Books › Violin making and repairing, 1927 › scan 82
Scan 82
Violin making and repairing, 1927
8 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1turpentine" which is in appearance similar to water, for it is of very little use. A varnish-maker's or carriage-builder's establishment is the proper place to apply for this oil; the ordinary drysalters do not understand the fiddle-maker's requirements at all.
3Make two solutions (one red, the other yellow) by boiling on a water-bath half the quantity of the oil of turpentine containing the powdered gamboge, and the other half containing the alkanet root. Do not fill the inner receptacle to more than half its capacity, and use a roomy pan for the outside water-bath. It is as well to perform these operations in the open air, in case of fire, although a gas stove, carefully used, is quite safe. If an open fire is used, be careful to see that there is no blaze which might set fire to the vapour from the turpentine.
5When the colouring matter is firmly settled in the oil the mixture may be allowed to cool and should then be filtered. When the solutions are finally obtained clear and bright without any sediment or impurity, they should be bottled in coloured bottles (red glass) and labelled with the date of making and other particulars for future reference.
7The varnishes must now be prepared, and there are many different substances used for this purpose, including copal, mastic, dammar, amber and sandarach. Without going into the merits of these various substances, it may be stated that a good hard-wearing, yet elastic and transparent, varnish may be made from copal, or dammar, and mastic (copal preferred). It will be found in practice that copal is extremely hard
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