Books › An encyclopedia of the violin, 1925 › scan 125
Scan 125
An encyclopedia of the violin, 1925
24 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 101. See the scan on archive.org.
1CHAPTER V
3COLORS AND VARNISHES
5The old makers whose works serve as models for the violin builders of to-day mingled color with their varnish. Whether it be that their processes have not been handed down to us, or that the preparation which these varieties of varnish demanded has discouraged violin makers of the present time from employing them, the fact remains that but very few craftsmen use the color varnishes. They are, nevertheless, much to be preferred to those which are applied to the instruments, after the latter have been colored by painting.
7Since it is our wish to make this manual as comprehensively informative as possible, we will describe the two processes by giving receipts for the colors which are applied to the instruments before they have been varnished.
9COLORS USED BY THE VIOLIN MAKERS
11Black.—Black is used to color the nuts when, owing to reasons of economy, the maker does not care to employ ebony. Violin makers who manufacture cheap violins also use black to tint the tailpiece, the frets, the pegs, and, in short, all those parts which in choicer instruments are usually made of ebony.
13To obtain this black, one should boil 5 1/3 ounces of horse-chestnut wood in 1 5/8 quarts of water for three quarters of an hour. The vessel should then be removed from the fire, the color gently poured into a pan, and 14/15 of an ounce of ground copperas should be added to it while it is still warm.
15This color is applied by means of a brush to the parts which are to be blackened; they are then allowed to dry, and the operation is repeated until the black seems to have acquired the proper degree of consistency desired.
17It might be mentioned that the longer the coloring matter is allowed to boil, the finer is the black resulting from the operation.
19When the manipulation just described has been completed, the brush is also used to apply to the parts which have been tinted two layers of a composite which is prepared in the following manner, and which serves as a fixative for the color used.
21An earthenware pot is half filled with strong vinegar of the very best quality obtainable, and into this vinegar are thrown pieces of rusty iron, the rustier the better.
23The vinegar in the pot should rise about .117 inches above the fire, and the composition should be stirred frequently while boiling, and should be
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