DIY: Restring a Viola Bow

Viola bows need to be restrung several times a year when used often.

Musicians who play their violas frequently will find that they often need to restring the bow. Other than a loss of hair, signs that the bow needs rehairing include a lack of grip with the strings and having to spend a long time tightening the bow. Although the process doesn't involve many tools, rehairing a viola bow is a difficult task, and most people choose to seek a professional rather than attempting it themselves. However, players who need to rehair their bows several times a year may benefit from learning how to do it themselves, to save time and money.

Things You'll Need

• Horse hair
• Knife
• Small piece of leather
• Needle-nose pliers
• Hammer
• Cloth
• Rubber band
• Super glue
• Feeler gauge
• Length of wire
• Clamp
• Accelerator
• Push tool
• Rosin
• Ring wedge
• Paper clip
• Razor saw
• Scissors
• Paper towel
• Comb

Instructions

1. Seek horse hair that is a cream or golden color. Hair that is very white may be a sign of over-bleaching and therefore can be too brittle.

2. Cut the original hair from the viola bow at a distance of 1 inch from the frog. Lay a piece of leather over the ring and grasp both with the pliers, removing the ring from the bow.

3. Push a knife between the tongue of the frog and the wedge. Pull the wedge gently from the tongue using pliers. Remove the slide by pushing it with your thumb and tapping it with a hammer. Carefully, take out the wedge, ensuring that you don't make contact with the slide channel.

4. Scrape off the glue from the frog tongue and cavity. Take out the tip wedge, being careful not to break the top lining. Use a cloth to rub the ring, back frog lining and end button to clean them.

5. Tie the light end of the hair together using a rubber band, without removing the rope. Push the rope toward the rubber band.

6. Take off one rope and trim 7 inches from the hair. Apply super glue to the top end of the hair to hold all the strands together.

7. Use the feeler gauge to measure how long the hair needs to be to fit your bow. Grasp the hair in your left hand, holding your thumb at a right angle. Place the length of wire next to your thumb and wind about 6 inches of the wire around the hair. Leave an end of 3/4 inch. Trim the wire to the appropriate length using the pliers.

8. Lay the frog with the front facing the tip of the stick. Place into a clamp, with the frog cavity above the clamp bolt, and tighten.

9. Cut the hair to the length of the cavity, minus 1-1/2 millimeters. Hold the hair with the tied end at the base and spray with an accelerator. Insert the hair into the cavity using a push tool. Keep the tie on the right and ensure that it remains flat.

10. Sprinkle some rosin, in powdered form, on the tie. Push a new ring wedge into the cavity by tapping it with the blunt side of a knife and then by using the push tool. Take the slide between your index finger and thumb, and attach it. At the same time, pull and twist the hair.

11. Unbend a paper clip and use this to string the hair through the ring. Drip a small amount of glue between the hair and frog tongue, and attach the ring wedge. Straighten the hair so it lies evenly. Place the leather piece over the wedge and tap the wedge into position using the hammer.

12. Use a razor saw to cut the wedge in two places, no more than 1 millimeter from the hair. Turn the wedge backward and forward until it breaks.

13. Attach the frog to the bow stick and attach the end screw. Clamp the stick using c-clamps, ensuring that the clamp doesn't make contact with the frog. Extend the hair so it reaches 1 inch beyond the tip of the bow stick, and cut it using scissors.

14. Remove the frog from the stick. Place the hair in water, ensuring the ring wedge stays dry. Lift the hair up vertically and squeeze out the water. Run a paper towel along the hair once, and then comb the hair. Place the frog back on the bow stick.

15. Wrap the wire around the hair as you did previously. Cut the wire and twist it over the top of the tie. Cut the hair to the length of the cavity, minus 1 millimeter. Add a drop of superglue and spray with accelerator.

References

• Peter Zaret & Sons Violins; Caring for Your Bow; Peter Zaret
• All About Musical Instrument; How to Rehair or Restring a Violin Bow; October 2009