Aspects of Bowmaking, Pt. 1

Pernambuco wood from the coastal mountains of Brazil. The best bows are always made from it. Through persistence and good fortune, John has assembled a substantial supply of prime seasoned material, which rivals the beauty and dynamic tonal properties of that used by the great French masters. An increasingly scarce commodity, his wood was responsibly and legally derived from "salvaged" resources, such as railroad ties, fence posts, and downed timber from the forest floor. Many of his sticks are over 75 years old! A strict new international law was put in place in 2002 prohibiting regular export of pernambuco from Brazil. This will only contribute to the scarcity of this precious wood.

Measuring the "Lucchi," the velocity at which sound travels through the stick. Alas, only a very small percentage of wood is suitable for making a concert quality bow. A faster stick reading usually indicates a fuller richer sound and a more nimble technical response. John always works with wood of uncompromising quality. Violin bows mostly possess a "Lucchi" of more than 5600 meters/second. Wood selection makes a vital difference in the quality of the final bow.

Floating the sticks in salt water solutions of different known densities to determine the density of each stick. Density has notable effect on tone and the ability to complete a bow of desired weight and balance.

Laying out the tip outline with a template, getting ready to saw out shape.

Tip profile is in place. Starting to rough out the stick into its initial octagon shape. Those long shiny shavings indicate that the wood quality is first class.

Heating up a 3 inch section on the roughed out stick, getting ready to apply camber (curve) to the stick with a heat gun. This gun kicks out over 1,000 F.

Bending a small section of the stick, patiently advancing down away from the tip, until the bow is lined up and camber is even. About 1 out of 7 sticks either break or have some other fatal flaw forcing it to be abandoned (i.e. thrown in the trash). This is usually a good time to take a walk.

Using an "old school" bowmaker's drill (foret) to drill the hole for the screw. With practice, this device can be remarkably accurate.

The mammoth ivory plaque and a thin ebony veneer has been glued onto the tip. John is preliminarily sculpting the head to its final dimensions. Yes, John's tips are fashioned from the tusks of deceased 10,000 year old mammoths!

Measure, measure, measure. John aims for a final graduation (taper in the stick) finished to an accuracy closer than 0.15 of a millimeter, the thickness of a sheet of copy paper. In bowmaking, precision is indispensable and it pays off.

Rounding the bow. The bowmaker first works the stick into an octagon shape to meticulously control the dimensions.

"Still Life -- With Shavings!"

Getting closer. Again, working like a sculptor, just taking away the material that doesn't need to be there.