Saturday, October 12, 2024
Robert Lewis, of Colorado City, collects bottles, arrowheads, and coins. But, of all his hobbies, there is one he likes the best. He makes fiddles. Each one takes a year to complete. His living room is decorated with fiddles he has made from scratch.
“I’ll tell you a little secret about making fiddles,” says Robert. “If you’re not in the mood to work on a fiddle, don’t go out to the shop. If you’re in the mood to work on it, you’ll do good. But, if you aren’t, you’re going to mess up something.”
His daddy made a fiddle, and Robert thought that was cool.
“I had my grandfather Lewis’s old fiddle, you know. So, I went to the lumberyard and got me a white pine board wide enough so I could draw that fiddle off with a pencil. I made my first fiddle with just a pocketknife and coping saw ‘cause I didn’t have any other tools. I bought a book for $3 ‘How To Make Your Own Violin.’” He made that first fiddle in 1966.
Robert worked in the Mitchell County Road and Bridge Department for 23 years. He retired in 1995 at the age of 62.
“When I was working for the county, I’d go to dump grounds and get coffee tables and stuff that had pretty good wood and make them out of that.”
He has made 24 fiddles, one from cedar, another from mesquite. Most are from fine woods. He bought his first batch of good wood from a violinmaker in Abilene.
“I went over there when I retired from the county and asked if he would sell me wood to make a fiddle. He said, ‘naw I wouldn’t sell you wood to make just one fiddle, but I’ll sell you enough to make 10.’ So, I asked how much, and he said a thousand dollars. And that was just boards in the rough. But it was wood that you’re supposed to use.”
He says a fiddle has 52 parts. He makes all of them by hand from his wide selection of tools. He has sold only two of his fiddles. He put a price tag of $2,000 on each one. Both customers thought it was a bargain.
“I didn’t make them to sell. It’s just a hobby. I don’t know how to play one other than to just plink around on it.”
Robert has a bunch of granddaughters.
“I thought I’d give them as wedding presents. A handmade bow and fiddle in a case.”
He is quick to point out the difference between a violin and a fiddle.
“I make fiddles. They carry a violin in a case. They carry a fiddle in a gunny sack.”
