Like the first day of school

Backs for 2 more cellos with a layout template and jointing plane.

Some days I take a break and this is one of them.  The demands of fussing about arching have tired me mentally, so I am preparing wood which for a few new cellos and doing a some center joints.  A few months ago I poked around the attic over my studio, where my wood is frozen every winter and baked every summer, and brought a few sets of wood down into the heated area to let it sit.     Today I am deciding how the raw wood will be prepared for making into an instrument.  I will fuss a good bit with each piece, trying to align the grain, flame, and split for best tone and visual beauty.  I started thinking about the layout last night and changed my mind several times before making my final choices this morning.

I love this job- it is like the first day of school, full of excitement and promise, with pleasant memories chiming in.  Memories of a 1997 purchasing trip; jet-lagged and driving a rented car to Bavaria while big BMWs passed me at 100+ MPH on the Autobahn.  Clambering over huge piles of wood to sift and select what I wanted...anxiety of its safe arrival, stacking and storing it.  All these years later finding these old friends and dreaming about what a beautiful instrument it will make.  Beats working.

The decisive physicality of this work- a joint is either right or it is not- will be a nice counterpoint to my recent occupations.  What Hazlitt called the "inefficacy and slow progress of intellectual compared to mechanical excellence."   Time for some mechanical excellence.   

This cello back has been through summer heat, winter cold, and a small flood since being purchased in 1997.