Austin-based Tom Ellis is one of the world's most respected mandolin makers. On this week's podcast, we talk to him about how he got his start building instruments, the fateful day he showed Ricky Skaggs his second-ever mandolin and about the inlay work he does at Precision Pearl, Inc. today. We also chat about how Tom shared his shop with Bill Collings in the early '80s, talk about torrefied wood, discuss the merits of using CNCs in a high-end build and a lot more. This episode is brought to you by Lee Valley and Retrofret.