Mark Neukirchen Posted October 8, 2018 Report Posted October 8, 2018 I have the utmost respect for the incredible skill required to be a good bow maker, yet I’ve always wondered about one thing. With such careful hands and amazing attention to detail, why is it rather commonplace for the makers stamp to be crooked?
Nick Allen Posted October 8, 2018 Report Posted October 8, 2018 Or like it looks like the stamp was only pushed down on one side. I guess some of them have to look like they were built by human hands.
JoeDeF Posted October 8, 2018 Report Posted October 8, 2018 In many cases, don't blame the maker -- blame the eBay reseller who stamped the stick!
ClefLover Posted October 8, 2018 Report Posted October 8, 2018 Very great question... I had a similar concern awhile back but don’t think I found an answer.
Jim Bress Posted October 8, 2018 Report Posted October 8, 2018 I bought a violin bow that I commissioned from a well known bow maker last year. It’s a great bow and I love it. We’re friends so I teased him a little about the...um...less than perfect stamp. He just sighed and said “I hate stamps”.
AtlVcl Posted October 8, 2018 Report Posted October 8, 2018 8 hours ago, Jim Bress said: I bought a violin bow that I commissioned from a well known bow maker last year. It’s a great bow and I love it. We’re friends so I teased him a little about the...um...less than perfect stamp. He just sighed and said “I hate stamps”. Maybe it's harder than one would expect?
MeyerFittings Posted October 9, 2018 Report Posted October 9, 2018 Because the god damned thing is HOT, that's why!
glebert Posted October 9, 2018 Report Posted October 9, 2018 2 hours ago, MeyerFittings said: Because the god damned thing is HOT, that's why! Ha! Here I was thinking it was because of how hard you worked to make a beautiful looking and sounding piece that is perfect in its function and form and then you have to deface it in a way, but no, just that the iron is hot.
Barry J. Griffiths Posted October 9, 2018 Report Posted October 9, 2018 I've never stamped a bow in my life BUT I have fussed and farted over bridges for hours and then completely blown the stamping part of the puzzle. Too light, too dark, crooked, one sided; I've done them all.
JacksonMaberry Posted October 9, 2018 Report Posted October 9, 2018 12 hours ago, MeyerFittings said: Because the god damned thing is HOT, that's why! My first job in the trade was apprenticing with a bowmaker. This is the correct answer!
PASEWICZ Posted October 9, 2018 Report Posted October 9, 2018 The same reason you will see plane marks in the stick, and the pearl is slightly out of round.
MeyerFittings Posted October 10, 2018 Report Posted October 10, 2018 3 hours ago, Jerry Pasewicz said: The same reason you will see plane marks in the stick, and the pearl is slightly out of round. Won't see a lot of that in Cleveland. Might see a crooked stamp though
bengreen Posted October 10, 2018 Report Posted October 10, 2018 Answer lies in your question. Most bow makers would prefer those careful hands not be reduced to charred, smoking stumps. As mentioned previously: Branding iron... Hot!
glebert Posted October 10, 2018 Report Posted October 10, 2018 Someone needs to make stamps that will fit onto an electric woodburning iron.
bengreen Posted October 11, 2018 Report Posted October 11, 2018 Heat source isn't the issue. It would still be a stamp manipulated from a distance, i.e. at the end of a handle long enough to protect your fingers. Think of it like setting a neck. Unlike a cowboy aiming for the rump of a calf, the target facet for your branding iron is about 5-ish mm tall. You have x, y position to control (along the length, height of the facet), 3 rotation axes (slant to be parallel with the facet and 2 tilts so the depth of the impression is even top to bottom and from beginning to end of the lettering), as well as a z axis of how deep to go (how much pressure to exert and for how long). Then there there's the heat itself: not hot enough and you don't get much penetration, too hot and you burn a deep unwanted mortise into the side of the stick. The branding iron itself cuts off some of your view of the target and the whole schmear happens within about 2 seconds of contact with very little in the way of adjustment possible and no second chances. Are we having fun yet? I keep telling myself I'll build a guide jig to take some of the wobblies out of the process one of these days but never seem to get around to it.
ClefLover Posted October 11, 2018 Report Posted October 11, 2018 2 minutes ago, bengreen said: Heat source isn't the issue. It would still be a stamp manipulated from a distance, i.e. at the end of a handle long enough to protect your fingers. Think of it like setting a neck. Unlike a cowboy aiming for the rump of a calf, the target facet for your branding iron is about 5-ish mm tall. You have x, y position to control (along the length, height of the facet), 3 rotation axes (slant to be parallel with the facet and 2 tilts so the depth of the impression is even top to bottom and from beginning to end of the lettering), as well as a z axis of how deep to go (how much pressure to exert and for how long). Then there there's the heat itself: not hot enough and you don't get much penetration, too hot and you burn a deep unwanted mortise into the side of the stick. The branding iron itself cuts off some of your view of the target and the whole schmear happens within about 2 seconds of contact with very little in the way of adjustment possible and no second chances. Are we having fun yet? I keep telling myself I'll build a guide jig to take some of the wobblies out of the process one of these days but never seem to get around to it. Given this information, it’s hard to believe any stamp is ever straight!
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