A dry climate is best. Kevin Jonathan Lee's violin shop is located in the center of this photograph.

The wood must hang with dry air circulating freely around each piece for at least 7 years.

Wood for a violin: Spruce (belly), maple (back, ribs, scroll) ebony (fingerboard)

Templates for the outline and scroll, with traditional "inside" mold.

Maple and spruce; jointed and glued for the back and belly.

Blocks glued to mold. Ribs cut, planed and scraped to thickness

Ribs, bent to the shape of the mold and ready to be glued.

Gluing ribs onto mold (they are only glued to the blocks).

Linings are cut, scraped and bent to match the mold and ribs (belly and back).

Linings moritsed into blocks and glued.

Flatten ribs and linings(closeup of corner mortise).

Ribs finished, back flattened (ready for outline).

cut outline

back ready to arch

Strips of Purfling dyed and ready to glue together

fitting purfling

graduating back

back and ribs

inside sealer

sawing ff holes

gluing on belly

cut outline of scroll

cutting fluting

finished scroll

body and scroll ready to mortise

ready to glue varnishing handles

in the white

drying in the sun