Thousands and thousands of little wood shavings. Every now and then I have to stop to look at the shavings. This stuff makes great wood tinder. It also makes for cool pictures.
There is a magical thing that happens when an artist takes away something from raw material to create something new. Violin making is no different. There must be a tens thousand little cuts that go into a making violin. Continuously, the work bench needs to be swept off and the floor swept up.
If you watch YouTube videos of violin makers you will see a trait common between most of them. Breathing. Not just breathing but consciously breathing. I sometimes wonder if they even realize they are consciously breathing as a part of the work. What do I mean? Well, when cutting away material with a gouge wood will often stay on the gouge or in the way of the next cut. I don’t have time to take my hand off he gouge and wipe away the wood chips. Instead, I exhale a puff of air to blow away the chip(s), take a relaxed breath and make another cut.
It took me a while to catch on to what was going on. I saw other violin makers doing it and then realized I was doing it. Now, the act of breathing has become part of the routine when paring away wood. The rhythm is peaceful and focusing. Now, when I find myself engaged with a task and I start to feel a little strained or anxious about a task; I stand up straight, do a quick cleansing exhale (puff), re-engage the proper posture and cut away.
Fun note on wood shavings
When working on the top or back, I can easily generate enough shavings to fill a five gallon bucket. The contents are then deposited into my fire pit for later enjoyment. I think it would be cool to reuse them with epoxy and do some custom lathe work. Hit me up, I’ll ship wood shavings, too.
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