Cambering

Just a few notes from my cambering effort today - it's going pretty well and I didn't snap the stick yet (unlike my last attempt!) Go slow, make sure the wood is heated all the way thorugh to the point where I almost have to say "ouch" if I touch it right away, and make sure I'm keeping the stick straight/true while adding the camber.

I press the hot stick against the camber form for about one minute or until the "kiss test" (lightly touching it with my lip or cheek) tells me that it is no longer hot enough to remind me of kissing my wife! That's when it's ready to be released and examined by sighting down the stick.

So far, the camber is developing, the stick is still true, and it's still in one piece!

The Pilgrim's Progress

Keep a Journal!

Because I am going to be on a steep learning curve for a long time, I've decided to keep a blog-journal of my ideas, sources, mistakes, etc. Hopefully, by referring back to this journal, I can avoid making the same mistakes more than twice!

I've got a little bit of backtracking to do, since I've been working on my first bow for the past 3 weeks or so. I cut two bow blanks out of a Bubinga plank (leftover from a previous papersculpture commission). The jigsaw left some pretty rough, uneven surfaces, so I purchased a 6.5" block plane to smooth out the blanks. They are labeled "A" (better, more uniform thickness, straighter grain) and "B" (less so than A).Starting with the B blank, I planed, sanded cut, scraped, filed and eventually arrived at a shape similar in dimensions to Kristin's Erich Steiner bow. Necessary tool purchases: needle file set, rough files (flat and half-round), carving knives, digital caliper, and a heavy duty vise.

Jim from the Student String Shop in Fairport invited me to his shop. He examined my work, said it was pretty good but needed thinning, and then loaned me his heat gun for cambering. Last night, after sanding and thinning the stick down to the correct proportions, I attempted to camber it and cracked the stick. Talk about instantaneous disappointment! But Kristin has sooo much patience that instead of being sad that I broke her Christmas present, she cheerfully suggested I call it a great learning experience and move on to my next bow -- as a birthday present!

What can I say? I'm the luckiest guy in the world!

Christmas Idea

A few weeks ago, Kristin and I were taking about Christmas gifts for each other. I wasn't having much luck until she suggested that I make her a violin bow. That would mean a custom bow for her to play with, and new tools for me to play with. The idea was born...