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Article posted: 6/22/2012 9:49 AM

Moving Picture: Buffalo Grove man crafts instruments

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Two pieces of wood are glued together to form the backing, the beginnings of a violin.

Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Bill Hoffmann talks to his wife on the phone. He hopes that his twin boys will someday take over his business, Hoffmann Strings.

Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Violin maker Bill Hoffmann never liked practicing his violin as a kid. He preferred to take them apart and put them back together.

Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Gallery Image

Chunks of wood fly as a new violin begins to take shape.

Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Hoffmann polishes up his most recent creation.

Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Hoffmann hopes to make two or three violins this year. While being a master craftsman, his main business remains rentals and repairs.

Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

About this Article

"When you apply the varnish to the instrument and string it up, it's a magical moment," says Buffalo Grove's Bill Hoffman, a luthier, or maker of stringed instruments, who, has a child growing up in Glenview, preferred to take his violin apart rather than practice it.