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Scan 161
An encyclopedia of the violin
18 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 133. See the scan on archive.org.
1The heel end of the nut is that part of it which, beginning behind the hairs, rejoins the stick.
3All this should be done in such a manner that the upper and lower surfaces of the nut remain perfectly level and flat.
5On that part of the nut which is to hold the hairs, there is then traced the sliding plate which is to enclose the hairs, and which is covered with a layer of mother-of-pearl closed by the band. This is the name given the half-oval piece of silver which is fitted on the front end of the nut.
7The nut is then rested against the workbench, and held in the left hand, unless it be found preferable to clamp it in the jaws of the vise, in which case it should be guarded against pressure, by two pieces of soft wood intercalated between it and each jaw of the vise. A chisel should then be taken, one that seems best adapted to the purpose, and, little by little, following the two lines of the sliding plate, enough wood is dug out to form the groove or hollow which the hairs are to occupy, as shown in Figure 7, Plate 15, letters A to B. The two small angles AA of the same Figure are then made along the whole length of the sliding plate, and the silver leaf which ornaments the plate of the nut should be put in place, beginning by tracing the outline of the place it is to occupy, and then removing from the nut as much wood as the thickness of the silver calls for. Once the silver plate is in position and perfectly adjusted, it is held in place by two small silver nails made of a piece of silver wire, whose heads are driven in with blows of a hammer.
9The two small angles AA, of Figure 7, Plate 38, A, are meant to receive a plate.
11This plate is a small piece of ebony on which a sheathing of mother-of-pearl has been glued. These two pieces which form one unit, slide into place into two angles AA, and hide the hairs wherever they rest upon the nut.
13This plate is affixed to the end of the nut, which looks in the direction of the bow head through a silver ring whose form is shown in Figure 8, Plate 38, B. Below the end of the nut a notch is made which, being proportionate to the thickness of the bow, makes it possible for the latter to remain level with the ebony.
15When all this has been done, attention must be given to the slide, which should be mounted on the base of the stick, thus hiding the wedge box, and adapt itself to the three panels of the belly of the stick with such exactness that the nut cannot possibly become loosened.
17To attain this end, the nut, as before, must be clamped in the vise, and, using small chisels, the slide must be given the form shown in Figure 7, Plate 38 and X. In order to carry out this task successfully, it should be done little by little, and the slide must be frequently tested along the stick of the bow in order that a perfect fit may be developed. One must also be very careful not to touch the two angles which form the cheeks of the nut with the slide, for if this be done, the nut, no longer having the required height,
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