Thank you for sharing really useful information. What kind of glue did you use? And I wonder what kind of adhesive you use for silver or metal tip plates.
@@kamikan22 couple of options. Depends on what the client wants. Lead can be added to the mortice. It’s reversible if the client doesn’t like it. A silver tip plate on violin bow can add ~ .8 - .9 grams compared to mammoth. I’d rather keep the head original and if the weight permits, find ways to lighten the handle of the stick, ie. Shorten the a metal winding under the leather or use a different winding material. As long as the weight is within normal parameters, the balance point is more important for me.
Plastic should bend easily with just your fingers. Bone needs to be heated and formed in water. It's no longer acceptable in the industry to use bone. It has been proved to be too brittle and susceptible to discoloration with dirt and oils. Mammoth bends nicely with heat. I've made a bending jig by soldering brass forms to a Kant twist clamp and with light heating the tip plate will take the form. Plans for that are in my book available on my website. Generally, I'm just heating up an old half round file with my alcohol lamp and bending the tip plate right on that.
For this job, I used mammoth that was already lined with fiber. When I do use ebony, I use an old half round file, heat it with an alcohol lamp, and gently bend it to match the contour of the face. The shape of this material was pretty much spot on, as I go through my stash and get one that matches. If I have to bend the fiber lined mammoth, I zap the edges with super glue just in case, make a wood form and counter form, clamp, and put in a bowl of water as I heat it to almost a boil. Take it out of the water and let it dry and cool before taking the clamp off.
