photo col by Russ Dillingham

Musician has ear for woodworking

(or)

Auburn man attuned to woodworking

Twenty five years ago when Leo Beaule was splitting some maple he cut at his camp in The Forks, he was so taken by the heft and grain of one piece of wood, he just knew it was not meant for the wood stove.

“I was splitting firewood, but this piece was so beautiful, I just couldn’t burn it. I didn’t know what I would do with it, but I brought it home and put it in my basement.”

The Lewiston native and local musician finally found the calling for this piece and several others he has saved over the years.

“I have been repairing violins for the past 40 years, all self-taught, and after my wife died three years ago, I decided to make a violin.”

The first one took him more than 200 hours to craft, but he figures the second one he is now making will take less time.

“Being all alone now, I will often go downstairs in my workshop in the afternoon to work on it. Pretty soon I would realize I was hungry, and look outside and see that it was dark. It takes a lot of concentration.”

As he chisels, whittles and sands the top and bottom pieces, using many tools he crafted himself, he periodically raps his knuckle on the wood to listen to the sound. He has a good ear, but uses an electronic tuner that he turns on to see how close he is to getting to the exact sound he wants, something he notes the masters, like Stradivarius, did not have. He seeks a D cord for the top piece, and an E cord for the bottom.

He uses a diagram of a Stradivarius, but with the years of experience he has repairing them, it is just a guide.

“Each violin has a different sound.” After applying eight coats of varnish, with lots of hand rubbing between each coat, the violin is ready to be played.

“The sound changes after you start playing, and you need to keep fine-tuning it. The wood vibrates and adjusts itself.”

Everyone at the Androscoggin Valley Community Orchestra that he plays in has been asking him about the piece. “They can’t wait for me to bring it in.”

After a few rehearsals, he hopes to be ready to use it in their next concert May 1.