January 21, 1998
Music to his fingers
Garfield Township artisan crafts violins and cellos
Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
In a dusty corner of William Koucky's workshop, slabs of spruce and maple rest on top of each other in silence, their course grains waiting for a chance to sing.
For in the hands of this Garfield Township resident, the dead are truly brought back to life.
Koucky is a craftsman, a creator. Using chisel and gouge, glue and scraper, he transforms ordinary wood into extraordinary violins and cellos. His craft remains rooted in the handmade, "old world" traditions he was taught 14 years ago.
But his love for creating music can be traced back even further to Saginaw high school. "I knew I wanted to be a violin maker when I was a sophomore building instruments in shop class," said Koucky, who bought several violins at the time to tear them apart so he could rebuild them.
His first formal training, however, was not with the violin; it was with the guitar. Koucky said he studied for a year with a maker out in Seattle who taught him how to sharpen his first tools.
Shortly afterward, Koucky moved to Chicago where he found work in a violin shop. It was here that he made the decision to attend the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City, where he studied under a German violin maker for five years.
Koucky's music making resume is impressive, especially considering he graduated from Albion College with a degree in geology. It is also an interesting paradox that he spends hours shaping and carving an instrument he can hardly play.
"I'm a terrible player," admitted Koucky, who studied classic violin for 13 years but these days regards himself only as a "closet" player. "I can pick it up and play it, but I'm no artist - that's for sure."
While his bowing may lack artistry, Koucky knows how to create artwork. First there is the selection of the "canvas" of maple or spruce. Here, sound is crucial. A tight or loose grain pattern can create a variety of light and dark tones only appropriate for a cello or a violin.
As with any artist, the violin maker must have the right tools to create a masterpiece. Knives, chisels and gouges line drawers and cover his workbench, the majority of which took years to acquire because of their cost.
Koucky received one chisel he is particular fond of from a friend in high school. "It had a big chip in it that took me eight to 10 hours to grind out," he said. "But it's a beauty. I use it all the time."
During the course of carving an instrument from the inside out, Koucky will rely on a steady hand and a variety of scrapers. There is, however, one thing he will not touch: sandpaper. No matter how light the grit, sandpaper tends to muddy the finish under the varnish, Koucky said.
For Koucky, violin making remains a very hands-on profession. The use of machinery comes down to minutes in a 250-hour job. A joiner and hot glue will lock two pieces of wood. A band saw will cut a cello outline. The bending iron will shape violin ribs. Beyond that, the instrument is formed by education and intuition.
Koucky has used his training in chemistry and physics to create his own varnish "recipe." His schooling, six summers at the University of New Hampshire, also has made him a proficient bow maker, a craft not attempted by most violin makers.
When not crafting a violin or a cello, Koucky is performing repair work on one of the dozens of instruments scattered throughout the shop.
Some of the work is minor tuning and adjustments. Such was the case with Sharon Socia of Traverse City, who brought her son Matt's violin in to be repaired.
"I planned to pay him for his services, but he wouldn't charge me," said Socia, whose son plays in the West Senior High orchestra.
The patching and gluing is more of a service than a business for Koucky. The real money is made in selling. One of his violin handiworks can fetch upward of $8,000 while a cello can command a $20,000 asking price.
Despite the times when he feels "buried" in repair work, Koucky could not imagine his life differently. Just as he has shaped the instruments, they, too, have shaped Koucky and his family. His 7-year-old son Alex is taking violin lessons. Laura, 6, is the cello player in the family. And 1-year-old Luke has been known to bang the drums he got for Christmas. Even Dad will strum a few notes on his mandolin.
"I couldn't see my life any different than music," Koucky said. "It has absolutely shaped my life."