His craft is Instrumental

  Clinton Smith is a multi-talented craftsman. When he got to most people's retirement age he just sat down; not to retire but to craft stringed instruments.  And that has been a major focus for him for the past 11 years.

In just over a decade he has made 111 fiddles, 20 mandolins,  and eight banjos. He hasn't just assembled the instruments from kits; sometime he has started with the tree. He does buy strings but even the metal frame of the banjos are crafted in Clinton's shop.  I asked where the metal frame came from, expecting he would tell me the name of a supplier.  His answer; "from an old car transmission."  He not only is a wood worker but a metal craftsman
as well!







Clinton carefully selects the wood for the sides of the instruments and crafts them on a historic band saw that his father gave him.

                                                                          




(The band saw came from the shop of a Mr. Long
for which the community of Long Shop (in Montgomery County, VA. was named.  The saw has the date of February 27, 1900 welded on it.)

Clinton researched the process of instrument making and settled on a pamphlet  that he refers to frequently. He made a template that is used for all of his full-size fiddles. The template actually works for the fiddles without "ears" which he calls the "guitfiddle."

A metal template is added to make the "ears" which are on most fiddles and violins.
In his research Clinton found that Stradivarius actually made guitfiddles as well as conventional violins. Guitar fiddles are describe as instruments played in medieval times







Clinton proudly shares that Jeff Michael of the Big Country Bluegrass Band plays one of his guitfiddles.  And when I sought more information about Jeff Michael, I learned he had recorded under the Hay Holler Records label from Blacksburg, VA.


According to Clinton the "Ears" on a conventional fiddle make a convenient place to make wood joints in the sides. Since the guitfiddle doesn't have those breaks, a long clear piece of wood is needed to surround the instrument.

 The back of each instrument  is a work of art.

The finished
instruments are as colorful as a bouquet of flowers, especially when displayed on one of his wife Ann's hand-made quilts.


In the picture you may be able to recognize a left-hand fiddle.  Clinton couldn't find a chin piece for the lefty so he made one and from then on he has made all the chin pieces.

Clinton says he doesn't play but likes to get his instruments into the hands of those who do. That seems to be working to; the banjo he showed me was the last one and it was waiting for its owner to pick it up; I didn't see a mandolin, and about 60 of his fiddles are making music.