Husbands and wives often banter throughout marriages, pointing out each other’s little imperfections or flaws.
When Springfield Township’s Tom DeLuca asks his wife Kay to critique his work, it helps.
DeLuca, a master violin maker, has built violins, cellos and violas for over 20 years; and uses Kay’s sharp musical ear to produce instruments with fine tonal quality.
Kay’s expertise allows her to listen and point out flaws in the sound. She has gained her ear as principal violist of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, teaching strings in Farmington Public Schools for 34 years, and offering music lessons out of her home.
‘When I finish an instrument, Kay stands on one side of the room, bows the instrument and listens to it. We critique it and then I make adjustments to bring out tonal quality,? said DeLuca. ‘I have an advantage having her as a player because it sounds different at a distance than under the ear.?
Their efforts and instruments have filled the workshop walls with plaques and honors. In fact, one of DeLuca’s violas took a silver medal at the Violin Makers Association of Arizona International’s annual competition this past October.
Over the years, DeLuca estimates he handcrafted over 75 instruments, requiring extreme patience.
‘There’s nothing casual about this. Everything has a bearing on how the instrument sounds,? said DeLuca.
‘What distinguishes a good handmade instrument from a factory-made instrument is the production line plates aren’t tuned. In a good handmade instrument, the top plate is tuned and that determines the sound quality.?
DeLuca typically spends between three months to a year on an instrument.
‘The quickest I’ve ever made an instrument was (a violin) in three months. Cellos take much longer, about nine months to a year,? said DeLuca.
The woodworking process is relatively short in comparison to the time spent varnishing. Adding varnish often includes six or seven coats that must dry for about a week each.
While most of his instruments can be completed in a year, DeLuca spent 12 years struggling to build a harpsichord. The difficulty of the instrument caused him to step away from the project for a few years, before he finally completed the instrument that now rests in his home.
To a casual observer, the piles of wood and wood planks resting on shelves and against walls may appear insignificant, but to DeLuca they are future instruments, many of them with patterns drawn on them.
‘I didn’t want to make cellos anymore (because of how long they take to make), but I fell in love with a piece of wood,? said DeLuca. ‘Wood patterns add to the style and appearance of an instrument. It has to have good tonal quality, but the wood’s artistry adds to the look.
‘The back, ribs, neck (including scroll) come from the same piece of wood, usually maple. The belly (top plate) is spruce and that’s where the tone comes from,? explained DeLuca. ‘Spruce is the most tonally pronounced wood there is.?
DeLuca often gets his wood from mills that specialize in tonewood, which is produced by taking the wood from a tree in a certain way.
‘I’ll go through a stack of tonewood and pick certain pieces for the quality I want,? said DeLuca.
As people realize he makes violins, DeLuca is often asked the difference between violins and fiddles.
‘Fiddle is another term for violin, not a different kind of instrument. Fiddling refers to a nonclassical type of music, while the violin usually refers to classical playing,? said DeLuca.
DeLuca can play several instruments, including the violin, but modestly says the sound is not too pleasant for the ears. He purchased a violin from a pawn shop after playing the mandolin and accordion as a youth, but says he was never able to master the instrument.
In addition to playing several instruments, DeLuca started handcrafting violins when Kay approached him over 20 years ago.
‘Years ago my wife came to me with a fiddle that needed repair and I figured I could do it because I was a woodworker. I went to the library and got some books and figured out I couldn’t do it,? laughed DeLuca.
Later, DeLuca decided to pursue an apprenticeship after reading a newspaper article about Master Violin maker Benjamin Harrison, deaf from World War II, who lived in Berkley. Initially, Harrison refused several requests from DeLuca to teach him the craft, so DeLuca went on to purchase the supplies and tools he needed anyway.
‘One day (Harrison) said, ‘If I’m not teaching you, no one will.? I took a five-year apprenticeship with him. He was just testing how committed I was,? recalled DeLuca, agreeing now after years in the craft that only dedicated candidates should delve into making instruments in the violin family. ‘I’ve had people approach me and I understand why.?
The apprenticeship, starting in 1985, led to the founding of the Michigan Violins Makers Association in the late 1980’s, when Harrison gathered many violin makers to teach DeLuca.
The teaching environment paid off and DeLuca’s career as a master violin maker is consistently recognized at the Violin Makers Association of Arizona International’s annual competition. He served on the VMAAI board of directors for three years, president for three years and is still an active member.
The DeLucas, married for 17 years, met while Tom worked as a sailing instructor in Detroit. Kay needed an apartment and wanted to take sailing lessons.
‘When we met, I had purchased a sailboat and wanted to learn how to sail. Tom bought a violin and wanted to play,? remembered Kay. ‘I learned better how to sail than he did the violin,? she laughed.
The DeLucas share their home in Springfield Township with ‘Tony,? an 18-year-old cat named for the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivari. The couple spends time sailing, skiing and biking.