Replies

1. 
   MyTacoma | Apr 05, 2004 11:42am | #1

   Wow, I'm impressed. How long did it take you to complete the instrument and why are you asking us plebes for suggestion?

2. 
   lostarrow | Apr 05, 2004 02:56pm | #2

   jacksa-

   There is an excellent article in the April issue of the "Smithsonian" magazine  that could be of interest to you titled "Song of the Pernambuco". A quote from the article states" A mantra holds that "it's better to have a fine bow and a medicore violin than a fine violin and a medicore bow". The finest bows are made of wood from Brazil's pernambuco tree.  This isn't a "how to make a bow" article.  It's about  why the major bow makers chose this wood to make their bows and the quality of sound achived from a bow of pernambuco.  It's a very interesting article on the history of bow making and why this tree is rapidly becoming extinct.

   Be not afraid of going slowly.  Be afraid only of standing still.   chinese proverb
3. 
   OneofmanyBobs | Apr 05, 2004 11:42pm | #3

   A good bow, not much chance.  Exceptionally difficult.  A stick with hair on it, sure.  Go for it.

   The only books I know that have good information on bow making are more expensive than a student-quality bow.  International Violin sells bow parts.  Cheapest possible combination of parts you can't easily make yourself (tip, ferrule, slide, screw, eyelet, winding and hair) will run you $20.  A cheap brazilwood blank is around $20.  Find a bow to copy rather than use plans.  None really published anyway.  You plane and scrape the stick to the approximate profile.  Cut the mortises.  Refine with scrapers until it flexes the way you like.  Heat it dry to bend it.  Finish, cut and fit the frog.  Glue the tip, put on the winding.  Make it weigh 76 grams or so including the hair.  By about your third try, you should have something that will be barely playable.  A pretty good blank piece of Pernambuco is in the $100 range.  A reasonable ready-made frog is $40.  About $200 in parts and materials alone to make a good bow.  Bow making is a high art.  At least as hard as making instruments and far less information available.

   Look in pawn shops or junk stores for old bows.  Get a couple worn-out junk bows and practice rehairing, putting on the winding and take apart to see how the mortises look.  Not so likely you'll find a cello bow.  Violin bows are 100 times more common.  A cheap toy Chinese bow is $20 retail.  A student fiberglass one is $30 to $50.  A fair-quality brazilwood bow is $200.  Fairly good ones start at $750.  Really good, $2K and up. 

1. 
   jacksa | Apr 06, 2004 11:31am | #6

   Gee thanks Bob.  But apart from the impediments you mention there is a lot of useful advice which I'll proceed to follow.

   Thanks again, Jacksa

1. 
   OneofmanyBobs | Apr 06, 2004 03:34pm | #7

   Its a difficult process.  More like sculpture than woodworking.  Not only does it need the right dimensions, but weight, balance, spring and aesthetics.  Plans only go so far.  The wood is variable.  A couple thousandths of an inch makes the difference between the right spring and expensive firewood.  Bows span the range from $10 to $10,000 and more.  They all look pretty much like bows. 

   Check out http://www.andreasgrutter.nl/book/p0_frame.html  .  An online book about making bows.  More on the "zen" of bowmaking rather than building, but free and still some useful dimensions and building information.  "The Bow" by Henry Saint George.  Now reprinted for around $25.  "Bows and Bowmakers"  by Retford.  Reprinted for around $45.  Available from International Violin I think.  "The Art of Bow Making"  By Joseph Kun and Joseph Regh.  About $285.  "Francois-Xavier Tourte Bow Maker" By Stewart Pollens and Henryk Kaston.  About $160.  "The Bow" by Lucchi.  On CDROM.  Only about $35 but can only be ordered from Italy so far as I know.  http://www.lucchi-n-sons.com 

   For supplies, http://www.bowworks.com  or International Violin. BowWorks has blanks starting at $5.  You'll need a few (or many) for practice.  The good ones are $100.  Have fun.

1. 
   jacksa | Apr 06, 2004 04:51pm | #8

   Thanks friends for your help. Maybe I'll stick to making cellos! Doggone hard work but wonderfully rewarding.   Roger and out.

4. 
   gpasewicz | Apr 05, 2004 11:46pm | #4

   My cousin is a luthier in NYC.  His specialty is bows.  Apparently he works on Yo Yo Ma's bows.  I haven't spoken to him for years.

1. 
   jacksa | Apr 06, 2004 11:25am | #5

   Well, gj13, here's an opportunity for you to recover a valued family friendship and get some information for a fellow craftsman!  Ask the guy where I can get plans for a good cello bow....And thanks to both of you....Jacksa

5. 
   VeniciaL | Apr 06, 2004 07:06pm | #9

   My goodness,

   A person can spend a lifetime in woodworking without having contact or even knowledge of some special, fascinating nook (cranny) of this craft.

   I'm soon going to embark on the construction of a guitar. But I can't imagine that I coud ever in my lifetime even contemplate the making of a cello. And now my universe has been broadened with the knowledge that bow making is an even more demanding art. Where on earth does one obtain the horse hair? (Is it really horse hair?)

   (And until now, I thought expertise with French polishing was something special. How droll.)

   Thanks for the enlightenment this question has provided. Good luck with your work.

   VL

1. 
   OneofmanyBobs | Apr 07, 2004 12:25am | #10

   Its really hair from a horse.  The tail, obviously.  From a stallion and not a mare, not so obviously.  Carefully washed, combed, sorted.  Bleached for the cheaper grades.  Natural white for the better quality.  Mixed so about half the hair has the root end at the bow tip and half has the root at the bow frog.  There are synthetics, but they don't work well.  The better stuff comes from Mongolia these days.  Violin making suppliers sell it.  Enough for one bow, $5 to $25.  A couple hundred dollars a pound if you do a lot of bows. 

   Yes, it is one of the more obscure niches in woodworking.  Anybody can run down to Home depot and get some boards and build a picnic table.  Not so when it comes to bows.   Or guitars for that matter.  Although I did see one built out of toothpics once.

6. 
   jackiechan | Apr 07, 2004 04:53am | #11

   J',

   Stewart Macdonald has parts and kits for fabricating bows.  Their customer service is excellent.

   http://www.stewmac.com

   Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.