Books › The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871 › scan 168
Scan 168
The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1proportion of oil, and a solvent capable of dissolving both oil and resin, as spirits of turpentine, mineral naptha, &c., we will find that this varnish, on drying, will leave a slight film of the gum or resin, which can easily be removed by alcohol.
3As a proof of this, let the amateur try the following experiment:—Mix a small quantity of Venice turpentine with drying-oil, and boil the mixture for a short time, then dissolve the product in mineral naptha, when the result will be a beautiful golden-coloured varnish, that will give a good surface if applied sparingly, but will sink into the wood if used too thickly. This varnish, when dry, will be brought off immediately by pure alcohol. Mineral naptha dissolves most of the resins, unites in all proportions with strong alcohol, ether, and the essential oils, and extracts the colour from numerous roots and woods used as stains in varnishes. The disagreeable odour of this solvent soon vanishes by evaporation; and from being a natural product in Italy, may it not, with every reason, be supposed that this formed one of the chief solvents in the oil-varnish of the old Cremona makers. From certain experiments made with a varnish composed of oil and gums having naptha as a solvent, I found the tone of a new violin very perceptibly improved by the application of such varnish. I at first used one composed of the common gums, dissolved in alcohol, by which the tone was rendered harsh and grating; whereas upon the application of the first mentioned varnish, the volume of tone was not only increased in fulness, but a bland and sustained mellowness was combined
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