Books › The varnishes of the Italian violin-makers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their influence on tone;, 1904 › scan 53
Scan 53
The varnishes of the Italian violin-makers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their influence on tone;, 1904
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1"because by penetrating them, it gives them more consistence. I think, on the contrary, that for violins of which the tables are thick, a better varnish is that which permeates less into the wood and which leaves it all its natural qualities. That of lac dissolved to saturation in rectified spirit of wine of 34 or 36 degrees has appeared to me very suitable; it dries promptly and is not liable to scale off." Speaking of colours, such as saffron and arnatto, he says:—"It appears that they have a bad effect on the wood, and contribute to make the sound piercing or shrill (aigre); lac varnish gives a very beautiful tint, to which one might hold oneself (à laquelle on pourrait se tenir), and which has no bad effect whatever."
3M. Mailand thinks M. Savart's remarks as to the different treatment of thin and thick tables illogical.
5The question of choice of vehicle is of paramount importance. It is obviously useless to possess a suitable resin if it simply remains on the surface of the wood, as it would do in the spirit varnish which M. Savart proposes; if lac were soluble in oil of turpentine the position would be changed. The strong affinity which most woods possess for this latter vehicle is remarkable (not very easy to understand). The absorption of alcohol and water by wood is neither very rapid nor complete; but if a section of wood be dropped into oil of turpentine, saturation appears to be instantaneous; the wood at once becomes diaphanous, which is not the case when it has been immersed in the two other fluids for some time. Duration of evaporation is an equally important factor; alcohol leaves resin so speedily that,
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