Handmade bows in the French tradition
Check out the video of the process at the end of this post! Sheets of sterling silver are marked out with calipers to slightly oversized dimensions. The flat section is measured out about 2 mm wider to give the ferrule tangs to allow handling with pliers. The final 1 mm or so of fitting the …
Recently I have had a couple of new customers wonder about how I determine hair length and quantity of hair for my rehairs. It seems so many people have different ideas and preferences to what the perfect length and quantity of hair might be. The truth is each individual bow has a very narrow range …
How often to rehair a bow is really a factor of the numbers of hours the hair has been used, the type of repertoire being played, and the number of exposures to climate changes. The grip of the hair and quality of sound deteriorate so gradually that it usually goes unperceived until the hair has …
It is extremely important to find a quality bow technician for your bow. Someone who is dedicated to maintaining the value, originality, and reliability of your equipment. Whether it is something as seemingly simple and routine as a rehair to a more involved tip plate replacement, it is important not to economize on quality work. …
Continue reading "The importance of finding a quality bow technician"
Today I'm bending the roughed out sticks. The throat is carved out behind the head and an even octagon with rough graduations are in the stick. I use a scraper plane and file plane to remove any remaining tool marks before bending as they can open up when working the stick. Using an alcohol lamp …
Violin bow no.7 I just completed violin bow no. 7, the stick is round pernambuco with ebony and silver mounts, weighing in at 61 grams. On this bow and Violin Bow no. 6 I decided to use silver for the tip plates. When executed correctly there is a negligible weight difference between the silver and bone/mammoth ivory …
This is the second installation of my two part post on shopping for an instrument, if you have not read Part 1, check it out. Begin with a small selection. A salesperson will set out two or three instruments for you and tell you who made them, their nationality, age, and condition. At first, this information …
Shopping for an instrument may feel like an overwhelming and deeply complex process. This article will hopefully demystify and break down the details of each step and clarify some of the more peculiar aspects of instruments. A quick search on the internet brings up several articles, gleaning over these one might be more lost than …
This gold mounted Pierre Simon violin bow needed a new tip plate, this is the replacement tip I did. The beak is super delicate but so pretty. The bow also needed a new gold winding and grip. Not cheap work but it came out real nice and the customer was super pleased. Maybe next time …
Here is the latest violin bow. The stick is round pernambuco with ebony and silver mounts, weighing 61.5 grams.
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