The Fiddle-Maker, Teacher, Town Councillor
— Jim MacCleave --
— Jim MacCleave --
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THE OXFORD JOURNAL, THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1973
No Fiddling Around – Violin-Making An Art "I wouldn't call violin making a hobby exactly,' said Jim McCleave known locally as Mr. Stradivarius! "Making my household furniture, as I did do, could belong to that category. But violin making is an art, a certain touch, a true ear and an abstract emotion all centering on the finished product." Mr. McCleave is at present vice-principal of the Oxford Regional High School where he teaches mathematics to grades 10-11-12. He is also local commander of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, having received his Canadian Decoration and Bar for long-time service. His violin-making started 35 years ago so cannot be called a retirement project. School, college and family life (he has two daughters and a son) slowed him up somewhat but seven years ago he activated his dream of being a violin maker and in that time he has turned out seventeen violins and three violas. Some of his instruments have competed favorably with others at exhibits in the United States and Canada. His violins have been tried by symphony performers and pronounced as good as the best. It takes me 100 hours to turn out one violin," said McCleave, "and at least twenty weeks to complete the process of applying the various finishes because of drying periods required between applications. To offset this I usually have several instruments on the drawing board at once. This artist designed and perfected his own tools for the delicate touch required. The red spruce used in the top of his violins and the curly, white maple for the back and ribs he finds in Nova Scotia forests. The trees must be at least 12 inches in diameter, be cut and seasoned for five years. he imports the ebony for finger board and pegs from Montreal. McCleave’s ability to play his finished violins helps in this work of art, as a true ear is a must when a slab of wood is tested for usability by being held in the air and tapped lightly. The wood must have a high pitched ring in order to be resonant enough to make a good instrument. So in this he is twice an artist—skilled in the knowledge of creating a violin, and with a knowledge of musical tones. There are 84 pieces to a violin. He first fills his wood with ganboge rosin and then a coat of varnish, with as many as seven coats of colored varnish, a second coat of filler and another of varnish with two weeks drying period between each application. To polish he uses pumice stone, tripoli powder, patience, love and a wet cloth. Mr. McCleave’s two daughters and son are proud of their father’s violins although they are not musicians, and his wife does not object to having the kitchen cluttered up sometimes— “But, then,” he added with a twinkle, “I haven’t started a bass viol yet”. His work is not for pecuniary purposes but he hopes one day when his teaching days are over to cash in on a few violins. Some he has given to close friends. For McCleave, who is the only known violin maker in the area, the greatest reward is in shaping a thing of beauty and hearing its tone pure and sweet for the first time when completed. —Alice Bardsley (From the October, 1973 issue of the Atlantic Advocate) |
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