Age: 41

I have more than 20 years of experience as a luthier. I received accreditation through the luthier program at Red Wing Technical College in Red Wing, Minn., in 1987. The classes included training on hand and power tools, ebony work, violin varnish, bow repairs and bow re-hairing, violin repair, bridges and sound posts.

I've played music all of my life. I'm from Dodgeville and my parents brought me to Madison for music lessons. My instructor told me about the Red Wing college and I decided that being a luthier was what I wanted to be.

I built furniture and was a woodworker before opening my own business in 2002 in Madison Music. Because I needed more space, I moved to a shop along the Beltline. In the front of the shop is the violin shop where I along with my staff of four sell violins, violas, cellos and bows.

The back of the shop is the repair area where total restorations of stringed instruments are done.

My goal is to get instruments to play well. Weather changes make wood move around a lot and sometimes crack. I have to make the crack disappear by gluing it flush and as cleanly as possible and applying multiple coats of finish.

Finding an old violin at a garage sale and being able to put it back together and get it to play well can take a week or a month, depending on the detail of the repair.

I've worked on $20,000 to $30,000 violins and guitars valued up to $10,000 and I've re-haired $15,000 bows.

Many of my clients are from the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

I'm learning how to make bows and have been driving up to Hudson for the last four years to learn from an expert bow maker.

The mysteries of the bow appealed to me. Bows are made from pernambuco, a wood that comes from just one region in Brazil.

I use a French polish and hand-apply four coats. The wood darkens with sunlight. The bows are strung with Mongolian stallion horsehair of which I take a hank and cut about 100 to 150 hairs. It's very meticulous work, but it keeps the music playing.

What I Do invites people to tell in their own words what they do to make a living. The column runs every Tuesday. To suggest someone to feature, contact Jill Carlson at jillcarlson1957@gmail.com.