A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 12/1/2009

Tuesday December 1, 2009

The Scroll Looks Like a Scroll

Ben called me Monday and told me he had continued carving over the weekend and thought I might like to come down to take photos. He said, "The scroll looks like a scroll."

I met Ben, Susy Smith Watt, and Donna Lively Clark at Indianapolis Violins, Tuesday at 10:00 A.M. Susy had borrowed a viola her father, Thomas Smith, made and needed Ben to adjust it before the Friday party in celebration of the 100th anniversary of her father's birth. Since Donna was to play the viola she joined Susy to see it, play it and recommend strings and adjustments.

Below is a photo of Thomas Smith taken in the late 1930's with one of his violins at about the same point of completion as the one Ben is working on for me.

This meeting also gave Susy and Donna an opportunity to see my new violin, 'The Saint', for the first time. In the photo below the carving to the treble side of the scroll done over the weekend is shown off.

Now the violin is beginning to look like a violin with the scroll taking shape.