Part 7 (2/2)

I may observe that this gentleman had not the slightest commercial interest in steel bows.

I also came in contact once with an example of the opposite cla.s.s.

This gentleman had a little son who was in the habit of borrowing his father's violin bow surrept.i.tiously for the purpose of perfecting himself in the useful art of single stick practice. The inevitable happened, and when I saw the bow it was proudly exhibited to me as an example of what could be done with a little ingenuity. The two halves of the broken bow had been well glued together, two steel pen nibs had been placed so as to form a sort of metal tube to protect the fracture, and the whole was bound securely with strong silk. In its owner's estimation it was ”as good as ever, sir, as good as ever.”

I propose to state here briefly what can be done and what is advisable to have done in the way of bow-repairing.

If a bow is broken in the upper part of the stick it is just possible to splice on a new head and throat, but it is not worth doing, for the _cambre_ and balance of the original can never be reproduced. In the first place there is a different piece of wood which, however well matched, is bound to be sufficiently strange to disturb such a delicate instrument. And then the _cambre_ of the new piece has to be set before it is joined on to the old stick and thus it becomes impossible to make a satisfactory curve throughout.

To re-adjust the original head is not feasible, as the only joint that will stand the strain to which a bow is subjected is a long diagonal one extending for several inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 38.]

Splicing a new ”handle” (Fig. 38_d_) is, however, frequently done, and is often advisable. It occasionally happens that a valuable bow becomes so worn by the pressure of the fingers or thumb, or by the friction of the nut and screw, as to be beyond the reach of the more usual repairs. It then becomes necessary to subst.i.tute a new handle, and this can be done by skilful repairers as to make absolutely no difference to the balance of the stick. The joint is in this case also a diagonal one extending usually from near the upper extremity of the ”lapping” downwards for some four or five inches. It should be seen that the surfaces brought in contact in such a joint are so placed as to be perpendicular to the plane of the hair. Otherwise it cannot endure for any length of time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 39.]

Very often the original handle can be restored and made sound. Thus, when the screw hole becomes worn and the ”cup” (see Fig. 39, which shows the two ”cups,” that at the extremity of the stick and that in the ”tip”) broken, it is customary to drill out the hole, turn up a piece of well-seasoned bow wood in the lathe to the exact diameter of the enlarged hole, and glue it well in place. When thoroughly dry a new screw hole of the original dimensions can be drilled just as in making a new bow. Sometimes, when there are cracks in the handle, the trench has to be filled up and re-cut, as is also done to the head if it is cracked through the pressure of the plug (Fig. 40_a_). Repairs to the nut are also done when the nut is original, _i.e._, when it belongs to the bow and is of a distinguished maker. Old nuts frequently get cracked down the sides where they come in contact with the stick. In this case the worn part of the nut is cut away and new wood glued on and worked up to the original shape. I have seen a nut so restored by Mr. Tubbs in which it was absolutely impossible to discover where the new piece was joined on.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 40.]

With regard to the screw hole, it often becomes worn to an oval shape just above the trench owing to the screw being too short. This is frequently found in old French bows, even by the best makers, and causes the unsightly tilting of the tip. In Fig. 41 is shown a section of the nut and handle showing the action of the screw and the way the hair is inserted. The screw in this diagram is the exact length necessary to prevent the wearing away of the hole described above.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 41.]

Bow repairers are often perplexed as to their customers' meaning when sending instructions by post for the restoration of the ”tip,” as many people use this word to denote the extremity of the head (Fig.

40_d_).

This, however, is known to experts as the ”peak,” and the word ”tip”

is applied solely to the octagonal piece at the opposite end of the bow, by means of which the screw is turned and the tension of the hair regulated.

In some bows the octagonal portion, known as the handle (Fig. 38_d_) on which the nut travels has the lower face rather larger than the rest as in the section shown in Fig. 42. The object of this enlargement is to give the nut a broader surface to travel on and thus prevent the tendency to rock exhibited by some nuts. But, though there is some merit in the idea it has been found that the rocking can be avoided in a normal bow having the eight sides of the handle equal by extra care in fitting. And though the other pattern may be easier to fit in the first instance, the projecting sides of the nut that travel on the adjacent faces of the handle are very small and weak; consequently before long the nut shows longitudinal cracks at this part and becomes extremely rocky, though from a different cause.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 42.]

One of the most frequent repairs is the operation of re-facing. The handsome central gasalier of the modern room is a great enemy to the violin and seems to lie in wait for the peak of an unwary violinist's bow. Fortunately the damage is not very serious, and an experienced bow repairer will not be long in restoring the head to its original elegance of outline.

CHAPTER XII.

RE-LAPPING--RE-HAIRING--CHOICE OF ROSIN.

The lapping frequently wears out and becomes a source of great irritation until one has an opportunity of having it newly done. For this reason a lapping of leather is the most convenient and economical, but nothing looks better than a good quality of silver cord, and when it is bound with leather just where otherwise it would suffer from the pressure and friction of the thumb nail it is really very durable. Messrs. W. E. Hill and Sons have an extremely handsome speciality in the way of lapping. This consists of whalebone, sometimes bleached or dyed, and is practically indestructible. Bound on in alternate strands of different colours it has a very effective and neat appearance.

<script>