Ivory Bow Tip Replacement

[Glenn P]

I do violin and bow repairs and am about to do my first bow tip. I've been a piano tuner/rebuilder for decades and have a collection of ivory keytops that I have saved over the years. Thinking of using this 100 year old material for bow tip plates. Probably for my own bows but possibly for others locally that will never be taking bows across any border. I am in Canada. Any thoughts??  Thank you!

[Woodland]

I know others have used piano ivory for bow tips in the past, but you'd have join two pieces together more or less on the perpendicular to have an ivory tip that would protect the tip and face of the head, as piano ivory typically isn't thick enough for bow tips. I used to use mammoth, as you could get thicker pieces cut into tip blanks, but my home state of Illinois has banned sale of any type of ivory and I now use synthetics.

[M Alpert]

I agree with @Woodland, although doable, it doesn't seem desirable to make 2-piece tips. Or to use material that could be seen as problematic, even if it is old and recycled, when there are other good alternatives.

I have tried a lot of different materials. I think these days the synthetics are more durable and easy to work, so I don't see the allure of ivory any more.

Tip Shield and Elforyn are my favorites, in that order.

But sure, you could...

[Brad Dorsey]

I have installed hundreds of bow tips, all of various standard white materials.  I have some old ivory piano key facings, but I have never tried using them for bow tips.  I don’t think that they are useful for this purpose, because they don’t have the necessary thickness to go around the far end of the bow head.  It would probably be possible to laminate enough small bits of key facings together, and then glue all of them onto a bigger piece that would be glued onto the bow head face, but I think all the glue lines would be visible, which would give the finished tip a strange appearance that would not be acceptable on a fine bow.

But, since this is your first bow tip, it might be worth doing as I described as practice, and as a way to use the key facings that you probably have no other use for.

I hope you are not attempting to fit your first tip to a good bow.  I find the final trimming of bow tips to be the most exacting of all the work that I do on bows or instruments.  In retrospect, I think I should have done a couple of dozen tips on lesser bows before doing one on that Albert Nurnberger.

[violinsRus]

1 hour ago, Brad Dorsey said:

I think I should have done a couple of dozen tips on lesser bows before doing one on that Albert Nurnberger.

I second that thought!  No fun to find knife marks or file marks where it was a perfect face before.  :-(

[Glenn P]

Thank you everyone for your valuable input and guidance. I had thought about the thickness and laminated glue lines etc. but perhaps needed to hear the voices of reason Lol! Will probably stop trying to reinvent the wheel and check out some synthetics as suggested by M Alpert... thanks for the suggested materials... Thanks for the tip Brad(no pun intended) re practicing before attempting a fine bow. I have about 30 bows hanging in my shop to which I plan to do everything you can do to a bow on each of them. Re-hairing is coming nicely and anxious to explore the many other fascinating aspects of violin and bow repair.

Thanks again to everyone! Very generous of you all to share your time!