A Berkeley acupuncturist is gaining a name for himself as a maker of some of the best modern violins available today. Peter Van Arsdale’s secret is the wood he uses – found timbers salvaged from the icy waters of Lake Superior. “Cut from logs that sank maybe two centuries ago as they were being floated to frontier settlements, the wood — rot-free because there’s almost no oxygen in the cold waters where it was preserved — has a richness and density rare in younger timber.” He also sees a connection between his two professions: “Acupuncture works with vibrational energy, and violins are nothing but vibrational energy.”