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Post by maaltan on Jun 5, 2006 16:58:18 GMT
I noticed the bottom of my bow is CAKED with a black sticky substance. I decided to wash the bow using baby shampoo (the mildest surfactant I could think of. That just made the sticky gunk mad and I ended up having to dissolve it with rubbing alcohol.
Alcohol is drying to the hair i know.
My question is, Is there any more aggressive surfacants that I can use on the hair? I guess i can go find some horse shampoo and see what it does.
after gently scrubbing with a toothbrush soaked in alco, it finally came off. I dried the bow, rerosined, and it sounds SO much better.
I think the gunk was a combination of resin and the finish on my erhu (i wouldn't doubt if it was black shoe polish.
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Post by paulv on Jun 5, 2006 18:18:15 GMT
maaltan,
Be careful washing your bow -- I messed mine up to a point where it wasn't usable anymore. Use the baby shampoo or a very mild, liquid dishwasher detergent. Try and not use any scrubbing brushes -- just use your fingers.
Regards,
Paul...
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Post by YouLanFengChune on Jun 5, 2006 23:34:33 GMT
Hmm... As far as I know, Erhu bows are quite expandable. I'm trying to get this better and better done.
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Post by paulv on Jun 6, 2006 18:41:26 GMT
Since I was lucky enough to get back to China this Spring, I managed to pick up a couple of bows -- one to replace the horse hair on my existing bow (the one I ruined) and the other was a spare which has a similar soft, flexible bamboo as my ruined bow.
Regards,
paul....
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Post by maaltan on Jun 7, 2006 23:36:48 GMT
Hmm... As far as I know, Erhu bows are quite expandable. I'm trying to get this better and better done. on the subject of replacement hair... First, whats the shelf life of horsehair? will it dryrot or otherwise become unusable if unused? i know hair is one of the last things to decompose, but i know of nobody that uses corpse hair for bows. Second, Can I get horse hair in bulk online? I got into my head that i want to try to tie my own bow. Its an interesting knotted system yet simple enough to recreate relativly easily. |
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Post by calden on Jun 7, 2006 23:49:44 GMT
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Post by maaltan on Jun 8, 2006 13:19:40 GMT
ack. theres something wrong here. $300 a lb of horse hair. sure tha probably make 20 bows but still $15 per bow I can get a full finished erhu bow for $18. Usually when you buy more the price gets cheaper. Theres something wrong with the western instrument trade. To eliteist for my tastes. I wonder if theres a local stable i can sneak into. I need to buy a horse  |
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Post by calden on Jun 8, 2006 13:57:51 GMT
What you said is true about prices seeming quite inflated for specialty instruments. I wasn't necessarily advocating buying it there - it's just a reference. I'm sure if you wandered into your local small violin shop they could get you a much smaller amount for a lot cheaper. But don't forget - this horsehair has been selected, washed, and bundled specfically for a stringed instrument. It's ready to go.
I would just go the second route - buy a new bow. Don't forget that it's not just the hair the wears out, but the elasticity and strength of the bow as well.
I have discovered that when I take on a do-it-yourself project, 99% of the time it's for my own satisfaction. The end product usually comes out close to but not equal to a professional product, and the cost is always higher. I don't do it to save money. This goes for home repairs, appliance repairs, making musical isntruments, everything.
Get some horsehair at a string shop and do it for fun and gratification.
Carlos
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Post by calden on Jun 8, 2006 14:35:14 GMT
Maaltan:
Re-reading my post above I can see it sounds a bit curt. It's not meant to sound like that! We had a huge thunderstorm here last night, and I didn't get the sleep I needed, and my communication skills suffered.
I'm sure there's somewhere you can obtain a small amount of violin bow horsehair for a much more reasonable amount of money. It sure would be fun to try it.
Carlos
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Post by davidmdahl on Jun 8, 2006 16:55:07 GMT
Certainly the price structure for fine violins and parts is on a different level than erhu, but it is reflective of a number of things, including the market, cost of labor, and the effort needed to get the expected level of workmanship. A pound of horse hair will make a lot of bows. I don't think it is necessary to pay $300/lb for bow hair that would make a terrific erhu bow. A local violin maker charged a lady $20 to rehair her erhu bow. Obviously, this was not the most expensive bow hair possible. I think it should be possible to get an appropriate amount of bow hair to rehair an erhu bow from a violin maker or shop for not much money. Unless you want to do a lot of this, I would not order a whole pound. Personally, I would rather just get a new bow and have it done with. Best wishes, David |
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Post by paulv on Jun 8, 2006 17:59:06 GMT
ack. theres something wrong here. $300 a lb of horse hair. sure tha probably make 20 bows but still $15 per bow I can get a full finished erhu bow for $18. Usually when you buy more the price gets cheaper. Theres something wrong with the western instrument trade. To eliteist for my tastes. I wonder if theres a local stable i can sneak into. I need to buy a horse I wish you thought of this before I left for China. My wife and I were in this folk music store and they had a large plume of horsehair hanging. My wife asked me if I wanted some, but I said no. I could have picked up a bunch and sent it to you. By the way, this store wanted $5USD to rehair an erhu bow. If you're going to be wandering around stables, be careful where you step, and don't get kicked by the horse when you're trying to cut its tail ;D Regards, paul... |
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Post by maaltan on Jun 9, 2006 3:05:23 GMT
Maaltan: Re-reading my post above I can see it sounds a bit curt. It's not meant to sound like that! We had a huge thunderstorm here last night, and I didn't get the sleep I needed, and my communication skills suffered. I'm sure there's somewhere you can obtain a small amount of violin bow horsehair for a much more reasonable amount of money. It sure would be fun to try it. Carlos Dont worry about it. I was in similar situation. Very bad day at work. I came here to get away from the office mentally for a few minutes. I was minutes from walking away from that job that day. Its been better since then. People in middle managment has nothing to complain about. Try being upper, lower, AND middle management all at once. You get yelled at by EVERYONE. its funny how fast people change thier minds when you withhold IT support. but anyway I am a DIY person (did you miss my posts about carving bridges:). i not only like to learn how to use something but to make it. What the theory is behind it. The heart, the soul, the metapresence of the device. I have been around computers enough to where i KNOW that they have a consiousness of some sort. Tell me why 3 computers in a lab blow up simultainously with 3 different problems when they were on different power circuits, different high quality UPS's, were not networked, and just "overheard" that they were going to be used for a time critical process. That is just one example. I have a million. Like why does a computer magically start working when a tech walks in the room? answer that... Skynet is already here. Don't make it mad. I burn easily |
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