VICTOR FETIQUE BOW - RESTORATION

This week we play a new game: the mysterious object.
What are they and especially what are the two strange objects shown in the photo here below?
The solution is inside the article !

These two objects are the evidence of a poorly done job , but let's start from the beginning. Some weeks ago a customer came in my workshop with a cello bow by Victor Fetique to be restored.

This bow had three very bad fractures in the nipple area. This type of breakage is usually caused by a sharp stroke on the bottom of the button that literally let the final part of the stick explode.

Usually this problem arises when the second hole (where the screw head rests), is too deep and the screws of the button don't rest on the second hole, but on the nipple. In this way, the stroke, instead of being absorbed by the entire stick, is discharged entirely on the nipple. But despite the mistake of the construction, the breakage was still too large to depend solely on it.
The reason for such a severe breakage is the solution to the question at the beginning of this article.

The bow had already suffered a similar fracture but unfortunately the restorer who has performed the work, didn't have a very clear mind . First of all, he rightly removed a part of the original stick so to insert a new piece of wood afterwards and rebuild the nipple. So far so good. The problem is that to make the restoration more solid, a tapered drill and not cylindrical one had to be used. But even that may be tolerated. The real tragedy is that he was wrong to redo the holes and the strange objects in the opening of the post are show it very well.

As I said, after putting the new piece he has tried to make the holes, but having made them in a wrong way, he was forced to open again with a cutter, insert another cylinder of wood and drill again. When M° Vera Navea put the bow into the acetone to unglue it , he discovered where the mistake was.

After having left it soak until the glue was completely dissolved, Maestro Navea Vera, firstly wrapped it up with rubber bands, so to reinforce it and drill it again, but it was so badly damaged that a stronger support was necessary.

To secure the stick a hollow cylinder of the same diameter was built and then the hole was reopened.

And here is the gluing phase is finished. The cracks have been closed and the nipple was rebuilt.

The frog was not in a good condition either. The hole of the shank of the nut was stripped due to age and the many replacements occurred, the coulisse did not have the fixing nails and had been stuck several times without ever being cleaned from the previous gluing , and in addition there was also a crack on the right side of the frog (looking at the photo below you can see it in the right corner).

After having soaked it in acetone, to clean it from the old glues , we proceeded to glue the crack, after which we dealt with the rebuilding of the nut housing.

Maestro Naves Vera, after having bored the hole, built a small cylinder of ebony to be inserted inside.

Once the glue has set, he has removed the exceeding quantity, levelling it to the octagon basis.

The coulisse , which was now completely warped , was shaped again and glued again.

After gluing, the nails have been fixed and the hole of the nut shank reopened and threaded again.

We can say, if no one had put their hands on it previously , the restoration would have been easier, the customer was really very happy with our job because, luckily, we have a little wizard in our workshop!

So long.

Paolo