2026

In September of 2026, I began working with Alexander Leyvand of the Violin Shop of Old Carmel. The project is ongoing, and I will spend the next several months crafting a violin from scratch using a variety of traditional techniques.

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The process began using tiger maple for the ribs. Pieces are planed and sanded to 1.25mm to allow for maximum resonance within the body.

The ribs are then cut within tolerance and prepared for shaping by soaking and heating on a hotplate.

The ribs are roughly curved and clamped temporarily into a French style mold. Shaping beforehand prevents breaking the delicate material, though they retain more flexibility than I had imagined.

The corner blocks provide the primary gluing surface of rib to rib. They are roughly cut and must be fine tuned for each curvature using gouges and files. Each corner is a little different, so ensuring a detailed fit is essential. This corner itself has not been fitted yet.