A few years ago, Dupuytren's contracture in my left hand stopped my violin playing. Luckily, guitar and fiddle playing had prepared me for the mandolin. Half hour on a borrowed mandolin, and I was playing dance tunes up to speed—instant gratification on a musical instrument!

I decided to build my own mandolin and measured many fine ones. After a year's research, I began developing models with an eye towards building mandolins to the quality of fine violins.

I currently build two models and plan a total of four, with names inspired by the ancients' four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. The images below link to photo essays of my first two models, Fire and Wind (inspired by the element air).