James Beatley, Luthier

THE LOST HEIFER, by Austin Clarke.

When the black herds of the rain were grazing,
In the gap of the pure cold wind
And the watery hazes of the hazel
Brought her into my mind,
I thought of the last honey by the water
That no hive can find.

Brightness was drenching through the branches
When she wandered again,
Turning sliver out of dark grasses
Where the skylark had lain,
And her voice coming softly over the meadow
Was the mist becoming rain.                          

For those of you who have fond memories of that tattered tome ‘Soundings’, the above poem may arouse strong emotions. Ah yes, bored out of your tree listening to some old codger of an English teacher waffle on about the marvellous symbolism……..
Anyway, this feature is not about a trip down memory lane but we thought it was a nice opener as our featured maker, James Beatley, lives & works in the birthplace of Dublin poet Austin Clarke! Now, how’s that for a tie in!

After the long trek, on the search for Austin Clarke’s former home, we were welcomed by James and the very friendly (15 yr. Old) Scamp the dog. They welcomed us into the lovely front room, which is used to display the musical instruments that James both makes and sells. To the rear of this is his impeccably neat studio, full of tools, materials and plans used to create the violins, cellos and violas.
Before playing us a bit of a reel, James talked us through the methods and materials he uses to make the instruments. It takes him approximately 200 hours to make a violin, using maple or spruce, following a basic template, he cuts out the shape before bending, and shaping the wood and assembling the whole piece.  It is not only the type of wood that is important to the sound the instrument, but also the varnish that is used to coat the raw timber. James mixes his own varnishes. He showed us his collection of fossil resins that he grinds down, and mixes with linseed oil, turning it to a liquid consistency. This process takes quite some time and produces a lot of toxic fumes, so James only does it when needed, out in the back garden. He usually only makes one batch a year, over two days, which should cover at least 18 instruments.
The whole process involves so much detail, and takes such a long time that James only produces six instruments a year, one of those being a cello. The rest of the time he spends repairing instruments, and re-stringing bows (apparently the tail hair of a white Mongolian horse is the best).

James Beatley has been making instruments for 30 years. Mostly working to commission, James also welcomes callers by, but be sure to arrange an appointment first. To find out more, log onto his site: www.beatley.ie