Books › Violin making, 1902 › scan 148
Scan 148
Violin making, 1902
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 90. See the scan on archive.org.
1But to what oil varnish is not my present purpose; why should I seek to close the door on research and on experiment? It is for you, students, to take home, each one of you, the lesson of the mighty failure of thousands gone before you, in inability to bring to a finish that upon which they have spent so many anxious hours, and do something different and better. It is my intention to teach you, step by step, how to lay on what you prepare for the brush: but not to say "get this or that oil," or "this or that colour," except in the abstract—red, orange, amber, yellow, etc., etc., being names only.
3I say this at once so that there may be no mistake—so that none can say I use this or that: my own varnish and colouring are my own solely, and I reserve the secret for the benefit of my family, should it prove of value after my career be ended.
5Fashion a piece of wood so that it fits easily into the hole at the end of the violin in which, later, the end pin is inserted. It must have a rough sort of handle, because by it you will hold the instrument when you have occasion otherwise than by the neck; for you must on no account touch the wood before you varnish, nor afterwards, with your hands, nor must you allow others to do so, when, in your pardonable pride of heart, you show your creation to your friends.
7With a clean sponge, wrung out of tepid water, and a camel hair brush for parts where the sponge will not be of service, go all over your violin, but do not wet it heavily—far from it; and when quite dry, on the slightly
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.