restoring bow

[Michael Holden]

Yea I need to fix the mortise.I was more curious about the type of wood the bow is. Maybe giving it a lighter finish?

[Bob Branstetter]

I notice that the frog ferrule does not appear in any of the photos. If you don't have the original, have you located a ferrule that fits that frog? Also - Have you looked into the price of gold wire for bow wrapping? The only times I can recall using gold wire was for the replacement of the windings on a pair of gold mounted tortoise shell bows. Needless to say, the owner of the bows kept the old gold wire. IMO, gold wrapping looks totally out of place unless the bow also sports a gold ferrule and gold bow screw. A gold bow tip is not uncommon on gold mounted bows.

[Michael Holden]

I do have the ferrule I'm replacing it though. The ferrule was on so tight it took 1 hour for me to take it off, which in turn had me scratch it. I've decided I'm just going to rehair it, replace it with quality parts, and just sell it for the cost of the parts I put into it. I think I'm just going build my personal bow from scratch.

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Michael Holden

I think I'm just going build my personal bow from scratch.

I tried that a coupe of times and the end result was bows that looked bad and played even worse. IMO, it takes far more skill to make a good bow than to make a violin. I truly admire good bow makers.