Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-03-26
WHOLE NUMBER 1882.
THE BARREL FIDDLE.

LIE DAnhLH Il IlDDIU.
1T MAKES EXCELLENT MUSIC TO
CHARM THE YANKEE HEART.
Ingenious Scheme Of n New Eng
lander to Provide Himself with
an Instrument-FuilD Description
of the Novel Device Of II. II.
Heusted, n Nassachusetts Genius
He Made n First-Class Violin.
cello.
A fiddle made from an ordinary bar
rel and a few odd pieces of lumber has
just been constructed by a Massa-
chusetts genius, and, greatly to the
surprise of all, himself included, it is a
success.
III. III. Hcustcd is the name of this
entcrprlslng amateur instrument
maker, who, however, is no amateur
musician, but, on the contrary, q
violinist and cello player of no mean
order.
1t was the lack of Il cello which was
indirectly responsible for the produc-
ton of this unique instrument. AL
though an enthusiastic player, with
abundant time at his disposal, he had
no instrument with which he could
beguile the long and monotonous
hours of his work as assistant station
agent at Prospect Hill, East Somer-
vile, Mass.
The station is in the residential
portion of the city, and throughout
the day there are long hours when the
station agent has practically nothing
to do. He often thought of the
amusement to be derived from the
possession of a cello, and the more he
thought of it the more he wanted one.
So he finally decided to make one for
himself, and after much planning Sc
lected a barrel as the most promising
thing for the purpose.
The specimen chosen was what is
known as half barrel. 1t was of
elm wood, which from long standing
in the garret of the Heusted house
hold had become thoroughly seasoned.
In the middle, just between the hoops.
the cello maker cut an oblong OPEN
ing about four inches in length and
three in width. The barrel was then
scraped and sandpapered inside and
out, after which it was securely
headed up and treated to a double
coat of the best varnish. The body
was then complete, and after being
thoroughly dried was ready for the
finishing touches which were to trans.
form sugar barrel into a musical
instrument.
A small piece of black walnut was,
with very little work and a common
jackknife, converted into a tailpiece.
For the high bridge piece of we'll
seasoned spruce was used. The same
kind of wood was used in making the
finger board. The neck was made of
white pine, and the keys were whitfield
out of rock maple. These various
parts were then put together with
glue and securely fastened to the bar
rel in their proper places, after which
the whole affair was put away to dry
and "set" before having the strings
put in place.
| Mr.. Huested had to stand lot Of
good-natured joking from his many
friends while he was waiting for the
time to come when he could bring
forth his barrel cello and confound
the skeptic by producing sweet sounds
from this seemingly crude product of
brains and jackknife. No sick
child was ever watched with more
care. Every draft was excluded, and
the room in which the final drying
process was going on was always kept
at an even temperature. Finally,
however, the strings were put in place,
and the curious instrument was ready
for trial.
1t was with no little trepidation that
the creator of this odd-looking affair
brought it forth and drew the bow
across the strings. The sound pro-
duced was not at all unpleasant, and
after the strings had been properly
frightened the whole was found to be a
very respectable cello, upon which
could be executed almost anything
adapted to that instrument. When it
is played in connection with the violin
the music is very entertaining, and
Mr.. Heusted has no reason to be
ashamed of himself as a musical in
strument maker.
Ordinary cello strings are used on
this barrel fiddle, which is not half SO
ungainly rs one might imagine.
s>s