I made my first violin in 1972, and after eight months of carving and scraping, I was ready to take on the ultimate violin-makers task: fitting the bass bar. At that time, I felt that nothing was beyond me. Fitting one piece of wood to another, how hard could that be; bring it on, I said.
Then the day came when she felt that the inside of the front was smooth and even enough to receive the bar, and I carefully matched the grain and formed the smoothest, straightest bar of which I was capable. Pat showed me how to place the bar on the inside of the front, trace a rough line on the bar showing the general shape it should be, and brace the bass bar against the edge of the workbench to begin removing the wood carefully. The only tool for this task was a knife, which could be used both as a cutter and scraper. Then, I began to cut. And scrape. And cut. And scrape. And cut some more, and scrape some more. I spent all the school day and evenings working on the bar, probably fourteen hours a day. At some point during the second week, I dreamt that I was a bass bar trying to settle into the front and form myself to the curves of the wood. In the dream, I allowed myself to relax and let the wood tell me what shape I should be to fit correctly. Eventually, I found a comfortable position and knew I was appropriately shaped with just a little spring for tension.
By the end of the second week, I had the bar fitting tightly against the front with a small modicum of spring, and I proudly brought the work to Pat for her approval. She looked it over, flexing it and fitting it, and then she got the clamps out and clamped it into place, and it fit perfectly. I felt like I had passed a great test as she unclamped it and said, "Yes, Daniel (she always called me Daniel), very nice." Then she put one hand on each bar end, brought her knee up, and broke it in two. "Now, make another one."
And now, whenever I fit a bass bar, I imagine myself as the bar, settling into place and getting comfortable. An hour later, with it glued in place, I smile, feeling I have had a nice nap.