I follow very much the same process in building violins as it was done in the 17th century. Hours go by where the sound of the gouge or chisel is all that is heard in my shop. My bench-made instruments are completed from start to finish by me, in my shop, where I can better predict and plan the outcome by being careful from wood selection to varnishing and setup. I’ve found that well-aged tone wood with good properties is one key to a great sounding violin, and I get my engelmann spruce from a region in Canada known to produce award-winning violins.