fiddleD125 Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 I would like to learn how to rehair my bows. Any suggestions as to what books to buy on the subject and what tools will be needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redd Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 theres a person on ebay who sells e-books on rehairing bows. His website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apartmentluthier Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 I purchased the "ebook" on bow rehairing from this seller. My opinion, and it is just that, is to save your money. Not a bad seller at all, I just didn't feel there was enough detail, especially on cambering and straightening. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 The Henry Strobel book, "A Violin Maker's Notebook" can be an okay place to start. Unless you're serious about wanting to learn how to rehair bows on regular basis, then it's certainly not worth the effort and expense if you only want to rehair the occasional bow. It will take over $100 worth of tools and supplies and literally dozens and dozens of rehairs to learn how to become proficient at it. In addition to the time and patience it takes to learn the skill, it's a job that many people develop their own method at. I've never seen two people do it exactly the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusic Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 there's also a good book by Henry Wake for Rehair & Repair of bows. I think I have a few left in stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougP Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 ctviolin on this forum has an excellent guide to rehairing bows. This in an info booklet, done on a copy machine, but it has a step by step guide to the rehair process with photos. It does not cover straightening bows, but it certainly shows you how to rehair. The price is very cheap considering the information in the booklet. I learned from it, even though I have been rehairing bows for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusic Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 yeah talk to craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfjk Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 Hi, I hope you have plenty of hair on! You will have a lot less by the time you learn to re-hair from a book! The best way to learn is to watch someone do it. Cheers Wolfjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusic Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 yup, or better yet, you can take Lynn Hannings' class at UNH in June...oops it's july now, well you can take it next year. Or, if you'll be in Ohio, check out Young Chin's class at the Oberlin workshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Tucker Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 The best way to learn is to watch someone do it. Cheers Wolfjk Absolutely. I'm working on a Rehair DVD as we speak. It's in the VHS stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Dorsey Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 I second the recommendation to take Lynn's class Many years ago, I tried to learn to rehair from Wake's book. It was endlessly frustrating and I got nowhere. It's a good thing that I didn't get my hands on any good bows, because there's a good chance I would have seriously damaged them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusic Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 a couple years ago when I was running PVLS, we started a bow rehair program for stores and individuals. It was quite a good idea, but the problem we had was making it profitable. Our bow rehair person was self-taught. He spent a week down at Andrew Glasser's shop in NY trying to learn a way to put a pre-cut hank of hair into a standard wood bow. Our idea was really to sell more hair, not to necessarily make a huge profit on the deal. The problem was, as he quickly found out, no two wood bows are alike...so having a standardized method of rehairing a bow, similar to what Glasser offers, for example, is next to impossible. It simply didn't work. In retrospect, if I were to do this again, I would use a different business model. I would hire an experienced rehair person who had taken one of Lynn's classes. My goal would be to provide a value-added service, as one of many repair services, and not just rehair and repair bows. After I left PVLS last october, I was contacted by a rehair person in Kansas who wanted to do something like this. But my biggest problem is cash flow. It's hard enough dealing with China as they expect to be pre-paid for everything. I've put the rehair repair service project on hold for the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddleD125 Posted August 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2005 Thanks for the advice. It is well taken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skreechee Posted August 3, 2005 Report Share Posted August 3, 2005 I just rehaired my first bow. I nearly had a heart attack with the stress of it and felt quite ill as a result. At the end, it had very little hair left on it as the hairs had come loose for some unknown reason. It is horrible trying to tie the second end and getting the hair to sit flat in frog so you can get the slide flush AGGHHHH!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Tucker Posted August 3, 2005 Report Share Posted August 3, 2005 The hair doesn't "sit flat" as much as it is forced flat by the spread wedge. That's why the frog should be foreward a bit (slightly loose) when you put the spread wedge in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB3 Posted August 3, 2005 Report Share Posted August 3, 2005 Craig, When do you expect to have that DVD ready? I want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenmckay Posted August 3, 2005 Report Share Posted August 3, 2005 Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oded Kishony Posted August 3, 2005 Report Share Posted August 3, 2005 I've had a number of students over the years and I find that teaching to rehair is one of the most difficult things to impart So many subtleties, like just how you tighten the knot, how you pinch the hair etc can make or break the final outcome. Oded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusic Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Yeah CT we want DVD, we want DVD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Tucker Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Craig, When do you expect to have that DVD ready? I want one." First, thanks for asking. It should not be too long now. I have approximately 3/4 of the VCR tape version already shot. It shows two live 'real time' wood bow rehairs, from start to finish, and a Glasser fiberglass bow rehair - just to give some idea of how the rehair should go, what the procedure is, and how long it should take. (Right now, I'm in the middle of reshooting all of the separate procedures close up and out of sequence just to clarify all of the difficult parts - like choosing how much hair to use, how to tie the knots - and deciding exactly where they should go, cutting and inserting the wedges, and flaming the hair - etc.) Plus, I finally bought myself a new computer last week, which should make the DVD burning part of the project much easier... I went from an old dinosaur AMD processor (475 Mhz and with only 6.9 GB of memory) to a new AMD based emachine with 80 GB and a built in DVD burner. It is amazing how cheap computers have gotten, and how much more power and speed they have. I'll try to get on it. Knowing me and with my scheduling problems, I'd guess at least another month or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB3 Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Any idea on the cost? If it will help any, I would be happy to pay in advance, just to help motivate you. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Tucker Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 I don't think I'm supposed to advertise here, so please PM me regarding that aspect of this project. Thanks, Craig T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusic Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Quote: I don't think I'm supposed to advertise here, It's not advertising really...it's a value-added service you are providing. I want one too. Can we do a trade (some hair for a DVD)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Quote: "Can we do a trade (some hair for a DVD)? " I'll take you up on that....and I only need 4 or 5 inch length. Sure worth A DVD in my book! But, not bleached white, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetmusic Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 I'm shocked! None of my hair is bleached...not now, not ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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