Books › The violin, how to make it, 1880 › scan 127
Scan 127
The violin, how to make it, 1880
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 121. See the scan on archive.org.
1should balance at 6 3/4 in. from the nut, the stick being proportionally larger, having a length varying from 24 to 25 inches. In the Violin-bow, the finest white hair is employed, after being carefully assorted and cleansed. The best bows ought to have a uniform curvature, and this regulated in such a manner that the exact centre of the bow, between the head and nut, ought to be the portion of the bend which approaches nearest to the hair. The number of hairs contained in the Violin-bow varies according to their size, but the mean number is about 150. The woods principally used in the manufacture of bows are Brazil or Pernambuco wood, snakewood, logwood, ironwood, horsewood, mahogany, beech, etc., whilst the nut is formed of ebony or ivory. Amongst the preceding woods none is found to give the required results equal to Brazilwood, from which all our finest bows are now formed. There are several varieties of this wood, named after the places of their growth, viz., Pernambuco, Sapan, Santa-Martha, Lamon, Japan, etc. By some it is affirmed that this wood gave the name to the country in which it principally grows—Brazil; and the Portuguese made it a source of vast and royal revenue, hence it was at one time termed Queenwood. It commonly grows in dry, barren, and rocky places, and the trunk of the tree is of large dimensions, crooked, knotty, and full of cracks. The flowers of this tree are of a beautiful red color, and possess an agreeable aromatic smell, which stimulates the brain, and the branches are slender and full of many prickles. The bark is exceedingly thick, whilst none of this species of wood contains pith, except the Japan variety. The wood is hard, and, when newly cut, of a yellow color, which becomes red on exposure to the air. It may be distinguished from logwood by its paler color, and for surety the inexperienced amateur may apply the following test:—Boil a small quantity of the chips in water, filter, and when cold, add a few drops of a solution of acetate of lead, protochloride of tin, or lime-water, when if the precipitate is crimson, it is Brazilwood—and if violet, then it is logwood.
3Brazilwood is extensively used in dyeing, and is generally exported in bundles, from which the finest pieces are selected by the bowmaker, but those, like angels' visits, are "few and far between," as the wood naturally possessing so many blemishes and inequalities, few faultless pieces
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