As well as carrying out repairs and restorations, I am an active maker, and my work is very much inspired by the beautiful instruments I have had access to over the years. I have been very fortunate in establishing close friendships with a number of leading makers such as Melvin Goldsmith, Yann Besson and William John. I have also had the opportunity to work alongside other makers for short periods of time including Nicolas Gilles, Wolfram Neureither and Ian McWilliams.
I use only carefully selected tonewoods which have been air-dried for many years to ensure absolute stability and quality of sound. During the making process the fronts and backs are thicknessed according to measurements and weights taken from fine instruments. This process is also guided by tapping the plates in order to tune them to the correct frequencies.
Once assembled, a fine oil varnish is used to finish the instrument. This varnish is made by myself and is the result of the latest research into classical violin varnishes. The end result is a varnish flexible enough to allow the front and back to move freely, but stable enough to protect the wood underneath
