Here are a couple of pictures of my first fiddle, still in the white.
I am busy preparing a propolis ground, which will take a few weeks or more to complete. After applying the ground I still have to varnish the instrument. That will take several coats with at least a week to dry for each one.
The fiddle sounds really nice now. I spent about ten days in Vermont, in a rural area, and had the pleasure of playing outdoors almost every day. I played as loud as I could, just to see what it would sound like. It's fun to wail away without concern about disturbing anyone. After a week or so it began to sound more resonant even when I played it quietly. It was about seven months old and I though it was broken in, but the loud playing seems to have further improved the tone.
It is not a good idea to play an instrument in the white for so long, since oils from the skin discolor the wood a bit. In this case there is still wood to be removed on the neck, and the edges need rounding, and finally, it's MY fiddle, and I'm not planning to part with it, so if a few marks show it won't bother me.
The next fiddle will be varnished sooner. I already know how to do certain operations, and unless it is unusually good sounding I will not be tempted to play it so much before finishing it. Besides, I now know how long it takes to prepare the ground from raw materials, so I will be ready.