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Mat Roop's Achievements

Enthusiast (5/5)
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Thanks Guys...I knew about the hide glue & glass... just did not connect it to this situation! I also like the thought that both glues are based on natural proteins, so they should be compatible. I will test some hide glue on the neck root & test... I am feeling more confident... Thanks guys! Mat
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Thanks Evan... only problem is that for testing I need to make some casein glue for testing and then I am not sure I can rely on it because my formulation might be different and the age of the glue may also have an effect. Really hoping someone with more actual experience will chime in. I may be tempted to try to remove the glue with morpholine... if I can get it.
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Mat Roop started following What music magazine do you read? , glueing over casein glue and Can rehair job having impact on sound?
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So, there is lots of info on casein glue but I can't seem to find the answer specifically on this...If the casein is just sliced off with a chisel close to the level of the wood... will hide glue stick the the remnants of the casein. problem.. a loose neck had been glued with casein, but the fit was not tight... needs to be disassembled cleaned and reglued... how much of the casein needs to be removed?
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Funny you should mention that.... I have a horse rancher client for whom I have rehaired several bows with hair from one of his favorites... a lot of extra work..,., cleaning and culling out the knurly ones. Finished product works out well though. ...Cheers! Mat
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Newfoundland you say!!.... an interesting tale from the "80s ... and Rufus does not need a chin rest!!
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Btw.. I am always more bothered by hair that is uneven in texture along its length.
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Thinner hair produces less noisy tone... Probably true to some extent. The question is relative.. how thick vs how thin and where is the sweet spot? I have had Fiddler's ask for rehair of their violin bow with heavy black hair, normally used for bass bows. Some like it some not so much.
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As I understand it, hair from a colder climate has more body than from a warm climate, and hair from a very warm climate like Florida or Mexico can be rather thin and silky. Perhaps in years gone by, more hair was locally sourced... so the quality was what it was... and that also depended partly on whether it was from a mare or stallion. Also, it is my understanding that hair that is labelled Siberian or Mongolian hair is not necessarily from those regions but rather it has become a statement of the quality of the hair resembling hair from those regions. After all, how would one prove whether or not a hank of hair comes from a specific region and then there is also the issue that there is good hair and poor hair from any region. So my position is that I rely on premium quality hair from a reputable supplier, and I cull any hairs with defects. My 2 cents worth! ... Mat
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also... to answer the question of broken hairs... If you feel each hair, you can feel some that have a coarser feel or have an uneven texture along the length. These lumps/ bumps/ thin spots create weak spots that will break easier. To reduce this probability, I closely check/feel the hairs before tying a knot. It is not unusual to cull out about 5 or 10 hairs out of each hank. Btw, I prefer the unbleached, Siberian Stallion hair over Mongolian. The hair is expensive, but relative to the full cost of the rehair, it is minimal and the best is the best!... Cheers!... Mat
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ok... here are pics... note that this is a new bow (does not look like great hair).. I do not have one on hand at the moment that I have rehaired : stretcher clamp.. ends are removed and reinserted in the reverse to create a stretching clamp. The pads are modified so that they do not touch any part of the bow except just under the hair band. clamp.pdf a few more pics ...Frog flat.pdf frog side.pdf tip flat.pdf tip side.pdf Edit...PS... not sure why the pics don't show...because they are pdf? ? but just down load and you can see them
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Keep in mind that I am self-taught and have developed some methods for rehairing that are a bit unorthodox. However, for me they work well and I'll give you the reasons. I have rehaired bows since the early 1990's When I rehair I do it dry and tie the knot using a constrictor knot. It is easy to tie and is very tight. The reason I do the rehair dry is that when you tie the knot with the hair wet your knot can be tight but when it dries it will be not so tight. ...And I like a tight knot. I have never had the hair slip out of the knot. Shrinking hair... First, in the early days I was told by some that you can't stretch hair only shrink it. Turns out that is true for much of the cheap hair but not true for quality hair. Good quality hair that I use, I can stretch probably 15 to 30%. Consequently, I use a method of stretching the hair in the bow and then shrinking the loose hair. When the bow is fully rehaired then I wet the hair and apply a stretcher clamp with the stretching pads modified so that they fit snugly directly under the hair at both the tip and the frog. Then when you expand the clamp there is no stress on the wood of the bow at all... Stretching the hair. Let sit to dry & then remove clamp. Now, we shrink. I could never understand how you can keep the flame off the hair that does not need stretching. Holding the bow horizontal, tap the end of the bow on your finger so that any loose hairs hang down. Lower these hairs onto an inverted clothes iron set at full temperature. As soon as the hair hits the hot iron, it shrinks and pops up in line with the others... Works like a charm. ... And that is my 2 cents worth!
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To properly rehair a bow is not simple nor easy. Look at your rehair... with the bow under tension, and with a good light source (ceiling light), look at the length of hair holding it so you can see individual hairs clearly from one end to the other, and see if there are any hairs crossing one another and confirm that all hairs must be perfectly parallel... it is very easy to slightly twist the knot when inserting into the mortice, which will cause hairs to run slightly diagonally across the width of the bow. Crossed hairs significantly reduces the performance. Next, with the hair tensioned, holding the bow horizontal first hair side up, then hairside down, begin to loosen the hair, and watch closely to see if some hairs are looser than others ( looser hairs will begin to wrinkle before others). All hairs should loosen at the same time. If not, you will need to shrink the long ones without shortening the short ones! btw, I do not use alcohol flame for shrinking hair... I find that you cannot control the flame to touch only the long hairs and not the short ones. Also, further to an earlier comment... the dark end of the hair is thinner than the white. Because the width of the hair band is narrower at the bow tip... you will want the whiter, thicker hair at the frog. The bow hair I use is the best quality that I can find... Siberian, stallion, unbleached, & double select ... be sure it comes from a reputable supplier.... it makes a big difference! My favourite comment from a new customer in response to my follow up was... " wonderful... the bow almost played by itself!"
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Thanks Sogo...My concern is Canada only!
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good idea!... thanks Brad... Mat
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I was very surprised to learn that Strings Magazine has a circulation of only 100 in Canada... and I am one of them, and I do enjoy reading it! But, for advertising, that is a pretty meager exposure. What publications do you and Canadian violinists and fiddlers read? what is your favourite?