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Wednesday 1st
I've decided to go ahead with the Guarneri model for Boris P__. Toby's very keen of course... in fact he even suggested that I should stay on here at the shop while I make it. He said he'd really enjoy watching me tackle it and was looking forward to seeing what I came up with.
He's right of course... a man of my talents and experience should have no trouble adapting to any new challenge. How hard can it be? And if Toby can gain something from watching me work, then all the better.
I phoned Boris to tell him, and also mentioned that I would need a deposit to cover some of my early expenses (...mainly that large bill for all the whisky I ordered last month!!)
Thursday 2nd
Toby has started work on a big restoration job – a very attractive James & Henry Banks cello. The soundpost has been pushed right through the front and fragmented all the previous bad repair work. The owners aren't sure if the damage happened in Manchester or Amsterdam... the baggage handlers dropped it out of the plane at both airports. Toby will have to do a soundpost patch through the belly. Tricky job! He’s taken off the front and is setting up the material for a plaster cast.
He brought in his big Guarneri book so that I could choose a model. I thought I should start with the head to try and get myself into the mood, so Toby asked which scroll approach I was aiming for… del Gesu's, his father's or his wife's!! I told him that actually I'd prefer to make it in the style of his landlady, but surprisingly they haven't managed to attribute any to her (... well, not yet!). What sort of maker would have his wife making his scrolls for him? …can't imagine Rose being of much use in that department.
I eventually decided I would base my instrument on the 1734 'Haddock'. It actually looks quite reasonable - fairly clean purfling work and a decent scroll (not one of del Gesu's of course).
Friday 3rd
Toby spent most of today just preparing the wood for his patch. He finally found a piece with exactly the right grain and reflection and he's stained it down to the old wood colour. His attention to detail is admirable. I must say, the scroll on that Banks cello is magnificent – a work of art. It’s a pity I'm not copying that.
Boris came in today to pay me the deposit and unfortunately spotted the Guarneri book… he ended up staying here for two hours, going through it from cover to cover. He wasn't at all keen on my suggestion of the 'Haddock' model – he said that he wanted to have an instrument that demonstrated "a freedom and vitality unfettered by the restraints of traditional paradigms" (clearly he’s been reading too many of those Strad articles). In the end he informed me that he wanted me to copy the 1744 'Ole Bull'!
Oh dear... I'm really not sure I can manage to produce a scroll that uneven. Toby told me he has a friend who gets that "wonderful asymmetry" by carving one side of the scroll first, then covering it with masking tape before starting on the other side. And someone else he knows soaks it in a bucket of water before carving so that it warps nicely as it dries. I think I’ll just try to do it as quickly as possible - we decided I should allow myself a maximum of three hours.
Tuesday 5th
Began scroll today at 1:43pm. Finished at 4:51pm. Toby thought it still ended up being too neat and symmetrical, but I really couldn't make it any more lopsided. I did my best!
Actually I’ve found it quite challenging and demanding trying to work in the manner of a frenzied, turbulent renegade – not really my strong suit. However I decided to maintain the del Gesu technique for a little longer... I threw my tools down on the bench and told Toby I was heading off to the pub. He decided to close up early and join me. After four days of painstaking work he's finally got his soundpost patch glued in and he said he's also completely exhausted and in need of a drink. As we were leaving it occurred to me that this really is a very peculiar business we are in!