For most of my life, I have loved to make things out of wood.  Whether it be a functional item, a decorative wood-turning, or a musical instrument, I just can't seem to stop.  In the mid 1970s I built my first musical instrument, a replica Flemish harpsichord.  It was built from a Zuckermann kit, and worked very well.  It is long since sold, but was followed by a small fretted clavichord (also from a Zuckermann kit), a couple of classical guitars, and most recently, a replica of a 13-course baroque lute.  The lute was built by "Internet correspondence", on a course run by David Van Edwards in Norwich, UK.   What David doesn't know about lutes and lute-building isn't worth knowing.  He has since run a similar course for the building of a renaissance lute.  His website is well worth a visit - click here to go there.

For a long time I've had the idea that I'd like to try a violin.  Late in 2006 a kit from Stewart MacDonald was acquired, and work started.  This particular kit is quite complete, and a lot of the complex carving and bending is already done.  This is OK for a first try - if I like violins the next one will start from raw wood.  This exercise also revealed that the violin bow is actually quite a complex piece of equipment, and quite exacting to make.  I may also attempt to make a bow, which could end up more difficult than the violin!