Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 156
Scan 156
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
22 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 130. See the scan on archive.org.
1The wood is then once more dressed with the plane, and the operation repeated until the work is finished.
3When the sticks have thus been cut out into rough forms, they should be trimmed down, following the outlines of the model.
5A large steel plane should be taken, and that side of the stick which shows the marks of the circular saw should first be planed smooth.
7Then one should begin to plane the sticks toward one end, holding them by the head with the left hand, and resting the body of the stick on the workbench in order that the plane may be guided in the desired direction.
9In this manner the two sides are first planed, great care being taken to look at them frequently, and to note whether, beginning at the end of the stick, its back is in straight alignment with the top of the head. When the two slides have been properly trimmed, and their thickness properly diminished in proportion as the head is approached, the back and belly of the stick should be trimmed, taking care to make the four faces form a perfect square, whose back or under side, once properly aligned with the head of the stick, will serve as a foundation for the work which remains to be done.
11This accomplished, one must endeavor to place the end of the stick in the gauge (Fig. 4, Plate 38), in order to know exactly whether or not it has the right degree of thickness, and then plane down the four faces until this degree of thickness has been obtained.
13The same gauge should be used for the middle and for the end which is near the head of the stick, in order to supply the necessary thickness. The bow must in this instance be taken in the left hand at its lower extremity, and should be planed, pushing the plane somewhat obliquely toward the head of the bow, thus giving it the three dimensions of thickness indicated by the gauge, while at the same time seeing to it that the square form of the stick is preserved.
15The knife is then taken in hand, and any excess of thickness is carefully removed on each side of the head of the stick, without however, cutting away more wood on one side than on the other.
17The next thing to do is to prepare the piece of ivory which embellishes the tip of the head, and which is known as the plate (Figure 5, Plate 38).
19In order to give the ivory plate the form it should have the following process should be observed:
21After cutting out a piece of ivory about 3 millimeters (about 1/8") thick with the circular saw, its other dimensions being in conformity, a piece of wood is clamped in the vise upon which the plate is rested, and it is filed until it has assumed the curved form necessary for the upper face of the head, leaving a small elevation which rises above the front of the head. Then the plate should be fitted to the head, and should be filed until it adjusts itself perfectly. It is then glued fast to the bow head, is tightened by means of a band, and left to dry.
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