Latest Project Archives - March 2010

In January 2010, Frank was commissioned to make a fiddle for Mikayla, a young lady from Boise who has just been taking fiddle lessons for a few months.  Mikayla is progressing very well and plans to compete with her new fiddle, #175, in the Idaho Open Fiddle Contest at the Nampa Civic Center the first weekend in June.

When Mikayla and her parents came over to the shop in December to pick out her wood, Frank and Karen realized that they had worked with Mikayla's Father at the same agency before they retired - what a small world we live in.

Mikayla is pictured here with the piece of quilted maple that she chose for her one-piece fiddle back.  Frank purchased this wood at The Wood Well near Port Townsend, Washington several years ago.

When Frank returned home from Arizona in March, he began working on Mikayla's fiddle.  This has been a fun project because Mikayla and her parents have visited the shop numerous times to watch the progress of #175.  This project has given Frank the opportunity to share his passion for violin making and has given Mikayla and her parents a first-hand knowledge about how a fiddle is handcrafted from a few pieces of wood.

The roughed out back

The roughed out top

Frank and Mikayla hold the inside of the completed back, the scroll and the roughed out top.

The front "in the white"

The back "in the white"

The first coat of varnish

And here's Mikayla playing #175 for the first time!