides) however are bent with heat. What started out as flat strips of wood now keep their carefully bent shape even when removed from the support of the mold. Even though they are thin and flexible, the rib structure is surprisingly strong along the dimensions that will be needed to stand up to the tension of a fully strung instrument. #violin #violnmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
Now that the rib structure is off the mold it’s time to ‘close the box’, that is glue the top and back to the sides. That means this is my last chance to make final adjustment to the plates, and also my last chance to take fun photos like this one! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I had a really nice video planned showing how I separate the rib structure from the mold. But technology let me down. My phone stopped recording half way through. So, all I have is a 10 minute video of me getting ready and nothing of me actually taking the rib structure off of the mold. Sorry about that. I’ll try to remember to capture it next time. For now I just have this artsy photo of the rib structure in my window. I think I confused the neighbors across the street while taking this one. I wanted to shout over to them “you can really see the shape of the outline this way!” … but I decided that wouldn't really explain anything so I just shrugged and got back to work instead. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
These last few weeks I felt like my work had slowed down. Something about the gloom of winter and all the world news had me feeling lethargic. But, the past few days we’ve had unseasonably warm weather here in Barcelona and I just removed the rib structure for this violin I'm working on from the mold. So, I'm starting the week with an upbeat mood and a bit of momentum, ready to forge boldly ahead. Welcome to Monday friends! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier ![“And then, effortlessly, like a musician stretching a string over a new peg on his lyre and making the twisted sheep-gut fast at either end Odysseus strung the great bow. […]
He took aim and let fly, and the bronze-tipped arrow passed clean through the holes of all twelve axe-heads, from first to last.”
— Homer, “The Odyssey”
#violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier #greekmythology #theodyssey](https://scontent-frt3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/146461984_634275674002097_1126594099767202928_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=g08OJXjxkosAX9c_D_a&_nc_ht=scontent-frt3-1.cdninstagram.com&oh=5997001c7ff3e3fd62917b31288d61f7&oe=606927F8)
“And then, effortlessly, like a musician stretching a string over a new peg on his lyre and making the twisted sheep-gut fast at either end Odysseus strung the great bow. […] He took aim and let fly, and the bronze-tipped arrow passed clean through the holes of all twelve axe-heads, from first to last.” — Homer, “The Odyssey” #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier #greekmythology #theodyssey 
For #ThrowbackThursday here I am back in violin making school at @nbssboston making a baroque violin. This is NOT how violins are made today. But, back in Strad’s day the neck was attached with nails. Here I am driving the last of those nails home. I had a lot of fun with this project, and I'm glad Roman, my teacher, let me go off script and pursue this. I kept this instrument for myself for a long time. But then, to complete it’s historical journey, I later removed the neck and reattached it in the modern way, just as has been done with (nearly) all the old instruments from that time. You can have a listen to it here, if you like: https://youtu.be/VzxLzJLMZKI #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I have a question for you, but first the explanation… In the before time, when we still went outside without masks, my partner and I would attend concerts and live music as often as we were able. I spend so much time with wood that will eventually make music that it’s nice to get out and hear some music. I also like being surprised by genres, repertoire, or even just interpretations that I wouldn’t otherwise have known about. For the last year, of course, that hasn’t been possible. So I’ve been listening to more music at home. I don’t usually listen to music while I work. For me listening to music takes concentration, so I actually find audiobooks less distracting. That’s why this audio set-up is not in the workshop but in my living room. On the one hand listening on my own couch with my partner and my cats is wonderful. On the other, though, it's sometimes difficult to give the music my full attention like you would in a concert hall. Also, I wish I was better at discovering new (to me) music and challenging myself with music that’s less familiar. Which brings me to my question: What music have you been listening to over the past year? Have you discovered something new or do you find yourself returning to old favorites? Please leave me recommendations in the comments! (And it definitely does not have to contain violins, or even be classical.) Thank you! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I made this template out of a sheet of copper based on a scroll by Stradivari (1715 ‘Titian’). For some folks using templates might seem counter to their romantic notion of the artisan maker sculpting a beautiful scroll with passion and intuition. That, however, misunderstands both the role of templates and the nature of craft. A template is more like an artist’s first rough sketch on the canvas that they will later paint over. It is not a strict specification that I follow like a computer program. I will follow the outline I have drawn her fairly closely, but at the end of the day it will be my eye and my hands that make the final call. And anyway, I’m not an artist but a craftperson. For example, the peg holes need to be properly spaced for the musician to be able to tune as easily as possible; and they wouldn’t appreciate my artistic flair getting in the way of that! Templates are just another tool, not all that different from the saw I will use to cut this outline out or the gouges I will use to carve the scroll. Enough philosophizing. I am excited to get going on this scroll! Y’all have any projects that you’re excited to work on right now? #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier #tooltuesday 
I love the contrast between the smoothly planed wood on the right and the rough wood on the left. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I had a completely different photo planned for today, but it just didn’t work. That’s just how it goes. Some days you make a violin and some days it feels like all you’ve made are wood chips and wood shavings. The woodworker David Pye famously talked about the ‘workmanship of risk’ as being the defining characteristic of craft work, as opposed to the repeatable certainty of modern mass production. Skill and care minimize that risk, but a bit of uncertainty is always part of the process. For today that means you get this lovely photo of a pile of wood shavings. Next week we’ll be back on the road to violins again. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier #craft ![Here is a photo of me next to a spruce tree at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard for #ThrowbackThursday in honor of the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat today, aka “the new year for trees”¹.
All of my work begins with trees.
I get my wood from foresters who specialize in working with musical instrument makers. It's not just that I only use specific species (spruce for the top, maple for the back, sides, and neck) but that only certain trees will have suitable characteristics. Those characteristics go back to where and how the tree grew when it was alive. The foresters know how to pick out the trees most likely to work well for instrument making and also know when and how to harvest them for our specific needs. Their work is tied to natural rhythms of the seasons and of the tree’s growth cycle.
The history of those rhythms is still evident in the wood on my bench, most obviously in the grain lines, and becomes part of my making as I work. This isn’t a generic history of growth from seed to tree, but of that tree at that time in that place. The way the wood is shaped by me—and thus also functions as part of the finished violin—is directly connected to how it was oriented, and how it grew, when it was part of the living tree.
In the world of fancy wine they call of this terroir, but I'm not sure that adequately captures how entwined my work is with the life of trees, even though most of the time all I have on my bench is only a small piece of what was a much larger and beautiful creature.
#violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier #tubishvat
[1] Both it’s biblical origins and contemporary significance are more complex than that, but I'm going to just focus on honoring trees here.](https://scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.29350-15/143766151_464218741255270_3007971508420412622_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=adWRg-GCTMMAX_g5-Jd&_nc_oc=AQkY2LhXss1UOeh-IUdHeshffZ2_zzmQ12tTFAJMtNydFzcduzkPwxvu9V4DQ9Gjjn6YQeFD-bXoFPQY-YaCYyNx&_nc_ht=scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com&oh=d0bca8a7fbf2e87ff611a1c4bab9798f&oe=606A175D)
Here is a photo of me next to a spruce tree at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard for #ThrowbackThursday in honor of the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat today, aka “the new year for trees”¹. All of my work begins with trees. I get my wood from foresters who specialize in working with musical instrument makers. It's not just that I only use specific species (spruce for the top, maple for the back, sides, and neck) but that only certain trees will have suitable characteristics. Those characteristics go back to where and how the tree grew when it was alive. The foresters know how to pick out the trees most likely to work well for instrument making and also know when and how to harvest them for our specific needs. Their work is tied to natural rhythms of the seasons and of the tree’s growth cycle. The history of those rhythms is still evident in the wood on my bench, most obviously in the grain lines, and becomes part of my making as I work. This isn’t a generic history of growth from seed to tree, but of that tree at that time in that place. The way the wood is shaped by me—and thus also functions as part of the finished violin—is directly connected to how it was oriented, and how it grew, when it was part of the living tree. In the world of fancy wine they call of this terroir, but I'm not sure that adequately captures how entwined my work is with the life of trees, even though most of the time all I have on my bench is only a small piece of what was a much larger and beautiful creature. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier #tubishvat [1] Both it’s biblical origins and contemporary significance are more complex than that, but I'm going to just focus on honoring trees here. 
No, I’m not drawing a face on this neck block (or making another tió de nadal!) This is a jig to check the grain orientation and to make sure there is enough width for the eyes of the scroll. I think I may have shared it before, but not the story of how I made it: One day in violin making school I had brought in my laptop to do some design work for a new model and my teacher—Roman—saw me and got very excited. He had an idea for a jig in his head, but had never gotten around to actually making it. I followed his instructions and ended up, first, with a bunch of lines on the screen, and then printed onto an overhead transparency. At the time I did not really understand why I would ever need this, let alone appreciate how useful it would be. But I had learned that Roman was usually right, so I kept it in my toolbox. And I’m glad I did because now I use it for pretty much every scroll I carve! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
Time to pick a scroll template. Which one should I use for this instrument? Left, middle, or right? #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
I'm closing out the week with fitting a bass bar. Bass bars fascinate me because they still feel slightly magical to me. I know I spend a lot of time on here insisting that there is nothing magical about making violins, just physics and craft and history, and yet bass bars… I know that their placement and shape and size work. I know, in broad strokes, the acoustics and history behind them. But, there's just something about them that has just never entirely clicked with me. Which doesn't make them frustrating or anything, just all the more fascinating! #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier 
A wonderful local violinist stopped by today for a visit. We were so busy with violins and music and everything that I completely forgot to take any photos for the facebook and ’gram; so all I have to share as proof are these two empty espresso cups. I really enjoy spending hours in my workshop by myself, but sometimes I miss the opportunity to just chat with musicians that comes with working at a shop. Hopefully after corona it’ll be easier to have more visitors again. #violin #violinmaking #violinmaker #lutier #espresso #cafelatrobot