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by Carolyn Rahe Tom Wilder is a familiar face at Spring Mill State Park. He is the full-time village blacksmith, and also makes fiddles as a hobby. During the Spring Workshop, Tom (T.J.) shared the art of fiddle-making with a fascinated crowd. T.J. explained that the art of fiddle-making hasn’t changed much in three hundred years. As in times past, he starts with plain flat boards for the front and back of the fiddle. He whittles the two boards, making sure there is a precise volume of hollowed out space between the two. He also whittles the necks of the fiddles, and hand carves designs in them, such as an Abe Lincoln head which he showed us. “The thing every fiddle maker will tell you,” says T.J. “is that if you make a fiddle it won’t sound like any other fiddle.” Though different woods do tend to produce different sounds, no two fiddles sound alike. And it’s the sound that determines the fiddle’s value, not its appearance. While some fiddles are beautiful to look at, he says with a smile, “some of the best fiddles are ugly.”
In this photo T.J. checks the thickness of the wood with a caliper he made himself. T.J. just keeps making more fiddles, and sometimes has trouble parting with them. “If someone comes to the house and wants to buy a fiddle, I will sell one, but I discourage them.” He has given many away to family members and also musicians who have wanted to get started playing fiddle but just haven’t had the money. Still, T.J. tell us, “I’ve got fiddles behind beds, hanging on walls, behind chests...” It’s evident Tom Wilder enjoys life as a blacksmith and fiddle maker, and he is always happy to talk and answer questions about both. Look for him in the Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park.
This particular fiddle was made with wood from a sugar maple tree. |
All Feature Articles, artwork and photographs ©2001 by Dervish Design. Some information on the 'County Info' pages is taken directly from brochures published by Visitors Bureaus and Chambers of Commerce.
